Don’t mess up your richly colored Chesterfield sofa or first edition bookcase just because you don’t have the time. Automatic shades, like Serena’s wooden blinds, can be programmed to go up when you wake up or go down before bed. But more importantly, it has the ability to automatically adjust the position of the slats based on the position of the sun in the sky. And with manufacturers now offering hundreds of styles and materials to choose from, you don’t have to settle for a circa-2005 corporate office look.
“Automated window treatments allow you to set an automatic schedule for opening and closing your window treatments, saving you time in your morning and evening routine,” says LaBoda, “and you don’t have to sacrifice functionality for aesthetic appeal.”
4. Smart light bulbs
Taking the smart outlet idea and running with it, smart light bulbs like WiZ have on/off functionality and can be easily integrated with regular smart home hubs, as well as adjust warmth or coolness, color You can also change it or save power. It’s a way to beat the winter blues and set mood lighting in a room much faster than lighting the fireplace and hanging a bright red scarf on the lampshade.
“These light bulbs are inexpensive, practical, and actually a lot of fun,” says Jennifer Levy, a Manhattan-based interior designer and founder of CAVdesign. “You can also change the color temperature to mimic the perfect winter daylight, set to wake up to a virtual ‘sunrise,’ and create ambiance with the look of your fireplace.” I use it in my home office and guest room, but I’d like to try it in my kids’ rooms as a night light and as a way to set the mood for pretend play. ”
5. Smart thermostat
Some devices are meant to save time and It costs money. In the winter, you’ll probably spend more on both your heating and cooling just to keep your house warm. In the summer, the same goes for keeping it cool. In the old days, you had to run to the basement to adjust the heater or move the air conditioner from window to window to get it to the right temperature for everyone to be comfortable.
Self-adjusting thermostats, like the Nest Learning Thermostat, eliminate the hassle of manually adjusting temperatures and are compatible with major smart hubs like Alexa Amazon and, of course, Google Nest. But it’s also self-adjusting, so you don’t have to run to turn up the heat every time a cold draft blows through and rattles your windows.
“These products have been around for a while, and one of their characteristics is that they ‘learn’ the user’s behavioral patterns and create settings based on that,” Levy says. “Another great feature of Nest that I personally use is the ability to monitor the temperature of his Airbnb home in upstate New York and adjust the temperature in the app before guests arrive.”
6. Self-leveling laser level
We don’t blame you if you’re starting to get the impression that smart devices are starting to dominate the home time-saving device space. The voice-activated Smart He Hub has clearly become a force to be reckoned with. But designers like LaBoda rely on older but cutting-edge technology, such as self-leveling laser levels. This introduced a degree of quick and easy accuracy that previous generations could only dream of. Accuracy of 1/8 inch at 30 feet (and range of up to 165 feet) can be achieved without much effort. (A common standard for tolerance in architecture is 1/4 inch for every 8 feet.) In other words, using one of these will reduce the need to rehang the painting from scratch. Unstable tape measure measurements and eye estimates.
“Laser levels save time on design projects by providing quick and accurate horizontal and vertical reference lines and are useful for a variety of tasks from hanging art to installing wall panels,” Laboda says.
7. Color matching app and sensor
Painting a room in a new home is a lot of fun. What’s not fun is spending hours poring over color swatches to see if your kid’s room looks the delicious mint green you were hoping for, and not day-old pea soup? Color-matching apps have come a long way to more accurately match and represent the actual color you have on your walls. Some of these apps do this using color sensors, like the Nix Mini 3. The Nix Mini 3 has built-in references for hundreds of thousands of brand-name paint colors, and it never requires calibration.
“The Color Matching app is a convenient way to quickly match color samples to the closest brand of paint on the market, reducing the need to endlessly flip through paint fan decks or spend money on unnecessary paint samples.” It’s a tool,” Laboda said.
Still, since you’re the one living in the space, it’s a good idea to double-check the results of your color-matching app with an old-fashioned eye. “No matter how great the tools are, I’m a proponent of getting samples and checking them in your own space,” Levy says.
8. Augmented reality goggles
Augmented reality has always been a promising way to blend virtual environments and physical reality. If you think about it, this is basically what architects and interior designers (not to mention ambitious homeowners) do. Yet people still tend to ignore the potential of AR and virtual reality, dismissing them as multi-thousand dollar gaming gadgets. But newer models like the Apple Vision Pro are so technologically advanced that experts like Levy can imagine them becoming tools of the trade.
“Apple Vision Pro is a game changer and has huge potential,” she says. “Imagine being able to rearrange your virtual living room, repositioning furniture to change the feel of the space, or experiment with a complete makeover with new furniture, wall colors, and lighting.”
9. Variable Speed Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps
One of the first things you learn as a new homeowner is that it’s not always easy to keep your home at a comfortable temperature, and you’ll spend much more time than you expected trying to maintain a temperature that’s comfortable for your baby to sleep in. I mean, it’s not uncommon. High temperature enough to keep elderly family members warm. Variable speed air conditioners and heat pumps eliminate the guesswork and running from control to control. HGTV’s kitchen cousins Host Anthony Carrino, also a spokesperson for Trane Heating & Air Conditioning, likes the company’s XV20i variable-speed air conditioner and XV20i TruComfort variable-speed heat pump.