smart devices

Top 7 Smart Home Technologies That Are Easy To Add to Your Home in 2023

Smart homes are no longer a thing of the future – they are the present! And in 2023, smart home technology has become more advanced, user-friendly, and affordable. The best part- there are numerous devices and systems to choose from. But this also comes with a caveat- it can be challenging to know where to start. But don’t fret! As your friendly, knowledgeable interior design experts, we understand the challenges that homeowners face when upgrading their homes, and we want to help you make informed decisions about which smart home technologies will work best for your lifestyle and needs.

So, whether you’re a tech-savvy homeowner looking to streamline your home automation or a newbie to the world of smart home devices, we’ve got you covered. This blog post will explore the top seven smart home technologies that are easy to add to your home in 2023.

Smart Thermostats

One of the easiest ways to make your home smart is by installing a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats are designed to learn your temperature preferences and automatically adjust the temperature to your schedule, saving you energy and money.

What’s more, smart thermostats can be controlled remotely via a smartphone app, so you can adjust the temperature of your home from anywhere. You can also ask your smart thermostat for the weather, music, and more using the Alexa built-in feature. How cool is that?

Examples of smart thermostats include some of the best on the market, like the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Ecobee smart thermostat.

Smart Lighting

Smart lighting systems allow you to control your lights with your smartphone and voice commands. You also set a schedule and automate a timer as to when you want a certain type of light. You can change the color and brightness of your lights to create a customizable lighting scene. For example, you can sync smart lights with your TV, gaming, and music to elevate and set the right mood for the experience you want to have.

Something else smart light saves on energy bills. It also creates a healthier circadian rhythm. This means better memory, better sleep, and improved energy levels.

Examples of smart lighting systems include Philips Hue and LIFX.

Smart Plugs

Smart plugs are an easy and affordable way to make any appliance or device “smart.” Smart plugs allow you to control your devices remotely, so you can turn off your coffee maker or space heater from your smartphone. You can also use voice control to enjoy the hands-free convenience of turning on and off any home electronic device with your voice via Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

You can also set your smart plugs on a schedule so your devices turn on and off at specific times. Examples of smart plugs include the TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug and the Amazon Smart Plug.

Smart Locks

Smart locks allow you to lock and unlock your doors remotely, provide temporary access to guests, and receive alerts when someone enters your home. They are an excellent security feature and can give you peace of mind when you’re away from home.

With smart locks, you never have to leave your keys under the doormat again. Sharing codes is the new hide-a-key. You also don’t have to second guess if you locked the door when you go to bed at night. Examples of smart locks include the August Smart Lock and the Yale Assure Lock.

Smart Security Cameras

Smart security cameras can be accessed from your smartphone and can send alerts when motion is detected. They are also equipped with night vision and two-way audio, so you can communicate with anyone in your home.

Smart security cameras are an easy way to enhance your home’s security and provide additional peace of mind. Examples of smart security cameras include the Arlo Pro 4 and the Ring Stick Up Cam.

Smart Speakers

Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo or Google Home, allow you to control your smart home devices with your voice. They are an excellent addition to any smart home and can make everyday tasks much more manageable. For example, you never have to manually search and play music or get your phone every time you need to do a quick search online. Smart speakers will do all that for you. They’ll play music and get you the information you need from the internet. How convenient is that?

Also, if you love a vibrant, room-filling sound, smart speakers will fill the gap for you. They are designed with DSP technology, which will ensure you enjoy amplified music without distortion.

Examples of smart speakers include the Amazon Echo Dot and the Sony Speaker.

Smart Blinds/Shade

Smart blinds and shades can be controlled with a smartphone app or voice commands, allowing you to conveniently adjust the amount of light and privacy in your home. You can therefore use them to enhance your home’s ambiance and increase your privacy. There are several types of smart shades to serve everyone’s needs. We have motorized, cordless, doulite, retractable, and continuous cord loops.

What’s more, smart blinds and shades are quite easy to install. They can also help save on energy bills and add a touch of luxury and style to your home.

An example of smart blinds and shades include the Switchbot Curtain Opener.

Use Smart Home Technology in Your Home

In 2023, aim to add smart home devices like or google home hub to your home. Smart home technologies are affordable, easy to install, and will make your life much more comfortable. From smart thermostats to smart blinds, there is a device for every home and lifestyle. Again, by investing in smart home technology, you can save on energy costs, enhance your home’s security, and increase your comfort level.

If you would like an expert to help you choose and design your home, we can help you. We have the expertise needed to help you make your home look and feel like a smart home.

Contact our friendly team today to learn more about our services and how we can be of help.

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Aspects of Co-living Design

Many people today are choosing co-living. It’s a trend among millennials. There are many designs of co-living. One familiar one is the college dorm. Your personal space is limited to a room (or sometimes half a room), but in return you have access to a recreation lounge, a dining hall where all the cooking is done for you, and bathrooms that you don’t have to clean yourself. Many students disliked sharing a room, however (especially when it was with a stranger), and moved into student condos. Student condos often have four single bedrooms and a shared living room, kitchen, and bathroom. There is often a gym, a grill area, and a pool shared by the whole condo complex. This model has proved to be more appealing than the dorms.

Co-living actually has a long history – from Victorian boarding houses to the communes of the 1960s, In Israel, for instance, there has long been a long tradition of co-living on kibbutzim and co-working them as well, typically on a farm. There are some differences with the current trend of millennial co-living. They tend to live in urban areas, unlike the kibbutzim and communes that tend to be in rural agricultural areas.

Some co-living communities are more intentional than others. A cult would be the highest level of intentional living where everyone shares ideals, rules, perhaps even uniforms. Dorms are intentional to the degree that the residents are all students at the same college. A step up in intention from there is a student co-op with daily or weekly shared meals and a chore wheel. There are more of these than you might think. The North American Student Cooperative Organization (NASCO) is particularly big in the West (Austin, Lawrence) and in the Midwest (Madison, Urbana, Chicago).

Millennials may opt for co-living which is not intentional, but let us look at the intentional communities as they may be less familiar than condos and dorms. Most intentional communities affiliate with the Federation of Intentional Communities (FIC) which divides them into six types: student housing, religious community, communes, ecovillages, shared housing, and cohousing. We have already considered student housing. We will consider communes and religious communities together.

Communes

There are some old-style communes still surviving, typically due to a cottage industry. Ganas in Staten Island, runs vintage clothing, furniture restoration, and bookstore cafe businesses. Twin Oaks provides hammocks to Pier One, farms and produces tofu and heirloom seeds, and indexes books. Very few communes continue to share all possessions; often there is a hybrid model with a core group. Some rule by consensus. Some have a guru. Some have a guiding philosophy such as feedback learning at Ganas. The commune is a religious community if the philosophy is spiritual. They may have stricter rules or not. Some non-religious communities have strict rules, as well, such as vegetarianism.

Ecovillages

If you thought communes would be the most radical intentional communities, you thought wrong. Some, like Camp Hill, which cares for persons with disabilities, are quite “straight.” I have heard rumors of dorms, but in all the communes I have visited, everyone had their own rooms. (There was one with a communal clothing closet.) Ecovillages can be more demanding. They may be off the grid. They may be in a developing country. Members may eat mainly beans and rice. Then again, they may have to eat meat that they raised and slaughtered themselves. Housing may be in huts. There is typically little privacy. Generally, the ecovillage is remote.

Shared Housing

This is the intentional community type most likely to appear to those millennials interested in co-housing. It is also the category that can take on the most diverse forms. What makes it intentional is not the number of bathrooms or whether everyone ships in on a weekly community-supported agriculture (CSA) delivery. It is what the residents share. Perhaps this is a house for people from a certain home culture foreign to the host country. It could be a house full of Laker fans. Any unifying attribute (it doesn’t have to be a guiding philosophy) will do. The FIC divides them according to governance, economics, energy sources, food sources, education, and some lifestyle preferences.

Cohousing

This is probably the most mainstream type of intentional community. In many cases, the members are affiliated mainly for the economic benefit of pooling resources to purchase real estate. They may share little more than a riding lawnmower. On the other hand, it may be something more interesting. There is a community near Taos, New Mexico where the residents have all built their own earthships – houses made from old tires, glass bottles, and other recycled materials.

People are surprised to learn that all these models of intentional community are thriving with people of all ages. Some stay for years on waiting lists for the more established communes. Intentional living is not the only co-living model. With this trend in popularity among the millennials, we can expect many creative new designs to emerge. Contact us to learn more.

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Incorporating Smart Devices in Co-living Design

Co-living is among the most practical, economic, and friendly ways to live. Private bedrooms and shared public spaces provide for more efficient use of the space and amenities. The better the shared features of a co-living house, the more everyone enjoys their residence. Today, one of the best ways to upgrade a co-living house is to add smart devices and an integrated smart control system.

Smart devices are responsive and intuitive. They make the entire house more accessible to every member of the co-living household. Even personalization becomes possible when the smart home recognizes each person as they occupy the house.

Let’s dive into what is possible when incorporating smart devices in co-living.

Smart Lock and Individual Codes

When it comes to shared spaces, smart locks are an excellent upgrade. A keypad smart lock can have a different access code assigned to each member of the household. As co-living roommates come and go, codes can be generated or deleted. In fact, you can even activate codes during certain days and times – like the scheduled arrival of your cleaning service or a temporary gate code for a delivery.

Smart Check-In and Video Doorbells

Doorbells and check-in also play a key role. In co-living, who is inside the house can matter. A quick check-in app or tablet in the entryway can let other residents know who comes and goes.

Video doorbells are a great way to keep track of guests, share greetings, and even let in expected guests via the smart lock without personally answering the door. A video doorbell can also serve as a porch security system with basic features like alarms and security alerts connected to the program.

Smart Thermostat with Comfort Tracking

A smart thermostat can help coordinate comfort and affordable utilities for the entire co-living household. When no one is home, the smart home can optimize the HVAC to use the minimum amount of power. As residents return home, the thermostat can balance their comfort level to the perfect indoor temperature. Multi-zone smart thermostats allow for personalized temperatures in every part of the house.

Shared Control Tablet or Panel

Each co-living resident will be able to download the smart apps on their personal devices and log into the household account. However, many co-living homes will prefer a centralized tablet mounted to the wall or propped on the coffee table to share mutual easy control of the smart home. A central tablet may soon become the hallmark of shared spaces just as it has reached prevalence in hospitality industries.

Smart Parking and Garage Door

For co-living with a parking area, smart parking devices are essential. Garage door and gate openers, in particular, can respond to the approach of a resident’s phone to open only for authorized vehicles. Likewise, a quick app tap could easily replace the tedium of passing out gate openers. Even smart lighting can be used to easily indicate which parking spot each arriving resident should take.

Smart Lights and Voice Commands

Speaking of smart lights, this is often where most smart homes get started – and get personal. Smart lights are LED bulbs that screw into normal light sockets. However, they can achieve any color in additiont to illuminating white light and take voice commands in addition to light switches.

Smart lights can bring mood lights to the living room, personalized lighting to each bedroom, and custom lights in the kitchen. The key to enjoying smart lights is to build ‘groups’ by room, then build voice commands to control each light as the co-living residents enjoy most.

Smart House Decorations

Smart homes have become so advanced that even decorations can respond to voice commands. Light panels hung on walls and smart sculptures can change colors, glow in set patterns, pulse to music, and respond to smart routines to change the mood from room to room. Smart decorations are bringing the smart home experience to life in every corner of the home.

Announcements and Drop-Ins

Another great element of smart homes for co-living is the inner-house communication system. An array of smart home speakers listening for voice commands can also act as an intercom. Residents can make house-wide announcements or ‘drop in’ on another area of the house for an across-the-house chat.

Personalized Routines

Last but not least, routines can be what personalizes a co-living home for each individual resident and for the residents as a group. You can set up a routine – a set of commands executed with a single voice command – for anything. A “morning” routine might slowly sunrise the lights and start the smart coffee pot brewing. A “Night Security” routine might lock all the doors and set the doorbell to security mode.

Smart devices have great potential in co-living because they increase and personalize the value of shared amenities. When the home itself responds to the individual and group needs of a shared living household, it provides a better experience for everyone. Contact us today to explore smart home upgrades for your co-living space.