Space age living: welcome to the home of the future

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Those among us of a certain vintage will remember curling up in front of the TV as children to watch The Jetsons, the ’60’s cartoon about a futuristic family in Orbit City. While the Jetson family itself – bread-winning dad, stay-at-home mum, fashion-obsessed daughter and science-boffin son – seems rather old-fashioned to a modern audience, their house in the Skypad Apartments appears strangely prescient.

From flatscreen monitors, to video chat and smart home automation, many of the inventions predicted in the show are already widespread. Others, like 3-D printed food, are in the development stage. Given that it looks like it’s only a matter of time before we’re all living like The Jetsons’ titular heroes, Domain asked some experts in the field about what we can expect in our homes in the not-too-far-distant future:

It’s a kitchen, David – but not as we know it

Many of the most mind-bending technologies relate to our kitchens. Some products – such as Samsung’s Family Hub fridge, which allows users to order groceries through a touchscreen in the door – are already available. Others are still in the prototype stage. These include kitchen benchtops that can transform into induction cooktops as needed, working surfaces embedded with nanotechnology that can identify bacterial contamination, pantries that let you know if you are running low on a particular ingredient and even the aforementioned 3D printers capable of producing a prepared dish.

Futurist Morris Miselowski says that many of the technologies are aimed at taking the labour out of food preparation.

“Fewer people will want to cook in the way we have before,” he says.

“We will use technology to achieve a lot of the things we need.”

Think your house is smart? Just wait a few years

In many ways, our homes are already technologically enabled. Smart TVs that stream services such as Stan and Netflix without a secondary device, security systems that provide live footage of your house on your mobile phone and indoor climate control that can be managed remotely through an app are already a reality. But this is just the beginning.

As Wi-Fi technology continues to evolve, the implications for our home are far-reaching. Potential developments include: TVs with augmented reality and virtual reality capabilities; security systems that can recognise residents and automatically unlock the door for them when they arrive home; thermostats that can take in information about the weather and adjust the temperature of the house; and lighting systems that adjust their wavelength to impact on the mood and circadian rhythm of users.

Angela Ferguson, managing director of interior design and architecture firm Futurespace, predicts a growing number of houses will include a separate “command and control centre” in response to the growing presence of technology in our lives.

These rooms will hide away things such as patch panels (small servers that allow you to control the settings in your house) and 3-D printers, as well as other less aesthetically-pleasing aspects of modern living such as recycling bins and paper shredders.

“It’s a bit like having a kitchen, then a butler’s pantry,” she explains.

“The same thing is happening in the home office.”

Your house will be a bit like a chameleon

The applications of nanotechnology in the home are still being explored, but the possibilities are fascinating. Imagine floors capable of changing their appearance and texture, so that one moment you feel as if you’re walking on timber floorboards, the next on woven coir matting, or conductive paint that can alter the colour of your walls at your command.

Andrew Schunke, an interior designer at Architectus, believes that emerging technologies will fulfil consumers’ desire for a bespoke experience at home.

“Technology will give people the ability to adjust their space,” he says.

“It’s like anything – it’s evolving, then someone will create the iPhone moment where it becomes cost-effective, easily resolved and accessible and then it will become a reality.”