What will the home of the future look like? When asked this question, many people respond automatically with descriptions of the polished white and chrome wonderlands of 1950s science fiction. The reality is likely to be rather more prosaic, based not on cramming in as much tech as possible but, rather, on providing services people actually find useful, and doing it in a flexible way so homes can be designed to suit their occupants’ tastes. Today, your futuristic home could be decorated in any number of styles, but it is what’s behind the scenes that will really wow your visitors.
The bedroom
What’s the first thing you have to deal with when you wake up in the morning? Your alarm clock. If the alarm hasn’t yet gone off and you don’t want to awaken fully too quickly, a color-changing clock can let you know what time it is without you having to open your eyes wide enough to read it. You could also get an iPhone App that tells you the time verbally when you tap the screen. If you find it really hard to get up early, an artificial sunlight lamp can gently brighten the room and help you wake up naturally, feeling good.
In the evenings, when you want to wind down, beds with built in entertainment systems mean you can relax in complete comfort. You can play music through speakers in the headboard or watch a film on a screen at your feet. With a simple iPhone App you can dim the lights just as you like and turn them off when you’re ready to sleep – or even do so automatically at a set time in case you’ve already nodded off.
The living room
If you have a lot of furniture in a small space, a wall mounted flatscreen television can be a fantastic space saver. Keep losing the remote control? Then control it from your iPhone, which can also take care of your sound system and your lighting. LED lights have been getting a lot of press lately because of their environmental credentials, but they have other advantages too – using an LED light bank, you can illuminate your home in any color you want at a moment’s notice, or you can set it to provide cool, bright light on dull mornings and soft, warm light in the evenings. With an iPhone-controlled heating system, your home will always be warm when you get home from work.
The kitchen
Some of the most exciting recent innovations have been in the field of kitchen gadgets, from refrigerators that tell you when you’re out of milk to counter tops with built-in computer screens so you can watch that recipe video on YouTube while you cook. An egg minder can tell you how old your eggs are and when they need to be used, induction stovetops and rice cookers can give you the most efficient, controllable cooking experience yet, and a smart trash can open and close when you wave at it, so you need make direct contact only when it needs to be emptied.
A technological, futuristic home like this will not only impress visitors but will also make day-to-day living much easier – and more fun!