What a world we live in now! There was a time that “Smart” home was unfathomable. Wireless technology and significant innovations like more powerful broadband, smartphones, and apps have made it doable, appealing, and affordable. The idea is a lot less complicated than some have made the concept.

Kitchen

The kitchen has become the family’s meeting place. Islands are the focal point and serve as a conference table for dinner and other essential discussions. Small ovens like Brava and the Ninja Foodi turn the kitchen into a space to enjoy the many meals home delivery options they are today. It is also doubling in many new build homes as the new dining rooms, with the island acting as a table and working desk. Keeping your kitchen organized will make the space enjoyable and productive every day.

Safety

Whatever security system you own, Apple, Google, and Amazon smart speakers can connect to keep everyone in the household connected. Keeping the family and the home safe has become essential. The big tech guys and start-ups are creating the necessary product. As I watched Apple’s latest keynote, which features their new HomePod Mini, the imagines of a futuristic home became real. It gives a family of four the ability to stay connected inside and outside of the house with ease. Door locks connected to indoor and outdoor cameras are just the beginning of the solutions clients can expect to become commonplace in a few years. 

Entertainment

New homes are designed with family rooms today. Living rooms are becoming a thing of the past in the average size home. These rooms are tailor-made for families and guests to gather and enjoy entertainment. Depending on your home’s size, having a television in each room may be the way to go. The fewer the places, the fewer televisions you should have. Let’s face it, television today with apps like Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and others have become our movie-theater. COVID accelerated this transformation. Now couples, families, and single people make their popcorn or whatever form of indulgent dessert and binge on mini-series, blockbuster, and independent movies. Elaborate and expensive home theaters are no longer required.

Sleep

Adjustable beds are becoming the norm. They became popular preCOVID for careerists crunching late at night to get work done before falling asleep. The bedroom has become the perfect lab for new sleep and lighting technology. Between motorized blackout shades and dimmer lights controlled by a smartphone is becoming mainstream. We now monitor our rest to ensure we get enough to be ready for the day. Brands like Eight help us. Music playing on a smart speaker that either lowers as time elapses or turns off on your command helps rest better. Soft or muted color painted walls help too.

Once referred to as toys for men, all of these products help create a safer, productive, and more fun home. What is impressive is that we are just getting started on the path to living in our apartments, townhomes, or single-family homes in unimaginable ways.