Home features in 2021 you wouldn't want to miss!

The pandemic era has made homes more valuable to everyone like never before. From being a simple source of comfort and relaxation to becoming the center of one's day-to-day activity, the house has indeed become an exciting place to live in. To complement this thrilling experience, 2021 launched some of the most unique and advanced home features that you should not fail to see!

Over the past year, eating outside has been one of society's most loved activities. The sentiment and fun that it gives become an excellent therapy that eases one's stress. However, pandemic restrictions took out those times as the government imposed much-needed lockdowns to stop the spread of the covid virus. People needed to stay home, and eating out became the least thing to do. This pandemic, however, gave birth to home ideas that people haven't explored in the past years, which paved the way to create innovative home features that suit best for 2021's home living.

Stylish and Functional Kitchens

This year, more people have chosen cooking as their new hobby. Based on an online survey conducted by Hunter (Sabre's Consumer PR Agencies for 2021), 54% of Americans are cooking more, 38% enjoy cooking as much as ever, and 51% of the surveyed Americans will continue to cook more often even after the pandemic. Considering these changes, the world of interior design and home renovations prepared new and modern interiors for Americans' kitchen and dining areas to complement those new home living hobbies. Check out some of the hits when it comes to styling one's kitchen this year.

Wider and Decorative Windows

Next on our list are wider and decorative windows. Covid may stop us from going out, but it could not prevent us from appreciating outdoor views by shifting from concrete walls to full-scale walls of windows that allow sunlight to flow freely throughout the home while providing first-class views.

Over the past year, we have grown into a more health-conscious society, and this 2021 home feature perfectly matches that style as such types allow us to feed our skin with the much-needed serotonin in the comfort of our own home. This style doesn't only bring much health; this also suits eco-friendly homeowners who value energy conservation brought about by natural sunlight during the daytime.

Smart Home Technology

Pandemic has indeed limited people's movement, but it hasn't stopped digitalization from accelerating. Globally, the rate of growth in the average share of products and services that are partially or fully digitalized rose by 20% from Dec. 2019 to July 2020, according to Mckinsey. As seen from the graph below, among the three regions cited, North America ranked 2nd to Asia, which saw a 23% increase in digitalization in six months.

The reported increase is mainly contributed by healthcare and pharma, financial services, and professional services. While these advancements are rarely seen in the construction sector due to covid restrictions that impacted their supply chains, home builders cannot be stopped from upgrading your 2021 to a new level. This goal is made possible by installing highly advanced home techs like the following: 

Smart air system 

Some examples of appliances can monitor and control the indoor air quality and a motorized louvered system-like structure to control the amount of sunlight entering your outdoor living space. Examples are Panasonic Cosmos Smart Fresh Air System, Blueair Blue Pure 211, Dyson Pure Cool Air Purifier and Tower Fan, and LG PuriCare 360° SmartThinQ air purifier. 

Smart Security Devices

To secure your family, home builders can help you by strategically installing high-resolution security cameras like the one below.

 A Sea.Pcmag recommendation, Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera (Editors Choice) is "a high-resolution, weather-resistant security camera that not only captures motion-triggered video but casts a bright light on whatever is moving around on your property. It installs in minutes, delivers detailed 2K video with color night vision, and provides accurate and intelligent motion detection." 

You may also consider installing smart doorbells like WUUK Smart Antitheft Doorbell and motion sensor devices like Kangaroo Motion + Entry Sensor. These types of devices ultimately give you peace of mind because the latter allows you to track the movements of people who enter your house from the main door to the kitchen. In contrast, the first one tracks your visitors with its AI facial recognition system as well as the people who don't ring the doorbell. In addition to these, it can also detect motion which is really a beneficial addition to its great function.

On the other hand, if you want a smart tech gadget that can do more aside from providing security, try SensorsCall CareAlert well-being monitor. Aside from motion, sound temperature, and air quality detection, this gadget allows you to communicate with your loved ones at home without a phone. See this link if you're interested to know more.

Smart Home Entertainment Systems

Watching your favorite series will be more enjoyable with smart home entertainment systems that can ideally bring you an amazing home theatre experience. Anker Nebula Capsule is a great find if you’re looking for a projector that could display a theater-like video up to 100 inches across.

Meanwhile, for those who are eyeing to get the best sound bars and speakers, Sonos Playbase Wireless Soundbar and Streaming Speakers could be an excellent pick. This plug-and-play speaker enhances the audio experience by delivering the best quality audio that can make you feel like they’re approaching you from all angles.

360 Smart Bed

To help you create a relaxing ambiance in your bedroom, placing Sleep Number 360 smart bed is highly recommended. This bed incorporates biometric sensors that help you improve the quality of your sleep.

Energy system 

Automating your home seems pretty reassuring; however, such convenience comes with a cost. But thank God!! 2021 has brought us another breakthrough in power conservation. With Powerhouse Dynamics' Total Home Energy Management program, you can keep track of your power consumption, which could help you allocate your budget properly. This energy system can also help you deal with associated costs and carbon footprint by the minute, which works wonders for the environment too!

Home automation systems 

To control all your smart home systems, get any of the following: Amazon Echo, Google Nest Hub, Wink Hub 2, Samsung SmartThings, Apple HomeKit. These are Techradar’s lists of the best home automation systems. These devices provide convenience as most of them allow you to control all your smart gadgets, regardless of brand, via voice command. Hubs (another term for automation systems) can also provide music and information about traffic and weather reports through its cloud-based service connection. To know more about the details, click this link.

2021 has brought many innovative home technologies, and all these devices and more can definitely make your home living better. These smart home gadgets are good finds that will be useful even after the pandemic, so think about having these advancements on your home before 2021's over!

If you think you've learned about all the must-discovered home features, then take a look at the last home feature on our list because this is definitely helpful for you. I'm talking about...

The Hidden Room

In an era where you could fully automate your home functions, there should at least be a private space to provide for your self-care needs -- an area free from wifi and other intelligent devices. A place where you can enjoy reading books or doing a hobby that doesn't require any digital device. A place where you can exhale and relax comfortably, A place you can explore and be creative, productive but well-rested, and be fully expressive yet remain at ease. Privacy is expensive. But when you're at home, this is something you should not pay for.

Home features that provide privacy, home automation, comfort and relaxation,  and fantastic food experiences are the features you should never miss to make your home living in 2021 unique and extraordinary. Actually, there could be more! Any home feature that gives you joy, encourages peaceful life, develops your talents, hones your skills, and keeps you reminded of beautiful memories should be considered too!

Ensure that you have these things on your list upon building or renovating your property in Tampa, Lutz, Clearwater, or Dunedin. Your general contractor, custom home builder, or renovator will definitely thank you for doing so!

This article was last updated on Apr 17, 2024