Coasting Along with Somfy

For property developer Darryl Turnbull, there was never any question as to what sort of home automation system he was putting in his Airbnb holiday rental - it was always going to be Somfy.

Darryl has been using Somfy products for more than 11 years in all his high-end property developments (he even has them in his own home) and he is a big fan of their whisper-quiet motors and ease of use.

"I've used the Somfy products on quite a few projects, and we've seen them transform to be even quieter over the years," he says.

One of Darryl's most recent projects is a luxurious holiday home in Wye River, on Victoria's glorious Great Ocean Road. With huge windows overlooking the spectactular ocean views, the home has plenty of impressive features.

"It's probably the best stretch of the Ocean Road for dramatic scenery," says Darryl. "It's all steep cliffs and rocky outcrops - and the view captures that as well, which is why it's fairly striking. You got beach, plus rock and headlands; everything really."

SOM Blinds Director and Somfy Gold Expert, Bernie Sombekke who completed the project agrees with the convenience and simplicity Somfy motorisation offers commenting, "We love motorising blinds with Somfy, and the motorised blinds for this project added an extra layer of luxury to the home.

"We use Somfy products for all of our motorised projects. They are reliable and they provide the additional benefit of being able to control the window coverings with one remote or via a mobile device with Somfy myLink," Bernie adds.

Being in such an exposed position means that it is important to protect the furnishings from sun and light damage, especially when the house is in between occupants. This is where Somfy automation comes into its own.

With 15 blinds in the house, each of which is three metres high, Darryl admits it's not practical to expect that all guests will close all the blinds every time. Enter Somfy's motors. 

"We've got a button that says all blinds down and when you're leaving you just hit that button and then the house is all closed, which is terrific," says Darryl.

The simplicity of the Somfy system is an added bonus too. It's incredibly user-friendly. Darryl has been renting out the house through holiday letting places and Airbnb for a couple of years and there has never been a problem with guests learning how to operate the system.

"I've never had anyone questioning it," says Darryl. "So I guess it's pretty easy. We give them a very brief induction, but it's, you know, pretty simple."

And, importantly, Darryl says that in the 11 years he's been using Somfy, he's only ever had one problem with a remote - in his own house, when his children dropped it a few times - and a Somfy technician fixed it straight away.

That's important, he stresses. Choosing a low-maintenance piece of technology is a very important factor when you are a two-hour drive away from your investment property.

All in all, he couldn't be happier with the product, or the service that Somfy provides.

"Once you have Somfy once, it'd be very hard to go back," he says.

Contact your local Somfy Expert retailer to discuss Somfy for your home or investment property.