Preparing Your Home for the Future

If you are interested in future proofing your home and controlling it with your smart phone, then it is fairly simple. There is so many options available to you when you want to be able to make your home a home of the future and the best part is that doing this kind of work is not only easy but it is also quite affordable as well. So if you are interested in future proofing your home, it is as simple as reading this article because it will go into depth on everything you will need to know.

When you mention a house of the future, a lot of people will think of the cartoon the Jetsons which had flying cars, meals that show up whenever you want, and robots that do everything for you. Well, we actually do have robots that can do things for us but we are not quite at the point of the Jetsons just yet.

However, the actual homes of the future are a bit different but we are getting there.

The real home of the future means having a house that is connected to your smart phone, allowing you to control every aspect of the home. As well as having an efficient home that allows for effective use of our devices, such as switching out outlets for USB slots, or using a smart TV that can connect to the internet, or just making your home much more efficient with smart technology.

There have been many different studies that show that around 24 billion different devices will be connected in the next 4 years. And the best part is that smart homes are affordable to do.

The World is all Connect to the Internet

Just about everything we have is connected to the internet in some way even our toothbrushes and TV’s. This is pretty crazy when you think about it because we can even access social media on our refrigerators nowadays, so just imagine all of the other devices we have and the different kinds of things we are able to do with them nowadays.

However, if you want to use the WiFi features of your devices, you will have to ensure you have a strong connection to the internet that is also stable. The speed of your internet will determine your ability to future proof your home and it will also determine your experience as well. After all, when your internet is slow it will be difficult and frustrating to be able to use all of these futuristic features you plan on installing onto your home, so the first step you should always do is ensure you have top notch internet speed that is also stable and reliable.

So the first thing you should do if you want a smart home is to purchase a top notch WiFi router, it is important to spend good money on a high end model as you get what you pay for and a cheap one simply won’t cut it.

Converting from Telco to using Ethernet

Remember that time when people regularly used phonebooks and had a landline? Feels like a totally different world doesn’t it?

Nowadays, most people do not even have a landline because they prefer to use their cell phones. However, the wiring for the landlines is still there in your home waiting to be used.

If your home was built in the past decade, it’s likely wired with Cat5 cabling for your telephone. You can check by removing one of the phone plates and inspecting the wire. This can be used for your internet however in order to improve your connection, especially when using DSL.

So if you notice that your home is using Cat5, then you can hardwire your Ethernet connection which will provide a better signal and give you faster internet speeds. If your home has the older Cat3 cables, then you will want to consider having a professional take that out and install the modern Cat5 cables so you will be able to enjoy faster internet speeds.

Powering Everything Up

It is important to have enough outlets to power up all of your devices but you also do not want it all over your walls either. Aesthetics is important after all, because you do not want chargers and wires having everywhere along your walls, so it is a good idea to make sure that everything is cleaned up and efficient.

If you want to keep your devices powered up without making your home look like a mess then USB charging outlets maybe the way to go. These will replace the convention outlets and replace it with USB charging ports which you can use. So now you can plug in all of your different USB devices without cluttering up the home with wires and chargers.

These outlets are fairly cheap and they are easy to install as well, so if it is a good little project you can do in order to update your home. Before, you begin installing the USB outlets though, it is important to flip the switch in the breaker, because after all you will be working with electricity and that can be quite dangerous if there is a live current going through.

Making your Home Smart

Believe it or not but it is possible to control your home using your smart phone, which is pretty mind blowing when you think about it. With just your phone you will be able to control the temperature, lock and unlock doors, turn on your appliances, open doors, turn on lights, turn off lights, and just about everything you can imagine which is pretty amazing to say the least.

You can control every aspect of your home such as web cams, garage doors, thermostats, doorbells, door locks, security, lighting, and even things such as your appliances and TV by using your smart phone. There are a number of different devices out there that you can use in order to make your home smart. You can use Amazon’s Echo or even Apple’s HomeKit which is affordable and allows you to control your home without even having to get up.

These devices are easy to install as well and you will be able to buy them at stores like Best Buy or even Home Depot. Usually, all you will need is a screwdriver and maybe five minutes to install everything and get everything working the way it should. These devices are scalable as well, so you can start by connecting a few things and then gradually add more and more until your entire home is connected and smart.

Living it Up

Chances are that you do not want a home that is oppressive, somber, or dead quiet all of the time. So if you want your home to feel welcoming and to have a happy and fun atmosphere, then what are you suppose to do? Well it is simple, you need music!

Homes of the future will have audio systems that are house wide allowing you to play music anywhere in your home quickly and easily and the best part is that you will not have to worry about wires because it is totally wireless.

These sound systems are smart as well and they can wirelessly connect your playlists, to Tidal, Spotify, Sirius/XM, Pandora, and they can also connect to just about every single radio station in the world as well. You can control the music and what kind of music is being played in what parts of your home all by using your smart phone, which is pretty amazing because you can have orchestral music in the living room and heavy metal in the office at the same time.

Making your home smart can be a big investment, but you do not have to spend all the money at the same time and in the end it will be well worth it.

Improving your Homes Curb Appeal: Home Improvement

When you are concerned about your home’s exterior, you have to consider a lot of things because this really says your success. So if you aim to improve your curb appeal, there are some things that have to think of. Basically, your curb appeal will begin at the exterior of your home and then it will end at the road or at your property line. So here are some different kinds of ideas you can use, in order to improve your home’s curb appeal.

So when you are looking at a home’s exterior, what are the kinds of things you will notice? Basically, you will want to have a bold color on your door, which will draw your eyes towards it. You can do this by simply painting it an amazing color that is very bold but yet will compliment the color of your home.

One of the most important things to consider regarding curb appeal is the walkway, so make sure you can have an amazing walkway.

You can improve your walkway through a number of different easy, such as adding some landscaping and planting flowers alongside it.

A great way to improve your curb appeal is to add some different kinds of water features into your landscaping. Because there are few things out there just as amazing as being able to see a beautiful waterfall on your own property. There are many different choices available to you when picking the right waterfalls, so just have fun with it.

Another thing you will want to consider for a good curb appeal is ensuring that you can have some amazing lifting on your property. There are actually a number of options available to you for this, such as adding lights along your walkway or installing exterior lights to your home.

And when you intend to have amazing curb appeal, one of the most important things to consider is actually having a good porch. But besides having a porch, you will also want to make sure you are able to keep it clean and neat as well, if you would really intend to have excellent curb appeal.

So this article should have given you some good ideas, which you may be able to use when improving your home’s curb appeal. There are different kinds of things you can do, so stay creative and have fun with it.

Improving Your Property Value

There are a lot of different kinds of reasons why you would consider improving and upgrading your house, such as for boosting its value and also improving its aesthetic value. So if you want to do some different home improvement projects, those are the two different reasons that you would actually want to take note of. Also there are a lot of different options available to you when it’s about improving the property value of your house. And when you want to sell your home, it will be a lot convenient for you to get people interested and you will also make more money as well, which is always a good thing and a good reason to do property value increasing home improvement projects.

One of the best ways to improve your home’s value is to actually do some work when it’s all about landscaping concerns. So it’s always such a fantastic idea to put in work to be sure that your landscaping looks great and to also maintain the curb appeal of your home as well. You would want to make sure you can trim your hedges, mow the lawn, and also plant a wide variety of different types of plants to make your property look beautiful.

A great way to improve your home’s appearance is to give it a new paint job, because this can really revive your house. The best kind of colors to paint a house will be white, brown, grey, blue, and also a light yellow always looks good on a modern home. You would want to paint not only the exterior of the house but also the interior as well, because this is actually quite important.

There are also various kinds of home renovations that you would actually want to think about when the concern is on improving your home’s equity, such as bathroom renovations and also kitchen renovations.

Also, when you want to do some home renovations, it is important that you are able to go through the house and plan everything out and figure out what your home will need and what you feel needs to be done. You may want to get some ideas from your friends and family as well, which is always a great thinking. It can be very easy for you to raise the value of your property, you just need to do some tasteful renovations to your home and basically fix it up so it is like brand new again. And that is the basics on improving your home’s value.