Smart Living

Let your living room become the heart of the home and the control centre for your smart devices

In many ways, the living room is the most suitable centre for the home’s various smart controls. As the heart of the home, it’s where your primary entertainment system, key lighting features and cleaning appliances are most commonly located. A grouped button control—a single button that manages multiple systems—will most likely be found in the living room, ensuring easy access to controls for everything from the lights, curtains to security and air conditioning with one simple touch. “In my latest project, a centralised smart home system is used to operate automatic curtains, light dimmers, air conditioning, music and entrance access,” says Masha Kaya, interior architect of Singapore-based design firm Sketch The Space. “My personal favourites are the smart controls that allow us to control the air quality and temperature in our homes.” One of the most important considerations in the living room is the ambience. A leisurely, relaxing afternoon calls for a very different setting compared to a social gathering. That makes lighting controls particularly useful. Florence Kong, founder of Hong Kong-based architecture studio Fab-a-matter, recently designed a showroom that involved a living area pre-set with various mood scenes. The entertainment system is key as well. “Smart TVS and speakers are items that you can easily start with, giving you more integration and freedom to customise,” says Otto Ng, design director at Hong Kongbased architecture firm LAAB. “You can also add multi-zone speakers, which gives you uninterrupted music through your rooms.”