Mention the word smarthouse and what do people usually think about? They think of features that enable you to remotely check the security, have the
home theatre system fully automated, to have multi-source music availability or one-touch access to the climate controls – all from the one touchscreen or from any room in the house.
But electronics are only part of the story. There's smart design and cabinets that make good use of space in all rooms of the house, especially in the kitchen, but also in the bedroom, the home office and home theatre.
Space efficient and ergonomic designs are no longer a new idea in Europe, but the con-cept is really only just starting to take off locally. It is, however, a trend that is rapidly growing in popularity and not surprisingly it is two German companies, Hafele and Hettich, that have been at the forefront of introducing smart cabinet technology to the Australian market.
At the recent RACV Homeshow in Melbourne, for instance, it was the first time that Hafele had exhibited its range of furniture, and the stand had over 150,000 visitors during the show, according to Hafele's national projects manager, Gary Cahoon.
Making Space Work For You
The kitchen is the most used room in the house, and it's where smart cabinets are making the most impact because people are looking to use the available space as efficiently as possible.
Ergonomics is also an important factor. Smart cabinet designs minimise bending down or having to stretch for items in hard-to-reach corners of cupboards. The ease of accessibility offered by smart cabinets using pull-out, rather than fixed, shelves can make a huge difference for older, less mobile people and makes life that bit more comfortable for the rest.
"For many years now, most people when they have their kitchen installed either have a fixed shelf or an adjustable shelf and more often than not, once that shelf is put in place it never moves again," says Cahoon. "What we are seeing currently is that more and more people are choosing roll-out type shelves. For instance, where they have a
dishwasher, they have beside it two or three shelves enclosed behind doors, and the shelves actually roll-out so crockery can be stored there," he adds. Anyone who has had to pull out half a dozen items to reach an object stored at the back of a cupboard will recognise the advantages a system offers that effectively turns each shelf into an open drawer and allows a cupboard to be configured to make more effective use of the space than more traditional layouts currently do.
