As one might imagine, a 12,000-square-foot house has a lot of lights. So, what happens when the residents forget to turn them off before bedtime? Jack and Betsy Sallman can simply flick a single switch and settle in, thanks to "smart home" wiring. "You don’t have to go trotting downstairs," Jack says appreciatively.

House-wide lighting integration is but one tech-savvy feature of the Sallmans’ home in Hendersonville. Centralized household controls activate the audio and speaker systems and window shades, and even allow the Sallmans to regulate their thermostat remotely from outside the home.

Add in a state-of-the-art home theater and security system and you have a home that’s light years ahead of the curve. There may have been a time when a light dimmer was considered fancy and the size of a screen was all that mattered for an entertainment center, but advances in smart technology and an increasing demand for customization have changed that.

Smart homes now incorporate multiple technological features while streamlining the systems to cut down on the switches, gadgets and aesthetic intrusion. In the Sallmans’ house, this is initially most evident with the lighting.

With such a rambling footprint, the couple wanted to be able to access the lighting throughout the residence from any point. They didn’t, however, want a huge bank of a dozen or so light switches on every wall of their dream home. Mike Ridenour of Comtec, the Asheville firm that designed and installed most of the technology features in the Sallmans’ home, solved the dilemma by consolidating several lighting functions into preset controls on discreet wall panels.

These preset lightscapes are geared towards practical lifestyle scenarios — guests wake up in the middle of the night and need to find their way to a late-night snack. One button in the guest room triggers a series of lights that illuminate the path to the kitchen. Similar presets set the mood for a party, highlight artwork and antiques, and light the way from the garage to the kitchen.

Thanks to the presets, nobody has to fumble with dozens of switches, eliminating the wall clutter. "That’s the beauty with our systems — they give you control, but you really don’t see them," Ridenour points out.

Another centralized function is the automated window shades, a practical consideration since many windows in the Sallmans’ home rise up to 20 feet above the floor, making manual shades difficult to operate. Rather than moving from window to window, the couple can adjust every shade in the house from master panels in several convenient locations.

And then, the entertainment amenities — starting with the music system, which pipes tunes to speakers throughout the entire house, with selections ranging from FM and satellite radio presets to MP3s downloaded from the couple’s compact disc collection. It truly offers surround sound, but if Jack would rather listen to oldies and Betsy wants to hear country, each can enjoy their preference played in one room only.

In the home theater, technological savvy meets creativity and family function. A "Now Playing" sign greets visitors at the basement entrance, and a large popcorn machine waits nearby. Walk through the hall and the room opens into a screening room.

Custom trim gives the room an old-fashioned regality, with pin-light stars twinkling on the ceiling. Beneath them, plush armchairs face a 92-inch projection screen. For those who choose not to indulge in this embracing environment, movies can be streamed to any television in the house from here, and an intercom allows someone upstairs to page a viewer lost in the film if a pressing phone call needs to be taken.

This is more than just a place for Jack and Betsy to enjoy a flick, however. It’s a place for them to entertain their grandchildren. The setup includes video game console jacks that allow the young ones to plug in their Play Stations and the theater features a small stage for the presentation of family talent shows — low-tech, but delightful.

Of all the services that the Sallmans’ integrated systems provide, perhaps the most valuable is peace of mind. It goes without saying that a house like this has a state-of-the-art security system, but the integrated lighting adds an extra measure of confidence. If someone pulls into the driveway, multiple lights illuminate the exterior and a doorbell chimes to let the Sallmans know they have visitors.

Pre-construction planning allowed the Sallmans and Comtec to fine-tune the system to their specific needs and concerns. With so many options, picking the right equipment can take time. "Normally we’re doing this in new homes, so we have a lot of that process embedded in the building plans," Ridenour says. Patience with the process is also key — during the inevitable construction delays, new technology may come on the market that will make homeowners want last-minute revisions.

And there are always going to be tweaks in the first weeks of using the technology; Betsy reconfigured the lights several times after living in the house and putting the presets to the test, for example. Despite the extra work and costs, the features are worth having, Betsy says. "Even in a smaller home, I could see how a lot of this could be convenient."

Especially if you’re fond of midnight milk and cookies.