In this weekly column, hosts Brandon Doyle, Doyle Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Results, and Colton Pratt, project manager, walk through smart-home products and showcase their capabilities while reviewing pros and cons.
Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s a place where family members get together to whip up delicious dinners and often gather to socialize.
In fact, we’d go as far as to say that it’s one of the most important — and frequently used — areas in a home. That’s why, this week, we’ll going to explore the different technology available to make the kitchen an even more pleasant and comfortable place to be.
Every smart kitchen needs a good voice assistant. Whether you prefer Google, Amazon or Apple, each manufacturer has a version with a screen. This is great for displaying information like the weather, your calendar, a live view of your video doorbell, recipes or even your favorite YouTube channel. For that, the new Echo Show proves to be a great example.
The sink is also an important part of the kitchen. The U by Moen, a new smart faucet from Moen, can be controlled by the handle (like a regular faucet), the touch-free wave sensor and an app on your phone. You can also use voice command to turn it on and off and customize precise measurements and temperature.
Another smart faucet worth mentioning is The Sensate Touchless kitchen faucet with Kohler Konnect, which also boasts motion-based interactions and voice activation. You can learn more about both faucets in this week’s video.
When talking about smart-kitchen tech, we also have to mention smart plugs, which work to turn any ordinary appliance into a smart one. All you have to do is plug your “dumb” device — like your coffee maker, toaster or blender — into the smart plug.
Then, you’ll be able to turn it on and off, set up schedules and automations through your phone or through voice command when paired with a voice assistant. Our pick? The Amazon smart plug, which we’ve talked about in a previous video.
No smart kitchen would be complete without state-of-the-art appliances like the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator. The door features a touch screen that displays the weather, pictures, lists and your calendar of events. An interior camera provides a snapshot of what’s inside.
The Samsung Chef Collection also includes wall ovens, ranges and a dishwasher with built-in Wi-Fi that will notify you when the dishes are clean. What’s more, LG has an entire line of ThinQ kitchen appliances, which feature remote monitoring, preheating and another impressive refrigerator door that shows you the contents of your fridge with a simple knock.
Lastly, we’d like to mention the Bartesian, which offers premium cocktails on demand. The machine, which is similar to a Keurig coffee maker, uses individual capsules containing all of the juices, bitters and extracts needed to make 15 different cocktails. Not only is this a great conversation piece, but it would also make a fantastic and memorable gift for anyone who likes to entertain.
Brandon Doyle is a Realtor at Doyle Real Estate Team — Re/Max Results in Minneapolis and co-author of Mindset, Methods & Metrics – Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. You can follow him on Twitter.
