Having a smart home is more than letting Alexa do the chores. It’s about achieving balance and functionality of the design through order, aesthetics, and practicality. Smart home designs can improve the quality of life by saving space and creating comfortable settings. After all, a functional home can greatly improve a person’s well-being and mood. And before you start stressing out over floor plans, here are some tips on creating the ultimate smart environment in your home.
1. A truly smart home
Alexa, Google, and Siri don’t make your home smart. They are virtual assistants that do what you tell them at the moment, like turning off the lights. For a home to be truly smart, the devices need to anticipate the environment and adjust. This means that you can make your home “alive” so that it will know to do certain actions without you having to instruct it every time. If nobody is home, the lights can turn off automatically at a certain time, or if the temperature is below certain degrees the heating can start.
A real smart home is based on protocols like ZigBee and Z-wave. All devices connect through one Wi-Fi signal which can cause problems if you have too many of them. These protocols are intended to remedy that and extend the smart network even outside to the garden making it more reliable.
Although you can control devices from your phone, what truly makes a home smart is creating continuous actions. And that is what these protocols allow – certain events (getting dark) will trigger the action (lights on) without you having to give instructions via an app on your phone.
2. Put the tub in the bedroom
It may sound shocking, but the bathtub works well in the bedroom. Modern and new home designs bring a lot of innovations into space that will open your eyes to different perspectives. If you have a small bathroom but still like to soak in the warm bubble bath, then tub in the bedroom is a smart design choice.
You can distance the tub from the bed with visual solutions like using a short wall and tall tiles. Alternatively, you can try a minimalist design and group standalone bathtub with other elements in the bedroom and free up space.
3. Best flow with an open plan design
Open plan design is not only effective for interior, but it will allow you to connect your home with the outdoor space. Connect your living room with an outdoor entertaining area for undisturbed flow and expansion of space. Use glass doors that will create clean transitions from one space to another and practically make your home more versatile.
Additionally, you will get more natural light inside and an extra room for the guests, especially during the warmer months. Decorate the outdoor space to mimic the interior design so it would create one harmonious area you can use even during winter with roofing and adequate enclosures.
4. Separate a laundry room
It may seem like a splurge, but having a separate laundry room will improve the mood and energy in the home. Usually, people do the laundry in the basement, near the kitchen or bathroom by simply placing washer and dryer one on top of the other. However, that creates a lot of noise and humidity in these spaces if not properly designed.
Therefore, build a spot specifically for laundry with good ventilation and far away from the bedroom, playroom and living area. Add shelves to store detergents and other products out of reach of children and pets. This will eliminate the clatter and sounds of devices doing the laundry, but also lint, humidity and keep the air clean.
5. Combine dining room with a kitchen
Multifunctional rooms are an integral part of smart home designs. One of the most popular trends right now is to combine the dining room with the kitchen creating an open floor room. This way, you can cook and socialize at the same time without having to go in and out of the room leaving your guests unattended.
Especially beneficial for small homes, this type of floor plan eliminated the need for additional room. Not to mention that it’s going to make entertaining guests more interesting and no one will feel cut off from the crowd. Moreover, you can turn the kitchen island into a dining table and use the space underneath for storage. It will keep the especially small kitchen tidy and give enough room for food preparation and moving around.
Final thoughts
Smart home designs are intended to make living conditions more comfortable and visually enhanced. These tips will improve the quality of life by offering a practical and functional solution for everyday activities. Smart devices will help you create an environment more personalized to your habits while the organization of space will add more value to both interior and exterior design.
About the author: Nina is a lifestyle blogger, yoga aficionado and a travel enthusiast with a distinctive taste for home decor. She’s passionate about learning new things and sharing meaningful ideas. In her free time, she loves to design clothes and furniture. If you wanna see what she’s up to you can find her on twitter
