Imagine this; as you return from work, the lights around your home switch on to guide you into your perfectly heated hallway with your favourite music greeting you and the kettle just on the boil. A thing of the future, a far-fetched scenario, surely?

Far from it. The smart home of the future has made its way into our lives without notice and is set to slowly but surely secure itself even further.

Take a minute to think about the gadgets and technology that have made changes to how we go about our daily lives already. Our smart TVs allow us to catch up on the guilty pleasures that we missed weeks ago, as well as connecting to our favourite streaming services. We’ve also become familiar with the initiatives from energy companies that allow us to control heating and hot water from our smartphones.

Already, the smart home has become far less of a scary, sci-fi invasion of privacy, and more of a time and cost-effective safe zone. A technical control centre is central to all of this and wirelessly connects all of the domestic appliances and control systems. Sensor activated appliances, from heating to security systems, are all individually controlled with smartphones or tablets.

Without realising it, we have stepped into a connected revolution. So, what’s next?

Smart homes are beginning to see the integration of innovations that provide solutions to problems that you may never have thought existed. The paper shopping list is being replaced with bins that generate shopping lists from barcodes, and cooking-management apps allow you to cook with ultimate precision, making burnt baking a thing of the past. Smart coffee machines can brew coffee on demand, to your selected strength. So, whether you need a gentle afternoon pick-me-up, or a stronger start to your morning, prompted by your Fitbit recording a bad night sleep, this technology is on hand to help.

The furniture industry is also set to see intelligent software reinvent the way we use technology within the home, eventually facilitating complete room management. Furniture technology is set to define the new flexible living environment. We are excited to introduce such innovations throughout the Ideas for Living product range, from our Loox lighting range, to sliding doors systems and cabinet organiser systems.

Studio Partner Locator