In one embodiment, a technique for controlling one or more devices within a physical room of a structure is provided. One or more devices in the structure are coupled, either directly or indirectly, to a programmable multimedia controller configured to issue control commands which, when implemented, change the state of the devices. A virtual room-based user interface is displayed on a display screen. The virtual room-based user interface may include one or more virtual rooms, each virtual room including a substantially photo-realistic depiction of a portion of the structure, including substantially photo-realistic depictions of one or more devices located within the portion of the structure. In response to the selection of a particular substantially photo-realistic visual depiction, the programmable multimedia controller may issue control commands which, when implemented, change the state of a particular device. The appearance of the particular virtual room may be updated to reflect the changed state.