Our homes are becoming populated with more and more gadgets each year, from entertainment to heating appliances. All these combine to make our houses feel nicer and our lives that little bit better.
Here are some fresh ideas to include in your house in the coming year:
1. Voice control.
If you have suitable "smart" appliances, then controlling them by voice is the next big thing. Amazon's "Alexa" is one of the most well-known now. These kinds of devices can currently control compatible items directly, but also other electrical appliances can be switched on and off via the use of smart plugs.
2. Hidden heating.
Heated floors are coming out of the bathroom. Since heat rises, the best place for a heater is at the lowest point in the room - the floor. If you're not in a position to fit heated flooring around the whole house, it might be a good idea to consider the entryway. Heated entryway floors are especially welcome in colder climates, giving people a welcoming warm feel as soon as they step through the door. Keep boots and outdoor shoes there, and they'll feel nice and cozy as you put them on before heading out. As a sidenote, building more storage into the entryway is another option to think about.
3. Electric fireplace.
A fire has always been a perfect focal point for a room, but often superseded by the television. Now, you can get an electric fireplace which looks as good as the real thing, and deserves your attention once more as the true focus of the room.
4. Air quality.
Keeping the heating electric also helps with the air quality. It's now easier than ever to install monitoring systems to make sure that nothing else is affecting the atmosphere in your home. We're talking not just about carbon monoxide, but also organic compounds, and humidity.
5. Open spaces.
Open-plan designs have been used for a long time, but technology is helping to make it feel even more comfortable. We have seen some early home design trends coming out that are set to dominate in 2017. More walls and lower ceilings make rooms easier to heat, but with houses being built to much better standards now, we can live in much larger spaces and still feel comfortable. Especially when we make more use of heated floors.
6. Home entertainment.
Everyone likes music and TV, but these can often be designed into the home in an almost seamless fashion, so the devices don't take anything away from the atmosphere of a room. And the entertainment systems can extend outside to the deck or barbecue area - all controlled by touchscreen and/or voice systems of course.
Technology and design merge together more each year, with innovative designs pushing the development of new technical solutions, and vice versa. The more wired-up and "smart" a property becomes, the more the owner can take advantage of the whole interconnected ecology; and enjoy a more comfortable life in a house that benefits from intelligent design.