Words by Rachel Tepper Paley, (c) 2018, Bloomberg
With the introduction of smart technology, apps and online platforms that use virtual and augmented reality to help you visualise how a couch or chair will look in your home, it will be much easier to design your living space.
Living Room
Having options such as Modular, open-source furniture will dominate interior design trends, taking the lead from Ikea’s Tom Dixon-designed Delaktig couch, which has more than 97 different configurations.
In the living room of the future, smart speakers will be a central feature, with newer models connected to every element in your home, from the light bulbs to the lock on your front door. They will become so essential you won’t think twice about the cost for one.
Watching TV and movies will be a wildly different experience. The LG Display television screen that effortlessly rolls up and out of sight or Sony’s super high-resolution short-throw projector that turns any white wall into your own personal movie theatre will change the quality of home entertainment.
Apple’s HomePod Image Credit: Apple
Kitchen
The ultimate goal of kitchen technology is not to do the cooking for you but to make you a better cook. Smart ovens will be outfitted with cameras and digital thermometers, helping you monitor your food as it bakes. Instead of just hoping the “medium-hot” setting on your gas range is hot enough, smart skillets will take guessing out of the equation by sizzling food at a precise temperature that you’ll set on a connected app.
Smart refrigerators will help reduce waste by letting you know when the carrots in your fridge are about to go bad, and offer several recipes for them to boot. The smart fridge from LG could even send cooking instructions to your smart oven.
Meanwhile, 3D food printers will help you create intricately shaped pasta, and smart-technology-equipped ice cream makers will automatically sense the hardness of the mixture within and keep it ready until it’s sundae time.
The June Intelligent Oven Evan Sung/bloomberg
With the help of smart tech, the luxury spa experience in the comfort of your home will be the norm. No need to draw your own bath-your digital assistant can do that for you with smart shower systems like those from U by Moen.
High-tech tubs such as those from Toto will induce relaxed brain waves, while nose-geared gadgets like Olfinity will let you program and control your own aromatherapy session from your iPhone while you soak.
If all this sounds far-fetched, remember decades ago few of us could have imagined being so attached to our smart phones. With time, even the strangest things can become normal.
Featured Image: Moen
