Picture this: As you drive towards your home, your mobile phone turns into a remote control, switching on household devices triggered by proximity.
Your garage door will automatically open as you approach in your car, and your lights and heating will switch on for you. Your favourite music track can play as you walk through the door, and your coffee machine can already be working away. Conversely, you can switch off all your appliances from the back seat of a taxi as you jet off on your next adventure.
Smart home appliances are no longer a futuristic pipedream, and many of us now use them in our everyday lives. Controlling everything from your phone saves significant time and space, but as we add more and more smart appliances, it increases digital clutter. Instead of searching through a drawer for a remote, we find ourselves searching through pages of apps.
After several years of development, Melbourne company Brilliant Lighting have offered a solution to this problem. With the addition of a small Nexus gateway box, you can control all your smart appliances from a single app. Their gateway system works across 500 brands, such as Sony, Philips, Apple, Samsung, and Alexa, so you won’t have to buy new products to use it.
“We’ve worked for many years to develop this app, to truly put the homeowner in complete control, and finally say goodbye to those old-fashioned remotes,” says founder Norman Levin.
Brilliant Lighting has a commitment to promote sustainability and reduce our collective carbon footprint, and they see smart homes as the next step in achieving this. With the option to turn off lights and appliances remotely, you can start controlling your carbon footprint with ease.
“These easy set-up home automation systems offer control of your lighting, electrical and security smart devices – as well as many branded household appliances – all from your smartphone,” Norman says.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to benefit from the convenience of smart home appliances. During the pandemic, one in four Australians introduced smart appliances into their home. The number of us keen to embrace the convenience and cleverness of a smart home lifestyle is growing every day.
“Even if you don’t see yourself as a techie, this app is so simple to use that you’ll wonder why you waited so long,” Norman promises.
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We’re pretty spoilt in this day and age. Sales used to happen annually and that was it. These days we don’t have to wait until Boxing Day, we get to hit the sales before Christmas too and yes, that means you can buy your gifts on sale too. I mean, why wouldn’t you?
I’m here with some great news which make all this a lot easier for you. It can be hard keeping up with all the best deals and you may not want to be signed up to every single brand’s mailing list because, let’s face it, our inboxes are pretty full these days; overwhelming even (who else does a quarterly cull? Just me?). The WhatsMine app is one handy place on your phone to keep all your loyalty cards without having to have a super fat wallet. Use WhatsMine to redeem offers online or scan your barcode right from your phone while in store. It delivers personalised offers when you want them most.
More pressingly, it’s also the place to find all the best Black Friday (that’s Friday 29 November) and Cyber Monday (2 December) deals and discounts. How good is that? I am all for streamlining!
What’s more, WhatsMine is holding the ultimate giveaway on Black Friday and again on Cyber Monday with seven prizes each day! Enter for your chance to win:
1 x $550 Westfield Gift Card
1 x $250 Hoyts Voucher
1 Overnight Bag & Suitcase from The Daily Edited worth $748.95
1 Kate Spade Bag worth $489
1 x $150 Rebel Voucher
1 x $200 IKEA voucher
1 x Xbox One from Microsoft worth $649.
Simply enter on each day to be in the running! While you’re there, take a look at all the amazing deals they’ve found to easily shop Black Friday offers in one place.
Join more than 80,000 Australians already using it and download WhatsMine (available for iPhone and Android) ahead of Black Friday to have all those amazing deals on your phone, all in one place. You can even search offers, using the word ‘home’ for example.
It’s very therapeutic scanning all your loyalty cards and adding them, knowing you never have to carry them again. Yes! Never miss a deal or a loyalty point again, not just this weekend, but all year round.
Almost 150 popular brands can be found on the app, from Adairs, Bed Bath ‘N Table, Country Road and IKEA to Qantas Frequent Flyer, Witchery and Woolworths.
A bit like Tinder for homewares, new app Home Addict allows you to effortlessly search for beautifully designed items for your abode. With a Tinder-esque style interface the app is designed to learn what you like and don’t like, so that it can serve you up the items that you’re looking for. Just swipe right!
But that’s not all, using virtual reality, your phone’s camera allows you to see what the item would look like in your own home placed among your furnishings. If you like what you see you can buy it straight from the app or save it to buy later.
“Buying homewares can be a fraught process,” explains co-founder Kura Perkins (one half of homewares brand Art Hide). “Especially when purchasing big ticket or expensive items and you don’t know how they will actually look in your own home. With advances in augmented reality and mobile technology we can change that.”
Best of all it’s a guilt-free shopping experience, with 10% of revenue from Home Addict going straight to organisations that actively address homelessness in the founders’ home state, WA. Shelter WA estimates over 9,600 people experience homelessness every night in WA and another 7,000 are living in insecure housing, one step away from homelessness.
“Business has a role to play as an integrated pillar into the community,” says co-founder Saschelle Blake. “The beauty of this business model is the 10% comes straight from revenue not profits, which means retailers don’t lose margin and it doesn’t cost the consumer.” So, get shopping!
The app is not yet available on Android. Despite the name, Home Addict is not affiliated with Interiors Addict.
Have you ever looked online, found the perfect sofa, been totally excited, only to buy it, take it home and realise: “Oh crap, it doesn’t fit”? You wouldn’t be alone. How a piece of furniture looks online versus in your home can vary dramatically. So here’s where IKEA Place comes in.
An augmented reality (AR) app, it lets people confidently experiment with the design of their home, office, school or studio. From sofas and armchairs to coffee tables and storage solutions, all of the products in IKEA Place are 3D and automatically scaled – based on your room dimensions – with 98% accuracy. The AR technology is so precise that you will be able to see the texture of the fabric, as well as how light and shadows are rendered on your furnishings.
So how does it work? Turns out it’s pretty simple. First download the app and snap a photo with your device of the place where you would like the IKEA product to be. Next browse through the app for your item of choice, select it to insert it into your photo and then move it into place. And you’re done (watch the video below if you’re still a little confused)! You can then share your photo or save it and use the app to price and reserve the item.
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More than 2,000 IKEA products will be available when the app launches. The items in the first release are aligned to the living room, so expect some of IKEA’s most recognisable faces such as the VIMLE sofa, the STRANDMON winged chair and the LISABO side table.
IKEA Place will be available to download from the App Store soon, so stay tuned!
Where would we be without the humble app? Now it seems we can go beyond ordering our pizza and/or burrito and use the same technology to help manage our home reno, from start to finish.
Not only are apps a great way to stay on top of organisation and project management, they also allow you to make changes and connect to resources directly, something old fashioned pen and paper just can’t manage.
We’ve rounded up 4 of our favourites to help you manage your home reno effectively and with tech on your side.
magicplan is all about floor plan creation using augmented reality. What that means for you? You can create a floor plan for your existing or proposed property simply by taking pictures. GENIUS. Generate complete work estimates, choose furnishings and plan from beginning to end, no measuring tape required. magicplan also allows you to add notes, mark specific features like doorways and windows and see how combining spaces could look.
Floorplanner is an easy way to create and share interactive floor plans online. With Floorplanner you can recreate your home, garden or office in just a few clicks and furnish your plans with our huge library of objects. You can also sync Floorplanner with magicplan to make adjustments and see how they’ll work in 3D.
Developed by Australian House & Garden magazine, Quick Quote allows you to source and collate quotes for a range of services including architects, builders, painters and landscapers. You can also send photos within the app for a more accurate quote and there is the option to leave feedback for other users.
Photo Measures is the ideal app to help you save and share measures and dimensions on your own photos. You can annotate your own images with whatever dimensions you require by drawing, editing or adding a comment and then either save or export as a PDF or JPEG.
Deciding on the right hue for your room can be a daunting task, but Dulux’s new digital tool ColourView (a much-anticipated update to the Dulux Colour App), aims to make that easier.
Encouraging homeowners to experiment with colour and reinvent their homes before they’ve even picked up the paintbrush, ColourView allows you to easily visualise how a splash of colour can create impact, softness or completely transform the mood of a space. From walls and ceilings to tabletops and craft projects, revamping a room is as easy as snap, colour and view.
Simply select the ColourView feature in the Dulux Colour App, take a photo of a room, or upload an existing one to the app, then select a Dulux colour to virtually paint a section of the image and see ideas come to life. With the ability to experiment with more than 4,000 Dulux colours until the hue is just right, the possibility of disappointment and desire to re-paint once the job is complete, is a thing of the past.
Incredibly easy-to-navigate, the Dulux Colour App also includes a host of existing features which equip users with the best tools and inspiration anytime and anywhere. This includes the clever Colour Capture function, which easily finds the closest Dulux colour match to any colour using the device’s camera, and Browse Colour, to discover the expansive collection of more than 4,000 Dulux hues. The Dulux Colour App also provides the latest information and images showcasing popular colour trends.
Compatible with iPhones, iPads and Android, ColourView features on the free Dulux Colour App. Download it now.
When stylist Erin Michael wanted to announce her baby, Jagger, to the world, she didn’t send the usual SMS or personalised photo card, she created this super cool birth announcement.
It went viral, was pinned all over town and much imitated. Now clever Erin has seen the potential to turn her idea into an app and I think it’s genius!
It is so simple and easy to use. Rather than recreate your own photoshoot (as someone who recently gave birth, I can say that would definitely be at the bottom of my priority list!), you can introduce your baby in style to your friends and family virtually the minute they are born with Birth Announcement App.
All you need to do is choose a template, enter the baby’s birth details, take a photo or use one from your camera roll et voila, you are ready to share the exciting news of your baby in a unique and stylish way. Share instantly on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, send an SMS, email, or save to camera roll to print later. Erin, who was a contestant on The Block in 2010, printed her birth announcement photo and wrote thank you messages on the back of them to her loved ones.
“No newborn? Don’t worry, you are not missing out! You can retrospectively upload any photo from your camera roll and enter the birth details of your older children. Or maybe create one to pop in a frame as a gift for a friend who has just had a baby. They are also great for photo memory books, so you have a cute little reminder of all the important details to cherish forever,” Erin says.
Birth Announcement app is available to download free from the Apple App store, with in-app purchases. One gender neutral template based on the original is free to use and other templates cost $4.99 each.
An Android version (yay!) and many more templates are planned for the coming months.
Former consumer technology journalist for the likes of T3, GQ and Men’s Health and Jen’s husband, Damian Francis, reviews the Sonos Wireless Speaker System.
One of the biggest challenges for the home owner today is concealing wires. What a fantastically interesting topic! But the reality is, today’s modern homes are small technology hubs — connected environments that are meant to make life easier and more entertaining. With technology comes wires. How many are sprouting from your TV right now? Mine looks like Medusa’s head on steroids. I’ve done a bang up job hiding those wires behind an entertainment unit the size of the QM2. Strangely Jen doesn’t seem to be too thrilled with this solution.
So how do you overcome it? The truth is, it’s tricky. Cull the wires and you often cull the quality, keep the quality and you add serious expense. How many times has Kevin McCloud waxed lyrical about a great built-in system that had to be heavily researched and then installed in a house at build-stage? When it comes to sound systems though, it is now a hell of a lot easier with Sonos.
Why Sonos?
Sonos was one of the first brands to produce a wireless solution for sound systems that didn’t sound like a spluttering 1970 VW Beetle, didn’t have the price tag of a Porsche and actually looked like something you would want to put in your home. I was a technology journalist when the brand first made waves — it caught the attention of a number of my colleagues, which is no mean feat.
Let’s cut to the chase. You want a Sonos because you’re tired of wires cluttering your home, you want versatility in your system to play music in a single room or throughout your house, you want a system that blends in with modern decor and you don’t want to have to remortgage your house or cut into walls to get any of the above.
Out of the box
Interiors Addict had a set of two Play:1 speakers ($329 each) and a Connect ($599) to test. Installation is as simple as taking the speaker out of the box, plugging it into the powerpoint and following the simple and quick step-by-step instructions to get the first speaker working. Adding more is even easier, with the process taking no more than a couple of minutes. And trust me, if you want to make the most of Sonos, you want more than a single Play:1 unit.
The Sonos Connect
There are a range of sizes and accessories to suit most needs — such as Play:1 small speakers for smaller rooms like I have in our house or the Connect which connects to wired stereo systems. But you can also get larger Play:3 and Play:5 systems as well as a Soundbar and Subwoofer. All are set up in a similar fashion and all can be used solo or grouped together.
Playing music is a fairly simple process. You download the Sonos controller on your laptop, tablet or mobile device and you can then play music from that device or use a range of popular services like Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn Radio and much more to play music. The Sonos controller also allows you to name your speakers, join them together to form a stereo sound system, play music in more than one room at the same time, change your speakers’ settings and more. Start using your smartphone and then move to using your iPad, for example, and you will pick up where you left off with your playlist rather than having to start from scratch.
The quirks
While it is relatively simple to use, it still has some quirks which can become a little annoying. It’s not always as simple as finding what you want and pressing play. While that’s not a big deal, it can grate a bit. In some cases it would be much better to be able to use the standard app, such as Spotify, rather than having to use the Sonos controller app to control your Spotify account with your speakers.
The real world test was getting Jen to use the app on her smartphone. She got it, but it took a little while and there were some really good questions as to why certain aspects weren’t simpler.
Also, bear in mind that Sonos is not a bluetooth speaker. You may use it with your computer or smartphone, but it is different to a bluetooth setup and therefore can’t be used like a bluetooth speaker. Big deal? Not at all – but if you’re after a bluetooth speaker, buy one.
Being that the Sonos system is meant to be a home music solution, sound quality is of greater importance than most speakers you would associate with control via your laptop or mobile device. Thankfully it’s good. But let’s qualify that. My Honda CR-V is good — plenty of space, cheap to run, good looking. But I’ll still get smashed off the lights by a Porsche Cayenne. The story is similar for the Sonos Play:1, which I tested at home, and other systems which I have tested previously, such as the Play:3 and Play:5.
Sonos offers great bang for buck. The sound is loud and travels further through your house than you would imagine. But it’s bass heavy, and treble can become murky, making certain genres of music more enjoyable to listen to on the Sonos than others. Adding speakers together, such as two Play:1s for a left and right channel system, helps but it doesn’t completely solve the problem. Despite this, the music is still enjoyable to listen to and I would argue that if you wanted better clarity through your highs, you should spend more money on a higher end system.
The result
When it comes to the crunch, the Sonos products are well priced and well designed, with adequate sound quality. They are well thought out and relatively easy to use. If you want a wireless solution that won’t require remodelling of your home or your bank account, it is hard to go wrong with a Sonos system. Play:1 will suit apartments or small rooms, Play:3 will suit lounge rooms and medium-sized areas, but for open plan areas, go for a Play:5… or two.
realestateVIEW.com.au’s newly upgraded mobile app offers heatmap technology to revolutionise the way property is found and sold.
The technology allows users to visually explore median prices, weekly rent and monthly loan repayments for specific areas within different suburbs with a click of a button. They can then overlay these maps with up-to-date sales or auction results and mark nearby points of interest or amenities (i.e. schools, public transport, supermarkets), helping house hunters find their ideal location.
Head of product and technology at realestateVIEW.com.au, Raymond Smit, believes the app offers a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to buy, rent or sell property and will quickly become the on-the-go companion for the weekend house hunt. “Our app goes beyond the traditional property search – house hunters now have access to local data helping them make an informed property decision on-the-go.”
Other key features include suggested properties, real-time data on the latest sales and auction results, points of interest, open for inspection times and a new layout and visuals.
The free app is available on all iPhone and Android smartphones and can be downloaded here.
The smart upgrade for any remote-controlled air conditioner, the soon to launch Ambi Climate by Ambi Labs, is a small, sleek, personalised system that sees your smartphone or tablet become your remote.
Yet well that in itself is useful, the real genius part is that this device also provides a tailored AC experience, by learning from your usage patterns and remembering your individual temperature preferences. What this means is throughout the day, Ambi Climate’s algorithms combine the insights from your preferences and behaviour with those collected from sensor data in order to adjust your AC settings. It even factors in the performance level of your air conditioner. The end result? More accurate air conditioning, fewer temperature fluctuations and energy and money savings.
With the ability to save you 30 percent on AC energy consumption by minimising wasteful overcooling and temperature fluctuations, the companion app also provides you with useful energy saving notifications that let you know when it is suitable to open a window and turn off the AC, or when it’s time to clean the AC filter.
A plug and play system that makes life easier, simpler and more enjoyable, Ambi Climate requires no hardware or specialist installation, just plug it in, connect to WiFi, download the app and watch it work with your existing AC. Available to buy via their Kickstarter page for the current price of US$99, it took only nine hours for Ambi Labs to bypass their funding goal of US$25,000. Now, with over US$80,000 raised, production has begun, with early bird backers expected to receive their unit by November.
Check out this simple infographic below to learn how you can save with Ambi Climate:
Houzz, the world’s leading destination for home renovation and design, today launched Houzz.com.au, providing even more relevant inspiration, information and advice to help Australians improve their homes from start to finish. Over 700,000 Australian homeowners are already using Houzz every month to renovate and design their homes and to connect with over 10,000 Aussie home professionals who are already showcasing their projects on the site.
By using Houzz.com.au, Aussie homeowners and design enthusiasts can:
Browse thousands of Australian interior, exterior and garden photos uploaded by design professionals to find inspiration. With more than 3.5 million photos of professionally-designed home interiors and exteriors, Houzz has the world’s largest online database of professional home photos, home tours and more.
Research and hire the best Australian architects, interior designers, builders, tradies and other professionals for their project.
Seek support and advice from the largest home community on the internet.
Discover new products and materials to source for their project.
Design professionals and tradespeople can add their profiles for free. Check out Darren Palmer’s Houzz profile as an example.
CEO and co-founder Adi Tatarko, who is in Sydney for the launch this week, said: “We’re excited to launch Houzz in Australia and to bring the local experience our growing community of Aussie homeowners, design enthusiasts and home professionals have been asking for in addition to the global resources Houzz provides. We want to make the home renovation and design process more fun and productive for everyone involved by providing technology and tools that help every step of the way.”
Co-founders and husband and wife, Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen
Are you a designer or homeowner using Houzz? What do you think of the new Australian version?
Did you know you can order your Nespresso from the convenience of your phone or iPad? A new and improved version of the free app has just been released.
With it you can order your capsules, accessories and machines, have them delivered or arrange to collect from your nearest Nespresso boutique and stay up to date with news, like the latest limited edition Grand Crus.
Planit2D, which launched last week, claims to be the the fastest, most user-friendly 2D floorplan creator available on the App Store. It’s aimed at anyone and everyone with an idea in their mind or a scratching on a piece of paper.
Using ‘drag and drop’ and pre-defined room layouts and fittings, you can create a floorplan that suits you and your family or indeed, your client. Using industry standard sized furniture, a metric or imperial based platform and a host of drawing tools and options, you can create and modify your designs with ease.
Houzz is the largest platform for home design and remodeling in the US, online and on smartphones. And it’s now starting to make an impact on Australia.
Imagine the biggest design magazine on earth; the single largest library of design photos and articles, all in one place, that can all be sorted, shared and curated to a personal scrapbook. It exists. More than 550,000 full size, original residential design photos, contributed by almost 100,000 interior designers (including Sydney’s Greg Natale), architects, photographers and other design pros from around the world, can be sorted (by location, room type and style), searched and saved.
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