Inside Wicked Smart Homes: Luxury Home Automation in Sarasota

“Smart home” is a term we hear constantly in real estate. It shows up in listing descriptions, it comes up at showings, and it means something different to almost everyone who says it. So for this episode of Why Sarasota, I went straight to an expert: Mark Bolduc, founder of Wicked Smart Homes, at their showroom in downtown Sarasota. We talked about what a smart home really is, when to bring a technology company into a build or renovation, the trends Mark is seeing heading into 2027, and how his team helps buyers and sellers understand the technology already in a home.

What Actually Makes a Home “Smart”

I started with the obvious question: how does Mark define a smart home? His answer was a good one, and it is more than an app that adjusts your thermostat. In his words, it is a thoughtfully designed technology system that integrates lighting, shading, climate, and security in a package that is very easy and simple for homeowners to use.

That last part is the key. The goal is not more gadgets. It is a home where everything works together and the people living there can actually use it.

What Wicked Smart Homes Does

Mark told me the list of services keeps growing as new product categories come along, but the most common pieces of their work are:

• Lighting control, including professional lighting design and fixture specification
• Window treatments, which Mark called a huge part of their business
• Entertainment: sound, TV, and home theater
• Security, including cameras throughout the house
• Control of all of it, whether you are home or away

They even had a golf simulator set up around the corner in the showroom, which Mark said is a newer segment for them. He is seeing a lot of new homes where the space that would have been a home theater a few years ago is now dedicated to an indoor golf simulator.

Building or Renovating? Bring Them In Early

This is the part of the conversation I most want buyers and builders to hear. When someone is planning a new build or an extensive renovation, Mark said it starts with sitting down and understanding the home and what matters to the client. Wicked Smart Homes thinks of itself as a design firm, and they are heavy on documentation.

Plans can change along the way, and Mark was clear that the process is fluid. But without a design ready to implement in the field, that is where projects get into trouble. How early is early? Mark said they meet with about 90% of their clients before the house is even out of the ground.

If you are thinking about building, my guide to building a custom home in Sarasota and my breakdown of build vs. buy are good places to start. Technology planning belongs on the list right next to the floor plan.

Trends Heading Into 2027

Video Walls Are the Future of Entertainment

We filmed this sitting in front of a large format LED video wall, and Mark believes that is where home entertainment is going. He sees it taking the place of the 85 or 100 inch TV, and in a home theater, replacing the traditional projector and screen, because of the light levels these walls can produce. The wider aspect ratio also allows multiple pieces of content on one screen. Mark said they are super popular, and he expects pricing to come down as more companies get into the space.

Power Planning, the Unglamorous Essential

Then Mark brought up something that does not have the sex appeal of a video wall, as he put it, but matters just as much: energy and power management. On estate-level homes, he said, having a power plan is critical.

His reasoning is very Sarasota. We get a lot of lightning here, and many of the beautiful neighborhoods that held 2,000 square foot ranch homes 50 years ago now have 10,000 and 15,000 square foot homes on the same lots. With no offense to FPL, Mark said, the infrastructure has not been upgraded to match, and those power demands tax a new home.

Without a plan to make sure the home’s systems receive clean, conditioned, uninterruptible power, you are asking for problems. And he is not just talking about his own equipment. He mentioned that $40,000 La Cornue range, the wine room, and the major mechanical systems. In a home at that level, all of it needs protection.

Upgrading Older Smart Home Systems

Plenty of homes in Sarasota already have smart technology in them, just not the latest version. I asked Mark what owners should consider if they want to upgrade.

His answer was encouraging. With all the real estate churn in Sarasota over the years, if the infrastructure is in place, meaning the wiring is there, it can usually be reused. Wiring from 10 years ago can still support a technology refresh. For many homes built in roughly the last 15 to 18 years, his team can optimize the existing infrastructure and do a tech refresh without too much trouble.

When new wire has to be run, it gets trickier. Mark stressed how important end-to-end wired connectivity is for reliability, so in that case it comes down to having talented staff who can look at a home, understand the pathways, and get creative about retrofitting wire from point A to point B.

Why This Matters When You Buy or Sell

This is where it gets personal for me as a Realtor. I asked Mark whether his team helps people like me, whether I am preparing to list a home or helping a buyer understand what they are getting during an inspection.

The answer is yes, and the reason is important. According to Mark, if you get seven to ten years out of home electronics, that is probably the life cycle. Many homeowners have been in their homes for years, which means a home is sometimes being sold right at the end of its technology’s life cycle. As Mark put it, that is an unfair scenario for a buyer who does not fully understand what is in there.

So real estate professionals call them to come take a look. Mark said that within five or ten minutes of seeing a home, he can usually tell when the equipment was installed, and give honest feedback, like letting buyers know they will need some upgrades in the next year or two because things are going to fail.

I compared it to how we already have inspectors look at the HVAC, and Mark agreed: it is the same thing, a bill of health for the technology. He added that waterfront homes in particular take a beating, so that equipment needs updating. If you are shopping on the water, my guide to buying waterfront in Sarasota covers the other homework that never shows up in listing photos.

How to Choose an Integration Company

I asked Mark what people should look for when hiring a company for a new build or major renovation. His answer: people, standards, and process.

If a firm cannot easily show you a portfolio of work, and does not have a showroom, warehousing, or employees, Mark said you may want to question whether they will be around long-term. His team thinks in terms of long-term cost of ownership and the ability to support clients well beyond move-in day, and after 17 years in business, they can.

He also described how they took a critical, bird’s-eye look at their own business a couple of years ago, mapping everything from onboarding a new client through installation, programming, and the final orientation. Wherever they consistently got stuck, they wrote a standard operating procedure, so a new hire and someone who has been there 15 years handle the situation exactly the same way. That is the kind of discipline you want from anyone working inside your home.

From New England to Sarasota

Mark and I are both transplants from the Northeast, so I asked what brought him here. He has been visiting since he was a kid. His parents came down in the early 2000s and built a house in Lakewood Ranch, and between the New England winters and his love of golf, he and his family took a leap of faith 21 years ago and have been here ever since.

Mark described himself as pro-growth, when it is done the right way, and said he has loved watching Sarasota grow, watching friends’ businesses grow along with it, and raising a family here. He is proud to be part of the Sarasota community, and it shows.

Check Out the Showroom

A big thank you to Mark for his time. Whether you are building, renovating, buying, or selling a home and want to understand the technology driving it, check these guys out. Visit them online at WickedSmartHomes.com, but also get down to the showroom at 527 S. Pineapple Avenue in Sarasota and see it in person.

And if you are buying or selling a home with smart technology, or planning a build of your own, reach out. I will make sure you know what you are getting, and connect you with the right people to evaluate it.