1. A configuration method for a room, the method comprising: selecting from a client device a consumer application from a plurality of consumer applications accessible from the client device, wherein each of the plurality of consumer applications is pre-configured to include a plurality of room components associated therewith; storing in a memory module data defining a plurality of attributes for the plurality of components associated with the selected consumer application, wherein the data are organized in a frame/slot hierarchy such that attributes of the plurality of attributes are represented as slots of a plurality of frames; and selecting a user-specified attribute from available attributes for at least one of the plurality of the room components wherein selection of invalid attributes is prevented, comprising performing in a processor-based system an attribute-based inference operation that identifies among the plurality of room components within the frame/slot hierarchy the available attributes and the invalid attributes for the at least one of the plurality of room components, wherein the selecting the consumer application imposes constraints that determine, at least in part, the available attributes within the frame/slot hierarchy.