Author Archives: Rebecca

Smart money is on the homes of the future!

biometrics

If youÔÇÖre thinking about buying or renovating your dream home, you might want to wait a few years ÔÇô as the technology enabling your property to make all your decisions for you could be on its way!

Future technology could take decisions about what to eat, what music to listen to and even whether to turn up the heating out of homeowners’ hands, instead using habit recognition to make independent choices for them – and saving them money!

According to home technology experts Finite Solutions, homes of the future will revolutionise the way we live, programming our living habits for the good of our wellbeing – and our bank balances. Smart gadgets will make decisions without ‘user intervention’ (that’s human thought to you and me!), with typical family homes connected by 500 devices!

Finite Solutions director Simon Mathieson believes that in just seven yearsÔÇÖ time, small wrist devices to be worn around the home will ÔÇÿpairÔÇÖ themselves to a┬ápersonÔÇÖs heartbeat, enabling it to automatically adjust the lighting and room temperature and even play music based on pre-programmed choices.

ÔÇ£According to world leading IT research company, Gartner, a wide range of domestic appliances will become smart in the sense of intelligent sensing with the ability to communicate and control the environment wirelessly,ÔÇØ said Mr Mathieson. ÔÇ£There will be no passwords; the future will be at biometric authentication with a strong protocol behind it.

showerÔÇ£Using biometrics, the smart home of the future will decide on when to wake you up based on your schedule and sleep quality, and offer what to eat to promote a healthier diet. Sensors in the house will use fingerprints, body temperatures and heartbeat rhythms to differentiate between the family members and adapt to their preferences automatically, for example, adjusting the water temperature in the shower, adjusting the lighting and playing custom music to a personÔÇÖs liking.ÔÇØ

Already, beds are available with integrated monitoring technology capable of telling you how long you slept, how much you moved, the depth of your sleep and your heart rate. This is to be replicated in the bathroom, with showers recognizing body mass and automatically switching to your favourite temperature, whilst a new Japanese invention under development is a toilet that can assess your waste, alerting you when thereÔÇÖs a problem and even book a doctorÔÇÖs appointment!

Mr Mathieson said: One of the biggest benefits of a smart home is the energy saving technologies available. The typical future house will rely on self-generated electricity and intelligently go off-grid when necessary to self-sustain. Lutron is one of the forthcoming companies offering smart lighting solutions and Nest has been one of the dominating companies in the smart home industry with its smart thermostat.

ÔÇ£For the garden, the GreenIQ Smart Hub can be controlled through WiFi devices and can control your watering schedule, sprinklers, and outdoor lighting through a couple of buttons. It can actively respond to changing weather conditions in your local area over a period of time, monitoring the nearest weather station and responding accordingly.

ÔÇ£Ultimately, technology can be extremely practical and when used to its full potential becomes vastly more cost effective and beneficial to almost all family needs.ÔÇØ

Award winners Finite is one of the UKÔÇÖs biggest custom installation firms and last year launched the countryÔÇÖs most technologically advanced, ┬ú1m show home, allowing property developers, architects, designers and their clients to road test high-tech, digital equipment.

The benefits of a flatpack kitchen

flatpack-kitchenWhen it comes to buying a new kitchen, to what extent are you prepared to do it yourself? If you’re weighing up the pros and cons of a rigid kitchen v a flatpack kitchen, the latter might be an easier option than you think!

There are many myths around flatpack kitchens, such as them being of a lesser quality than pre-assembled kitchens and not giving the professional finish you expect. But these misconceptions just aren’t true, and buying a flatpack kitchen can be a fabulous way of getting the bespoke kitchen you want at a price you can afford!

A recent blog post from our sister company Flatpack Kitchens listed some of the benefits of buying a flatpack kitchen. You can read the whole post here or take a look at our synopsis, which sorts out the flatpack facts from the kitchen fiction!

The benefits of a flatpack kitchen include:

  • A cheaper price tag, which means you get more for your money
  • The same quality as rigid kitchens. ItÔÇÖs the material they are made from that counts, not how they are delivered
  • Easier storage until you’re ready to install your new kitchen
  • Easier to fit around pipework and other features
  • With many kitchen retailers, you will be able change your order after it’s been processed. You’re less likely to be able to with a bespoke kitchen

flatpack-kitchenWhen installing your new flatpack kitchen, read the manufacturer’s instructions thoroughly, even if you’re an experienced fitter. Kitchen technology and materials are changing all the time, and the fittings might contain some quirks you haven’t seen before!

Even if you don’t consider yourself up to the task of fitting a new kitchen, flatpack cabinets are not to be discounted. You can buy a flatpack kitchen anyway and use the savings you make to pay a professional to do the job for you!

Replacement Kitchen Doors

Don’t forget that once you’ve got the cabinets in place head over to get new doors – there are a huge selection of replacement kitchen doors available to buy to finish your renovation programme.┬á

decorating-disagreements

Families divide over decorating disagreements!

decorating-disagreementsDecorating your home is one of the most stressful tasks you can do as a family and a huge cause of arguments, according to new research!

Nearly nine of out 10 people have fallen out with relatives about redecorating and refurbishing. Money is the main reason behind arguments, whilst more than half of those quizzed have rowed about colour schemes and textiles. And another area of contention is whether or not to bring in the experts, with ÔÇô perhaps surprisingly – more men wanting to pay a professional than their wives and girlfriends!

Interiors online retailer Furniture123.co.uk surveyed 1,000 Brits on their family home improvement feuds and found that:

  • Finances are the biggest cause of decorating disagreements, with 69% of respondents admitting to rows about money. One in three disagree over how much to spend, whilst one in 10 canÔÇÖt agree about who pays for what
  • More than half (54%) of those surveyed have fallen out about colour schemes, wood finishes, textures or fabrics
  • The third most common squabble involves whether or not to bring in professional decorating services. One in three families disagree about it, with women proving more in favour of a spot of DIY than men. More than two thirds of women (67%) are prepared to roll up their sleeves and do the job themselves, compared to 44% of their husbands and partners

diy-bathroomOther hotly debated topics include where to put personal possessions, trinkets and family photos, and what to use rooms for, such as a study, ÔÇÿman caveÔÇÖ or cinema room.

Furniture123 marketing manager Mark Kelly said: ÔÇ£The research has uncovered some interesting findings surrounding differences in opinion when re-decorating the home, such as the costs incurred or which colour scheme to go for.

ÔÇ£A family can be made up of many different personalities, so naturally people are going to have different tastes, but itÔÇÖs important to have a bit of everybody in the home you live in. Anyone looking to re-decorate their home should take time when making decisions, perhaps creating a mood board of ideas that all of the family has fed in to.ÔÇØ