Inspiration
Six gadgets that make a home easier to live in
Technology keeps producing small conveniences for the home. Some of them genuinely change daily life: blinds you never have to open or close by hand, lights you can switch from wherever you are. These six make a house easier and more pleasant to live in.
Inspiration
1. Smart bulbs or smart plugs
A luxury interior gains from automating parts of it, and lighting is the natural place to start. Automated lighting lets you switch the lights on and off remotely, from your phone, a tablet or wireless panels on the wall. The useful part is the presets: one press and the lights dim to a setting you chose in advance, for a single room or for the whole house. There are two ways to get there:
- Smart bulbs
- Smart plugs
Inspiration
The difference between a smart bulb and a smart plug
A smart bulb screws into the fitting you already have. It connects to your Wi-Fi, and over the same network you control it from your phone or tablet. Some bulbs change colour as well: those from Philips Hue, for example.
A smart plug sits between the wall socket and the lamp. It lets you switch the lamp on and off from your phone in the same way, but that is where it ends: a plug cannot dim the light or change its colour, which some smart bulbs can.
Inspiration
2. Smart radiator valves for heating room by room
If you spend your evenings in the living room, there is little sense in heating the bedrooms all day. Smart radiator valves let you heat each room on its own. The system notices when a room is empty and lowers the temperature by itself, and you can set your own preferences, so the bedroom stays cool while the living room stays warm. The tadoº Smart Thermostat also brings energy use down.
3. Automated shutters and curtains
Automated shutters and window treatments belong on any list of gadgets for the living room. With the Somfy Connexoon IO you operate electric roller shutters and electric curtains remotely: you do not have to get out of bed for them, and on a summer afternoon you can close them from work to keep the heat out of the house.
Inspiration
4. Security you can check from anywhere
Feeling at ease at home starts with feeling safe. A smart security camera such as the Google Nest Cam shows you what is happening in and around the house, wherever you are.
The camera works over Wi-Fi and sends a notification when something happens. It can tell the difference between people, animals and vehicles, so the neighbour's cat walking past stays quiet while a person on your property does not. Through the built-in microphone and speaker you can listen in or speak.
Inspiration
5. A smart lock instead of house keys
Digging through a bag for keys, children losing theirs: a smart lock ends both. With a lock such as the Nuki Smart Lock 3.0 the house no longer needs keys at all. You open the door through the app, or let Auto Unlock do it: the lock uses Bluetooth to notice you approaching and opens as you arrive. And when someone needs to be let in while you are out, you open the door remotely.
Inspiration
6. A smoke detector that reaches your phone
Fire deserves the same attention as burglary. Ordinary smoke detectors do their job, but a smart one adds something: it warns you on your phone when there is smoke while you are away, and when you are at home a spoken message tells you where the danger is. Some models go a step further and detect carbon monoxide as well, the Nest Protect among them. More on this subject is in our article on home automation.
Inspiration
Making smart technology part of the design
If you are about to furnish a new house or rebuild your current one, that is a natural moment to think about smart technology alongside the furniture: the devices above are easiest to add while the interior is being designed anyway. If you would like this done properly but have little time for it, that is where the studio comes in.
When we work together:
- One of our interior designers helps you furnish your home from start to finish
- We design it together, so the house becomes your home
- We take most of the sorting and sourcing off your hands
- You end up with an interior that fits the way you want to live
If that appeals to you, we are glad to meet, with no obligation.
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