TV mounting, smart home and Wi-Fi in Tenafly, NJ

Parts of Tenafly, especially up on the East Hill side, sit on sloped, heavily wooded lots with homes set well back from the road. That setting is beautiful, but it changes how cameras, Wi-Fi and lighting should be planned. Mature trees block sightlines and cast deep shade at night, and a long or curving driveway means the front door camera alone will not tell you who just pulled in. A driveway camera placed near the street, with a clear view of plates and faces, is often more useful than adding more cameras by the house.

Many homes here are recent rebuilds, and if yours is under construction, plan the low-voltage wiring alongside the electrical rough-in. That means a central equipment closet with ventilation and power, network and speaker wire to every main room, conduit out to the driveway and patio, and cable for motorized shades on tall windows. Two-story family rooms and walls of glass facing the yard are common in new builds, and shades in those spaces are far easier when the wire is already there.

For older homes that are staying put, the approach is different. Wireless lighting control, battery-powered shades and well-placed access points can modernize a house without opening finished walls. Long runs to a pool area or the far end of a deep lot can use buried conduit or a point-to-point wireless link, depending on the terrain. Hillside homes often have a walk-out lower level, and that space is a natural spot for a media room or gym, with the equipment closet nearby. Because power outages can follow storms in wooded areas, a battery backup on the network and cameras keeps them online through short interruptions.

Tree cover also affects outdoor audio and landscape lighting. Speakers tucked into plantings around a patio, with a subwoofer hidden in a bed, give even sound without pointing noise toward the neighbors. Lighting along a sloped walkway or steps adds safety, and a Control4 or app-based schedule can bring it on at dusk and off late at night. If you travel, tying cameras, locks and lights into one app lets you check the whole property from wherever you are.