Smart home design for the future – practical and stylish innovations

As technology advances, the way in which we design our living spaces evolves. A smart home isn’t just about convenience; rather, it’s about efficiency, sustainability and future-proofing. Whether you’re building a new home from scratch or upgrading an already-existing spot, integrating smart innovations can enhance your comfort levels, boost security and add energy efficiency while still maintaining a stylish aesthetic.

Integrating smart solutions seamlessly

There was a time when adding smart tech would – in some people’s eyes at least – spoil the look of a beautifully designed home. Today, it’s simple to integrate voice-activated home assistants, automated lighting and smart thermostats into a sleek interior without disrupting the overall appearance of a place.

One of the simplest upgrades to include is a smart lighting system, allowing you to adjust brightness and colour temperature to match the time of day or to fit your mood. Such systems can also be controlled remotely, usually by an app, helping to reduce overall energy consumption.

For a fully-connected home, smart security solutions – which include app-controlled doorbells, motion sensors and automated locks – provide both convenience and peace of mind. In many cases, these systems integrate seamlessly with other smart features, such as the aforementioned doorbells, which can be answered and monitored – even remotely – via a home assistant. Such an efficient and cohesive setup can make life much easier.

Sustainable innovations for energy-efficient living

Sustainability is a core focus in modern home design, often to the point of affecting planning decisions, and smart technology can play a definitive role in reducing energy waste. Solar-powered smart systems are gaining popularity, enabling homeowners to generate renewable energy while controlling their own consumption.

Smart thermostats, for instance, learn your schedule and adjust heating or cooling accordingly, optimising energy use without affecting comfort. Automated irrigation controllers can also adjust watering schedules based on weather conditions, ensuring that gardens stay green without wasting water. Inside the home, smart showers and taps can perform a similar role.

Planning for external and infrastructure changes

A home designed with the future in mind should also consider how external factors may evolve. As urban areas expand, changes in local infrastructure can influence property values and accessibility. The need for advice from experts such as traffic engineering or urban planning consultants may seem inconvenient but can benefit you in the long run. Keeping these considerations in mind when designing or purchasing a home can help with long-term property value and your own convenience.

Future-proofing your home

As tech advances, it’s a good idea for homeowners to prioritise adaptable and upgradeable smart systems. Wireless solutions, modular automation platforms and voice-controlled home systems allow for tweaks to the structure without requiring extensive rewiring or changes to the look of the home.

Additionally, designing flexible living spaces in the home – including rooms that can transition from one use to another like a hybrid home office/guest bedroom – ensures that the home remains functional as life changes around you. Choosing high-quality materials that are future-ready also makes a difference, reducing the need for constant renovations.

In some ways, smart home design is about gadgets. In others, it’s about so much more, as you seek to create a space that’s efficient, sustainable and adaptable. By mindfully incorporating smart innovations, your home can stay ahead of the curve and maintain your convenience, security and sustainability in a world where things can change in a heartbeat.

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Smart home, smarter life: The must-have Apple apps for your household in 2025

The year is 2025, and the landscape of our homes is more connected than ever before. Apple devices, with their seamless integration and powerful ecosystem, have become the central hub for managing our daily lives. From controlling lighting with a voice command to optimising grocery lists with AI predictions, the right apps can transform the way we operate our households. Forget clunky interfaces and disconnected systems; in 2025, it’s all about a streamlined, intuitive experience. Here’s a look at some of the up-and-coming, must-have Apple apps for your household.

The core connectors

HomeKit enhanced (Apple): While not technically an app, HomeKit has evolved into a robust, AI-powered platform, deeply integrated across all Apple devices. In 2025, we’ll see it become the ‘brain’ of our smart homes. Expect even more advanced automation, personalised routines based on individual user behaviour and predictive maintenance alerts for connected devices. Think automatic adjustments to your thermostat based on your commute or scheduled dishwasher starts timed for off-peak energy hours. This isn’t just smart home control, it’s intelligent living.
Unified calendar & task manager (Apple): Beyond simple appointments, the upgraded Calendar acts as a central nervous system for the household. Integrated with task management, it anticipates needs based on schedules, automatically generating grocery lists, reminders for household chores and even coordinating childcare logistics. Natural language processing allows you to simply say, “Remind me to water the plants every Wednesday”, and it’s seamlessly added to the schedule. Cross-device synchronisation is flawless, keeping the whole family in the loop.

Beyond the basics: Apps for specific needs

AI-powered meal planning & grocery (e.g. “ReciMe” and “Grocery“): Gone are the days of aimless grocery trips. These smart apps learn your family’s dietary preferences, track inventory in your store cupboard (thanks to integrated smart sensors) and suggest personalised meal plans. They not only generate shopping lists but also optimise for sales, suggest recipes based on available ingredients and even offer virtual cooking assistance through augmented reality. AI is predicting what you’ll crave before you do.
Energy optimisation & sustainability (e.g., “tado°” and “Encom Energy“): With increased focus on environmental impact, apps that monitor and optimise energy consumption are paramount. These go beyond simple graphs. They learn your household’s patterns, suggest energy-saving adjustments and automatically shift energy usage to off-peak hours. They can also track your carbon footprint, offering suggestions for more sustainable choices and connecting you to renewable energy sources in your area.
Household financial management (e.g. “HomeBudget Lite” and “Goodbudget Budget Planner“): Managing household finances is no longer a painful process. These intelligent applications connect to your bank accounts and track spending, automatically categorise expenses and provide insights into areas for improvement. They can even generate budgeting plans tailored to your family’s goals and project future needs based on historical data. Multi-user functionality makes shared financial responsibility effortless.
Smart safety & security (e.g. “IP Camera Viewer” and “Smart Life Hub“): Beyond cameras and doorbells, safety and security apps in 2025 leverage AI to detect anomalies and potential risks. Integrated with smart locks, smoke detectors and motion sensors, they provide proactive alerts, allowing you to react quickly. Think facial recognition that alerts you to unfamiliar faces on your property or intelligent analysis of audio feeds to detect potential break-ins.

The seamless experience

What truly sets these apps apart in 2025 is their seamless integration with each other and the Apple ecosystem. Voice commands through Siri are increasingly natural, data flows effortlessly between devices and augmented reality (AR) overlays help you visualise information in your physical environment. The user experience is consistently intuitive, requiring minimal setup and learning.

Looking ahead

As we move further into 2025 and beyond, expect even more advancements in AI, automation and personalised user experiences within these household apps. The future of home management is smart, connected and designed to make our lives easier and more efficient. With the right combination of these powerful tools on your Apple devices, controlling your home will be simpler and more intuitive than ever before. The era of the truly smart home is finally here!

How to save money when shopping for tech

Most of us wouldn’t be able to run our lives nearly as effectively without the use of technology. From smartphones that keep us in touch and help us to make notes, plan schedules and even monitor who’s calling at our homes to computers and laptops that enable us to earn a living, there’s a real need for technology in everyday life.

Of course, tech devices are by no means cheap and it can be a struggle to find the money to replace them when there’s a need to do so. The good news is, there are several things you can do to save money when shopping for tech as you’ll see below:

Try fixing it instead

If you’re in the market for a new piece of technology, you may find that it’s cheaper to try fixing it first instead. It won’t always be possible, but there are lots of issues, like internet problems on your MacBook or a computer that won’t boot that you can fix yourself at home, and many more troubles such as cracked screens and jammed buttons that you can have a professional fix for you. If it’s cheaper to fix than buy new, do that and you could save a lot of money.

Buy online

It’s not always the case, so do check before you buy, but it’s often cheaper to buy electrical goods online than it is in person from a bricks & mortar outlet. This is because the companies selling phones and laptops, etc., won’t have to factor in the costs of running a shop so they can afford to offer you much lower prices overall.

Consider a refurbished device

Refurbished devices are always cheaper than brand new tech, and often it’s hard to tell the difference between the two. Refurbished devices have usually been sent back to the manufacturer due to a fault. The fault is then repaired by the experts and the device is resold at a discount, many even come with warranties, so it’s pretty silly to buy new if you have the option to buy refurbished instead. No one but you will know!

Know what you need

You can save money by buying tech that meets your specifications without unnecessarily exceeding them. So, whenever you need to buy a new device, work out what functions and features you need and spend some time finding a device that offers them without offering lots of fancy extras. By doing so, you’ll almost certainly be able to save money.

Trade-in your existing tech

Even if your existing phone or tablet is no longer working, you can almost certainly make a little money by trading it in for a lower price on a new device. If it’s in good working order, then you may get more money by selling it on to someone else via Facebook Marketplace, eBay or similar.

When it comes to saving money on tech, there are lots of things you can do to make it happen, so never spend more than necessary!

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Price Points: Mesh wi-fi routers

Our old Welsh cottage is long & low and has very thick stone walls. This, added to the lack of fibre broadband in our rural setting, means that our internet connectivity leaves much to be desired.

As we work from home and run a predominantly internet-based business, connection speed & strength are extremely important. Sometimes, the sluggishness experienced when uploading, downloading and streaming can mean that tasks take twice as long as they should. We’ve been looking at available solutions; boosters, range extenders and mesh wi-fi routers.

BT is our current land-line and broadband provider, so their bundle seems like the best option for us. They even offer a selector tool to see which of their products would be most suitable.

However, we also have an Amazon Alexa set up; a little Echo Dot that works with our Sonos smart speaker system. As it’s produced by Amazon, the eero would slot straight into that seamlessly.

If you’re more of a Google smart home household, the Nest is an obvious and very attractive choice.

BT Mini Whole Home wi-fi, pack of 3: £74.99, John Lewis

Get rid of those wi-fi dead spots and stay connected to the strongest signal as you move around your home. Even with multiple devices connected you won’t lose speed. So stream, watch, share and download anywhere at home. Easy to set up straight out of the box. Our intelligent app will show you where to put the discs for the best connection.
Google Nest wifi router: £149.00, Argos

Nest Wifi is a scalable system that creates a mesh network, which helps deliver a consistently strong, reliable signal. Mesh Wi‑Fi can help provide more coverage than a traditional router by using multiple Wi‑Fi points together to create a connected system that gives you a strong signal throughout your home. Nest Wifi is a scalable system that gives both whole-home coverage and a consistently strong signal. Each Nest Wifi point is also a smart speaker with the Google Assistant. One Nest Wifi router with one Wifi point is strong enough to handle up to 200 connected devices and fast enough to stream multiple 4K videos at a time.
Amazon eero Pro mesh wi-fi router/extender: £179.00, Amazon

Tri-band speeds: the eero Pro mesh Wi-Fi router connects to your existing modem to bring up to 160 sq.m of fast, reliable Wi-Fi to your home. Works with your internet service provider: eero Pro connects with your modem to bring your existing internet connection to every corner of your home. Set up in minutes: the eero app walks you through setup and allows you to manage and control your network from anywhere. Gets better over time: automatic updates keep your network safe and secure. TrueMesh technology: eero Pro intelligently routes traffic to avoid congestion, buffering and loss of connection. Phones, computers, smart TVs, security cameras and everything else just works with eero. Since eero Pro works with Alexa and more, it’s the best choice for smart homes.

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Prices & links correct at time of publication.

Amazon eero Pro mesh wi-fi router/extender
£179.00

Google Nest wifi router
£149.00