Summer 2009
Local Movie Lovers Share Their Home Cinema
Lights, Camera, Action! Grab the popcorn and make yourself comfortable in this amazing home cinema. Local homeowners and long time St. Charles residents, Jeff and Michelle were thrilled to move into their new home 3 years ago and the cinema was a special treat for the entire family.
The room was custom designed as the house was built so no detail was left unnoticed. The raised floor was integrated into the poured concrete basement, all of the walls and ceiling were soundproofed, and the controls for lighting and sound were incorporated into the ‘whole house’ wiring system to be used with a single remote.
Michelle’s idea of the perfect setting was to make sure her family and guests were able to enjoy snacks as well as a movie. “This room is all about family and friends,” she says. Incorporating the beautiful bar with seating at the back of the room allows everyone to comfortably watch the movie and enjoy their favorite refreshments. It also provides additional seating for larger gatherings. “It was very important for everyone to feel relaxed in this room,” she adds. “We made sure the seating could accommodate lying down by having a loveseat and sofa as well as individual recliners.” The beautiful seating is overstuffed and luxuriously covered. These are not your run of the mill chairs, either. They are electronically controlled and can recline to an exact position at the touch of a toggle switch hidden along the arm and cushion. Never again will you have the sensation that you will be propelled from your seat if you don’t lean back far enough. These wonders will gently cradle your head and legs in whatever position you like.
The sound and projection equipment decisions were left to Jeff along with David Young, president of the Sound Room, who provided all of the design, equipment and installation for this amazing room. “I wanted this to be the most exciting room in their new home, and it really is,” declares David. He continues, “We worked together to integrate the best-in-class products to create an outstanding home cinema. Using the cinewide format and projector from Runco, along with 7.1 surround sound, the viewer is given the full movie effect, just as the director intended.” Jeff exudes a childlike enthusiasm when he talks about his theatre. “You just have to see it…and feel it to understand,” he states passionately. “Michelle decorated wonderfully and David did a great job leading us through the design and implementation. We just love spending time in here.”
Home cinemas can be a personal sanctuary. This one has become just that. The beautifully appointed décor, incredible sound and projection equipment and attention to every detail make it difficult to leave. Going to the movies takes on a new meaning in this St. Charles home. All this family has to do is put the popcorn in the microwave, grab a quick drink and head downstairs.
Tissot’s T-Touch Expert Watch
From 1853 to the present day, Tissot has continually surprised and delighted customers with its product innovation. A relentless pioneering spirit led the company from its foundation in the small Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, to a presence in 150 countries. From its first pocket watch with two time-zones in 1853 to its revolutionary touch-screen technology, materials and design – even to the extent of creating watches made of rock, wood and pearl.
Tissot, the leading Swiss watch brand known for its innovative products recently introduced the T-Touch Expert to the Touch Collection family of watches, famous for the world’s first touch-face technology. T-Touch Expert, has all the genetic attributes of the best-selling original T-Touch, but includes additional functions that give the newest generation member a personality of its own, pleasing both the avid outdoorsman and lifestyle mavens alike. What’s different? T-Touch Expert is bolder and the perfect companion for hiking, skiing, or testing survival skills. T-Touch Expert is also now oversized. Men with a discerning taste in style will be pleased as trends show the bigger the watch the better; and the best news is you don’t have to be an expert to use it. It’s perfect to test the limits of the adventurer, yet handsome for everyday activities like a day at the office or a night on-the-town. The only boundaries exist within the wearer himself.
For every challenge today’s outdoor warrior or a member of the everyday tribe faces either in the wild or in the jungle of life, he will find that the T-Touch Expert presents a solution. New functions/features include The Altitude Difference Meter which gives a reading of elevation and in addition shows a total cumulative gain in altitude during elapsed time or a total cumulative loss in altitude. The Azimuth function will keep you on the right path as you can program it to be a guide. Its displayed arrows will direct the wearer to their intended destination. For the Globe trotter, the T-Touch Expert also has a Dual Time Zone function, so it’s easy to get on track in another country, but there is no cure yet for jet-lag! Feel free to splash around or take a spill in the snow, The T-Touch Expert is water resistant to 100 meters/330 feet. Other new functions/features include Perpetual Calendar, Two Alarms and a Backlight and of course the T-Touch Expert also includes the original functions/features of alarm, altimeter, barometer (meteo), chronograph, compass and thermometer. Like the original T-Touch, it’s all done by simply touching the touch-screen sapphire crystal activating the T-Touch Expert’s corresponding functions. Of course, let’s not forget that the T-Touch Expert keeps precision time with the Swiss Made quartz movement so you won’t be late, no matter where you are.
In terms of design, T-Touch Expert again updates the handsome heritage of the T-Touch Family. It has an enlarged case which allows for the rugged outdoors, yet is sophisticated. The T-Touch Expert comes in several versions that make a statement with carbon dials on either a rubber strap or titanium bracelet. Function, Features and Fashion are all in the T-Touch Expert which is the perfect watch for whatever lies ahead!
The T-Touch line encompasses a wide variety of watches including:
• The Original T-Touch watch — available in many finishes from Stainless Steel to Platinum. This innovative watch includes an altimeter, chronograph, compass, alarm, thermometer and barometer in addition to the date and time
• Sea T-Touch — Stellar performance to a depth of 200 meters, this diving watch incorporates a digital chronometer, thermometer, alarm, perpetual calendar date, compass and divers’ logbook into a beautiful watch with a rubber band
• TNavigator — Designed with the world traveler in mind, the TNavigator is a 24 time zone watch that also functions as a countdown timer, with two separate alarms programmable over a week with five melodies to choose from and three different date reading options which may be shown in six different languages. There are also 150 cities from which to choose, and the selected city will be indicated in the digital illuminated LCD window
• SilenT — An innovative watch designed not only for the discrete gentleman who may now learn the time through silent vibration, but as a breakthrough for the visually impaired
All of these pioneering watches are brought to us by the Tissot company under the leadership of President François Thiébaud. With over 30 years in the watch business, François Thiébaud’s experience in this sector can therefore be regarded as truly global both from a geographic as well as a product point of view — reaching from high volume brands to luxury niche products. François Thiébaud also holds a number of honorary positions within the watch world, including President of the Committee of Swiss Exhibitors and member of the Consulting Committee for Baselworld (the biggest watch and jewellery fair in the world), and Vice President of the Association of Watchmaking suppliers, for the Swiss Market (AMS).
