What makes a room seem smart?

Many people think that a smart room requires all the latest gadgets and everything connected. While this may be partially true, no matter how many devices you add it will not look smart unless it has a sleek clean and uncluttered look. It also requires designers to carefully place tackier devices so that they are out of view.

This is often where a lot of people go wrong. One thing that I like to do when coming up with a theme is going to a store like IKEA. They have demos utilizing some of the latest furniture. The only problem is if you were to take one of there demos and put it into an ordinary home it could easily become busy and cluttered. Storage is key. 

Another critical thing is device choices. Some devices look a lot sleeker than others. Just look at an average TV from 2010 compared to the flagship models now. It's easy to see how much of a difference it can make. The problem with this is that tech is changing rapidly and will definitely look outdated after a number of years.

Finally, things should work automatically. An interesting website and app I recently learned about was IFTTT. This stands for "if this then that" which essentially means that if you do something it will cause something else to happen. They created a method for this without even requiring you know how to code. Depending on your design you can have it start the rice cooker when you arrive home from work. The possibilities are endless. PCmagazine has a lot of information on this here.

If you are interested in automating your home and getting better sleep check out my last post on automating your bedroom.