Interior designers create efficient, practical, and aesthetically pleasing places for their clients. As technology evolves, so do customer expectations. The average client today is aware of the technological advancements in the industry, which drives their expectations.
These customers browse through the Internet for information and seek professional guidance on making their houses smart. That explains why the number of smart homes has been on the rise.
As an interior designer, you must understand the impact of smart technology on the industry. More importantly, you need to learn how to use these innovative gadgets to add value to your clients to get a competitive advantage in today’s market.
This article will look at intelligent interior design trends and the various strategies for incorporating intelligent devices into your interior design projects.
3 Smart Home Trends That Are Changing Interior Design
The following are some smart home gadgets and how they are changing the interior industry.
Intelligent Curtains
Natural lighting plays an essential role in our lives. For instance, natural light can improve vitamin D in our bodies and help fight depression.
However, getting up to pull the curtains so light can come in can become a stressful chore. With smart curtains, your clients would not have to pull the curtains anymore.
Smart curtains are just regular curtains that people can control using smart devices like their phones or laptop. These curtains allow your clients to enjoy the beauty of curtains with the extra convenience of adjusting them without touching the curtains.
So, where can you use intelligent curtains?
Bathroom
If you have a smart bathroom with a modern design, intelligent curtains might complement the atmosphere and make things easier. This is even more important for people with freestanding bathtubs.
Unlike other bathtubs, freestanding tubs can sit almost anywhere in the bathroom. If you have classic types like the clawfoot tub, you will want to place them somewhere where they are the bathroom’s focal point.
You want people checking your bathroom to see the bespoke tub and its unique clawfoot design. However, that might mean placing them at a distance from the window such that you have to leave the clawfoot tub every time you need to adjust the curtains.
With an intelligent curtain, your client can soak up in their clawfoot bathtub directly opposite a window without worries. As the client enjoys their bath time in the bathtub, they can either choose to open or close the curtain without having to stand up.
Bedroom
Another place where smart curtains work well is the bedroom. With smart curtains, your clients no longer have to worry about opening or closing the curtains.
Smart curtains can follow the sunrise and sunset periods to wake your clients in the morning gently. It can also assist in creating an isolated environment for sleep in the evening.
On days when the client is on holiday or unwilling to leave their bed, they can set their smart curtains not to open until they wish to.
Living Room
In the living room, intelligent curtains can help improve the privacy and security of your clients’ houses. These curtains have a presence simulation option that opens and closes curtains at random times when no one is home.
This simulation creates an impression that someone is inside. Therefore, outsiders and thieves cannot tell when your clients are at home or on vacation.
Human-Centered Lighting Systems
We have already stressed the importance of lighting in any home. However, it’s not all the time that people can have access to natural light. In some cases, people have to rely on artificial lighting to augment natural lighting.
The following are some areas of the home where intelligent lighting might work best:
Library or Working Area
Weak and warm lighting makes a location appear quieter. As a result, people might feel safer and more comfortable in such areas. Blue light might also provide extra energy and help people focus on work.
When you use smart lighting in the work area of your client, you give them direct control over the lighting. Smart lighting allows your client to change all their light characteristics, including intensity, color, and many more. That way, they can make the best out of the light.
Bedroom
Smart lighting employs pre-programmed schedules and user behaviors and activities to create the desired environment. Your clients can set the lights on and off when they want and from wherever.
Also, the system can learn from the clients and switch itself on or off independently. More so, smart bulbs can also help them save costs as they last longer and are more energy-efficient.
Smart Audio Systems
Music is essential for establishing the perfect environment. However, integrating audio systems into interior design projects may be difficult.
With smart audio systems, your clients can easily enjoy high-quality music by using custom-designed speakers that fit their décor. These systems have no restrictions on how you can use them. But let’s see some places where they work well and make life easier.
Bathroom
The bathroom is one of those places where music is essential. With intelligent sound systems, your clients can soak in their clawfoot tubs while listening to their favorite music. The entire system is set up and operated through a single user interface.
The system also removes the need for them to leave the tub to change songs. Clients can easily switch to the next song or pick something different without leaving the tub.
Intelligent audio systems can also learn their preferences and suggest what they should listen to when it’s time to bathe.
Kitchen
Music enthusiasts will tell you good music adds flavor to food. But bringing your music to the kitchen can be dangerous. Your phone is not safe near kitchen fires, and wires are not a good idea in the kitchen.
However, your clients can easily control their music in the kitchen using their voices with an intelligent sound system. You do not need any wires or to bring your phone. Simply tell the system what you want, and it will play it.
Conclusion
Smart home technology is changing things in the interior décor industry, and it is easy to see why. These gadgets make everyday life easier for people, providing comfort and convenience without leaving out luxury, which is the essence of interior design.
Therefore, as a designer who wants to have an edge in today’s world, you must keep yourself informed about these new technology advancements.