Gramophone’s Favorite Things

Beat the heat and throw a pool party your friends will never forget!

As the weather warms up forget cranking up the AC to stay cool. Instead, take your party outside and make your backyard the place to be!

What To Keep In Mind

 

The size of your pool and backyard are the first things to consider when planning your guest list.  Every pool has a maximum capacity, so don’t try to fit the entire Ravens team in your 12’x24’ family pool. You’ll end the night with only half of the water you started out with. Next, keep in mind the size of your backyard. Do you have a deck where most of your guests will be sitting and relaxing? Do you have enough seating spaces for everyone?

It is also important to start planning about a week ahead and regularly treat your pool and skim the surface of the water to keep it free of debris and to eliminate discoloration. These few and easy tasks will keep your pool looking fresh and appealing to your guests to swim in (because that’s the focus of your party, right?!).

 

Bring On The Games

 

If your guests bring their children make sure to provide a variety of toys that will be entertaining to all age groups. Children love simple and inexpensive water toys such as diving rings and foam noodles. These toys will keep kids busy for hours as they invent their countless new games to play. Also consider purchasing an extra set of inflatable rafts or kick boards to keep the kids afloat!

For the adults an across-the-pool volleyball net or a poolside basketball hoop can create a friendly rivalry among friends. To keep drinks cool, purchase a Mega Chill, an inflatable floating cooler that holds up to 24 cans of your favorite beverage and includes six cup holders along the outer ring.

 

 

Keep It High Tech

 

To get the best out of your outdoor space, consider amping up your backyard with weather-proof technologies- all of which are sold at Gramophone!  

James Loudspeaker offers a great set of concealed outdoor speakers that can make any space sound great without the worry of water damage.  The 70 volt Landscape Speaker set can be concealed in a flower planter and can be placed up to a quarter mile from the receiver without experiencing any signal loss.  The sleek and modern Outdoor Satellite speakers are also a great option when trying to blend your desire for fantastic sound quality with a family-friendly space.

If you are looking for an outdoor television, The SunBrite TV series, also sold at Gramophone, is perfect for your backyard paradise. The SunBrite televisions are rain, dust, and insect proof and resist the damaging effects of extreme temperatures. All models come with full HD and the anti-reflective screen reflects glare.

To put your outdoor space together Color Kinetics lighting systems, such as the Intelliwhite (iW) fixture, lets you adjust the range of outdoor lighting in your space from warm, neutral, to cool white LEDs. You can easily alter the mood of your space by controlling your lights on the external wall-mounted device.  

So get out there and enjoy your summer! Your backyard may just be your new go-to vacation paradise!

-Ela

 

 

Going Outside: my new project

This is the year, the year we make the great outdoors even greater.  We love music, and we're excited by the idea of outdoor television and movies.  Our challenge now is making the space fit you and your family.

   


We provide all sorts of solutions and ideas for you to peruse, from our online gallery to our state-of-the-art showrooms.  Let us help you design your great outdoors.

Are these some questions you have?

• Do I want to include a Sunbrite weatherproof TV?
  
• What type of speakers do I want?  Do I want them to fit right in with the surroundings?  Madison Fielding Planters could be one option, but then there are the Speakercraft Rock Speakers. 
  
• Of course, there's always the question of sound quality: James Landscape Series or B&W weatherproof speakers?
• What about if I want to have a party and want to play my music outside the patio?  Should I look into the quality, portable, wireless speakers by Soundcast to use during those times?
• Do I want to go back inside to control the outdoor system?  There are several systems that I could use outside (that are also weatherproof) so I wouldn't end up running in and out of the house: Crestron and Control4 are two of them.
  
• What about when a party goes into the later hours and it gets dark outside?  Should I go with lighting control?  Color Kinetics looks like a great idea, but I'm still not sure.

Let's work together to make this year, the year of the great outdoors!  Give us a call or stop by to speak with sales representatives, designers, engineers & programmers to see what they think is best for you!

Timonium 410-308-1650

Columbia  410-381-2100

It’s Summer. Time to Take Music Outdoors

Love the idea of music on the deck, patio or poolside but loathe the idea of bulky black speakers dampening your view? We’ve been working with a speaker vendor called Madison Fielding that has the solution:  high quality outdoor speakers cleverly hidden in a variety of usable planters and functional wooden benches. The PlanterSpeakers line integrates into a variety of outdoor settings and can be filled with live or artificial plants. All models are constructed of top-quality, weatherproof materials.