Most of us have a pretty clear idea of how our homes are going to be changed by technology in the future. Normally these visions include features such as lights that come on automatically, or phones fridges that talk to you and tell you that your milk is about to go off. Probably there’s a digital fish tank thrown in there somewhere, and perhaps a robotic vacuum cleaner for good measure…

Only chances are that none of these ideas are particularly accurate. We already have a few of these devices available and yet they haven’t seen mainstream adoption. Why? Because they might look fancy, but they don’t really add that much value. Other features – like milk cartons that talk to your fridge – require too much cooperation between industries and organizations to be likely to happen any time soon.

These are visions of the future home that are founded in the 80s. And much like the flying cars that this age promised us we’d all be drying around in, they’re basically inaccurate.

What’s likely to happen is much more unusual and amazing…

The Technology We’re Starting to See

In order to imagine how technology might affect our home in the future, it’s prudent to look first at how it’s affecting us in the present. That means looking at the kinds of gadgets and devices that are already making a splash and then extrapolating that to see how it might look in the future.

So one example here is the ‘smart’ device. It started with phones (namely the iPhone), but soon after moved to include tablets, table tops, televisions and more. With the cost of technology going down all the time and adoption becoming evermore widespread, it’s easy to imagine a time when your mirror will be a ‘smart mirror’ and your window will be a ‘smart window’.

This in turn will lead to many augmented reality features that will let you see all kinds of relevant information and even control your technology and home appliances remotely. All of these devices will be able to communicate with each other and will be connected to the cloud, leading to a situation where your information can ‘follow’ you almost anywhere.

Virtual Reality

That’s fairly boring though. What’s more interesting is how this is likely to impact the world of virtual reality. This was a technology that was thought dead until recently when the Oculus Rift came on the scene and when companies like Microsoft and Leap began showing us the promise of gesture control. Throw in something like the ‘IllumiRoom’ – a proof of concept device from Microsoft that uses projectors and video analysis to project images across your entire room – and you could basically completely transform your environment. Throw in smart walls and windows that can change the image they display, better heating and air conditioning… and you’ve basically got a holo deck.

What this would then allow would be for you to turn your room instantly into a jungle so that it looked and felt as though you were sitting outside in a tropical environment, or into a log cabin somewhere in the snow. Complete with a roaring fireplace…

It might also mean that in order to turn the heating up or down, all you would have to do would be to say ‘heating up’ – or perhaps triple tap any surface in your room. Make your hands into the shape of a ‘t’ and you can order your kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea…

Other Technologies

Now throw in 3D printing and nanotechnology for some more incredible features. One day nano-tech coatings will allow us to seal surfaces so that they never get dirty or stained, while at the same time we’ll be able to use 3D printers in order to print out any piece of furniture or ornamental item we find on the web and like. With a gesture you could command your home to print you out the party mats you need for tonight or to print you a new stool for the kitchen. This is the future of modern furniture stores.

Sound incredible? Well, it’s all actually perfectly possible and some of it’s already happening. Hang on to your hats, the future is going to be an amazing place!

Author Bio:

Nancy Baker, the author of this article, is a freelance blogger who is currently writing for, Ante Modern Furniture and Lighting, which specializesin the latest modular designs. She loves to bake and knit in her spare time. You can also follow her on Twitter @Nancy Baker.