Smart Work Surfaces in the Kitchen
A number of companies are hard at work to make our everyday devices smarter and more capable. One of the most interesting of those is the development of the smart work surface. This takes many different forms, from synthetic stone embedded with sensors and motors, to glass-top technology that allows you to go from cooking surface to counter and back in a flash.
Glass is sleek and modern, and pairs well with similar aesthetics throughout the home. Stone, even synthetic stone, offers a natural connection and can be paired with wood options – bamboo is particularly popular, but reclaimed wood is also hot right now.
Themed Around Appliances
Once upon a time, appliances were chosen so they shared a design theme. Today, that still holds true, but designers can and should use those appliances to help theme individual rooms, and even the entire home. Perhaps the best example of this is the new generation of smart refrigerators. There are plenty of brands out there, but Samsung is on the leading edge of design and function innovation. Consider the company’s four-door smart refrigerator with a built-in LED touchscreen and Wi-Fi connectivity.
It’s a work of modern art in its own right, but it also works as a family hub, allowing you to create grocery lists, to-do lists, and even share photos with other devices in the home. Designers can use this appliance’s sleek stainless-steel surface and four-door design to theme the kitchen, but the motif can be carried into other rooms of the home, creating a seamless whole.
Integration Is the Key
When it comes to perfectly embedding smart home products within the overall aesthetic of a home, good integration is the key. For instance, with smart stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen, stainless steel panels of the same colour/finish could be used for cabinet doors or sections of the wall. A TV could be disguised with a painting, only emerging at the touch of a button or the wave of a hand. A smart speaker could be disguised with a colour-coordinated shade or cover that allows it to blend into the background.
Smart home devices are here to stay. There is no getting away from them. However, that can be good news for interior designers – there are innumerable ways to blur the line between high-tech and high-design. A little creativity and the choice of the right smart home products is all that is necessary.
We invite you to learn more about IoT technology and smart home devices at iZone.