Guest Blogger: Desiging your Home with High-Tech Innovation

Guest Blogger #269, Entry #780, November 24, 2011

A hundred years ago, films were just becoming popular and the idea of watching moving pictures in one’s own home was as foreign as the concept of electric washing machines and refrigerators.  And only in the last thirty years have computers become a staple in every home.  If our ancestors were to walk into a modern household, they might be rendered speechless by the sheer number of electronic devices that we rely on daily.  And yet, if you haven’t considered the many ways in which home design can be computerized and even controlled remotely, you are most certainly behind the times yourself.  High-tech homes are the next major frontier in our highly mechanized existence, and already there have been massive advances made.

Home technology has come a long way!

Image via: Apartment Therapy

Connecting your high-tech home

Did you know, for example, that it is now possible to connect all (yes, all) of the electronics in your home to a computerized system, and that further, you can use a remote or even a smart phone to run these systems?  If you are partial to the Syfy channel then you may be thinking about the show Eureka, in which the main character, Sherriff Jack Carter, lives in a house managed by a computer named Sarah that controls everything from temperature and humidity to illumination to the opacity of glass walls.  And she makes a mean cup of coffee, to boot.  Believe it or not, this type of house is no longer relegated to the realm of science fiction.

Automated home ideas

Your computer can now be linked to more than just your printer or your speaker system.  In fact, it could be used to set timers on your lights, schedule temperature changes (to warm or cool the house before you arrive), turn the burglar alarm on and off, and of course, control gadgetry like stereos, televisions, and DVRs.  And if you forget to turn off the TV or the coffeemaker before you leave the house, no problem.  You can tap into your system with a passcode and do it remotely.  In fact, the concept of a smart home is one that revolves around total remote (and computerized) control of virtually every electronic device in your home.

Of course, it helps if you build a house with a broad system in mind, since punching holes in the walls to install the many cables that will make your computer the nerve center of your home is probably less than appealing.  But there are now companies that contract out to offer exactly these services, whether your home is currently nothing more than a foundation and framework or the structure has been standing for years.

Home technology can be hidden beautifully

Image via: Architectural Digest

Although not everyone is keen to have a computer-operated home, even if they technically have control of it (movies like Blade Runner, The Matrix, and AI: Artificial Intelligence have taught some of us caution when it comes to relying too heavily on computers), there are still plenty of reasons to include technology in your home.  If you work from home, for example, having adequate computing power is essential (although you don’t necessarily need to outfit your place like corporate data center facilities in order to operate a home-based business).  And ample storage via cloud services couldn’t hurt, either (it’s better than installing servers in your basement).  While you’re at it, you may consider some of the high-tech options out there for managing your home, but you’re probably better off waiting until you get into a newer structure to create the smart house that future generations will see as commonplace.

For more home ideas on Stagetecture, click here.