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An expert from Signature Kitchen Suite dives into smart home technology and design. By Loren Kessell
Smart home technology continues to advance and remain popular. For designers, this means it is important to stay current with trends, best practices for integration and more. Susan Bailey, Director of Product Planning for Signature Kitchen Suite, discussed what designers need to know about smart home technology and what they need to know to successfully incorporate it into designs for their clients.
NKBA: What are some of the most important things designers need to consider when integrating smart home technology into their designs?
SB: Designers need to consider the whole home and realize that every room will probably have a need for smart technology. Lighting, temperature controls, devices and appliances are in every room.
NKBA: Why is it so important for designers to consider working with integrators?
SB: The integrator is the professional who understands all aspects of technology and figures out how to incorporate it in the home. Signature Kitchen Suite has an entire Experience & Design Center dedicated to providing hands-on training and brand immersions for designers, VIP dealer sales associates, builders and influencers. Another key feature of the design center is the AI Lifestyle Zone that showcases LG and Signature Kitchen Suite’s artificial intelligence technology and industry-leading smart home innovations.
NKBA: What advice would you give to designers just starting to navigate the world of smart home technology?
SB: The best advice is to research and learn as much as possible about new technologies. This is a fast-paced and ever-changing area right now with new technologies developing every day. A few recent trends from SKS specifically include built-in sous vide, convertible refrigeration drawers and ThinQ Care, providing consumers with the ultimate convenience and peace of mind. Keeping up to date will provide confidence in the designer’s ability to the client.
NKBA: What are important questions designers should ask their clients when designing with smart home technology in mind?
SB: It is important to have this conversation at the very beginning of the design process. Finding out about the current pain points in a client’s kitchen helps to direct the design and best address these challenges. Everything from knowing what lighting comes on with which switch to how many charging stations are needed will cause reworking of the design if not discussed upfront.
NKBA: What are some of the top smart home trends that designers should know about?
SB: Connectivity, health tracking and monitoring and robots are some of the top home trends. Consumers want to invest in design trends and appliances that make their lives easier by offering more flexibility and convenience. Because of this, SKS has dedicated its resources to creating multifunctional smart appliances with WiFi connectivity, so users can easily monitor, manage or adjust settings on their SKS appliances from their smartphones via the ThinQ app.
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