Modern Living: 7 Hot New Home Innovations

Forget robot butlers, flying cars and nuclear microwaves: We have seen the home of the future, and it looks surprisingly like the one you inhabit today. Thank a number of practical new innovations in a number of fields from TV technology to bedding and kitchen appliances, which are fundamentally transforming the way we live and play. Designed to emphasize convenience and function, an ever-growing wave of utility-focused gadgets and advancements increasingly promises to put a forward-thinking spin on familiar household artifacts and practices while making everyday experiences more enjoyable and streamlined. Looking to make the daily grind simpler and more convenient, or give the old homestead a modernized touch? Try grabbing one of the below 21st century upgrades, less apt to catch the neighbors’ attention than an 80-inch screen, but far likelier to improve your mood on a running basis.

Wink

Case in point: Home automation — the ability to control lights, thermostats, audiovisual elements and other common household artifacts and appliances on-demand using an array of devices and/or voice or gesture controls — is becoming an increasingly affordable and intuitive option. To see this principle in motion, check out Wink’s line of GE Link connected LED light bulbs, which you can turn off and on, dim, set hues on, or otherwise operate from just about anywhere using your smartphone. (And be grateful you’ll never have to get out of bed to turn down the lights for an evening read again.) If you’re interested in home security, you might also have a look at Samsung’s remote-locking, light switch-flicking and home monitoring SmartThings solution for some simple, practical illustrations of this technology’s benefits as well. Likewise, the ecobee3 intelligent thermostat (which can learn your schedule, preferences, and otherwise manage energy usage) also makes a strong case for 21st century thinking.

Casper

Need a new bed? Picture rolling up in your driveway after a long day of work to find one ready and waiting on your doorstep (and free of drowsy neighbors, dust and dirt at that). Allowing you to order high-end memory-foam mattresses that show up in a box and unroll ready to go in seconds, this innovative new startup puts a premium on painless purchasing and delivery. While the company says that all items have further been physically custom-engineered to offer a better night’s sleep, you’ll sleep better just knowing you won’t have wrestle with movers or overzealous department store salesmen.

Roku 4

Shh, don’t tell… While it may look like a small, innocuous black box, this hugely popular media extender secretly contains a world of entertainment, letting you wirelessly beam down thousands of films, TV shows and interactive apps on-demand. From online video services (Netflix, Hulu, HBO NOW) to streaming music solutions (Spotify, Pandora, etc.), it puts a wealth of digital diversions just a click of the remote away. Between ultra-high-definition 4KTV video, voice controls, automatic picture upscaling (to deliver the best possible visuals on your TV) and (hallelujah!) tracking features for lost remotes, expect it to be a popular living room draw. A number of new televisions (e.g. the new 4K TCL Roku TV series, available in 43- to 65-inch models) also include the technology already built-in for convenience’s sake should you prefer a self-contained solution.

Sonos Play: 1, Play: 3, Play: 5

Offering the ability to wirelessly beam music throughout your home, and play different songs in different rooms, Sonos’ app-controlled solutions – which include amplifiers, high-impact speakers, and room-shaking subwoofers – allow you to add a colorful soundtrack to any abode. Designed for ease of use and setup, they often come at a premium, but unlike many solutions targeted strictly at high-end audiophiles, allow everyday listeners to take greater control over acoustics, and send tracks bouncing from the shower to den with minimal effort. Chain them together, and you can entertain guests with the latest dance tracks while simultaneously soothing the kids to sleep with gentle indie rock tracks form streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music and Pandora at the same time.

Roomba 980

Tired of cleaning? Kick back and let this futuristic robot vacuum cleaner do the work for you. While we’ve seen these types of gadgets – which can effectively roam from room to room sucking up debris without you having to lift a finger – before, what separates this one from the pack is its artificial intelligence. Program the device to automatically clean at preset times or let it rip at will, and it can easily navigate an entire floor of your house, navigating around furniture (sometimes more successfully than others) to get all those hard-to-reach spots. Got kids? It’s even smart enough to know when it’s on carpets and given them an extra good once-over.

Award-winning professional speaker Scott Steinberg is among today’s best-known trends experts and futurists, and the author of Make Change Work for You: 10 Ways to Future-Proof Yourself, Fearlessly Innovate, and Succeed Despite Uncertainty. His website is www.AKeynoteSpeaker.com.