FUTURE OF HOME LIVING

INTRODUCTION With the Future of Home Living report, PSFK Labs wants to provide our point of view on what life at home may look like in the coming months and years and how we might get there. This research seeks to uncover the emerging behaviors, technologies, products, services, and initiatives that are driving the evolution of the home. In the following pages, we’ll provide a detailed look at 13 key trends that are directly influencing the future of urban life. Each trend has been brought to life through a mix of products and services, many of which you could purchase and use today. To examine our trends through a macro lens, we’ve organized them into three larger themes: Adaptive, On-Demand and Equilibrium, which point to the importance of a clean, efficient and responsive space that can flexibly conform to the ever-changing needs of its residents.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

KEY TAKEAWAYS

DESIGN •  Disappearing Designs Seamless designs that blend into the background of our homes, featuring beautiful form and functionality both when stored and in use. •  Small Feels Expansive Creative interior solutions make any sized space feel bigger than its square-footage by allowing every room to accommodate multiple occasions, people and needs.

•  Owner-Centered Interior decor arrangements happen on whim as our living spaces become infinitely customizable, allowing our dream homes to change from week to week or hour to hour.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

TECHNOLOGY

•  A Gentle Nudge Our products, devices and appliances improve our daily lives by providing timely reminders, prompts and alerts, helping make better decisions about everything from our personal well-being to the health of our homes.

•  Life In The Cloud More of our physical possessions from media and photographs to printable product designs move to the cloud, where they can be accessed from anywhere, freeing up space inside our homes.

•  Better Living Through Technology Technologies enable us to control and customize the sensory aspects of our home from lighting to atmosphere, creating an optimal environment to live.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

ENVIRONMENTAL •  Access More, Own Less Person-to-person sharing networks and personalized subscription services give us access to everything we need without the costs of long-term ownership and storage.

•  Fix First, Buy Later Access to on-demand parts and flexible labor enable us to more easily repair the things we own rather than buy something new, extending the longevity and usefulness of products, furniture and appliances. •  Green Infusion Greater efficiencies become standard features of all our products and appliances, allowing everyone to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle without altering their daily habits or purchasing behaviors.

Adaptive Customizable solutions for the home

are being designed to accommodate a wider range of needs throughout the day and week, bringing greater functionality

and flexibility to urban lifestyles.

Reconfigurable Furniture Home furnishings and decor are being designed with modular components and multi-purpose features to deliver greater functionality in less space.

“I want to maximize my life at home without buying more stuff.”

Reconfigurable Wall Shelf Stores Everything From Books To Bikes

FUSILLO WALL SHELF

Transformer Furniture Collection Saves Space

RESOURCE FURNITURE

Pop-Out Design Space-saving products and furnishings are leveraging instantly collapsible construction and integrated storage to reduce their footprints when not in use.

“I want to be able to entertain friends inside my studio apartment.”

Furniture System Breaks Down Easily For Storage On Wall Pegs

PEG FURNITURE SYSTEM

Bookcase Designed To Conceal Table And Chairs

AS IF FROM NOWHERE

Lightscaping Programmable systems can control the color, intensity and directionality of light to match a particular mood or task, or immerse people in an enter-tainment experience.

“I want more ways to set the mood and define my space.”

Robotic System ‘Paints’ Room Through Photoshop-like Interface

LIGHTY SYSTEM

Concept Projects On-Screen Action Onto Adjacent Walls

ILLUMIROOM

Responsive Systems Internet-enabled products are delivering greater convenience and efficiency to people’s lives by informing residents about perfor-mance, condition and needs of the home and the things within it.

“Why can’t my apartment just take care of itself?”

Connected Thermostat Automatically Adjusts For Incoming Sunlight

NEST THERMOSTAT

Sensor Embedded Container Concept Sends An SMS When Milk Is Low Or Spoiled

MILKMAID

On-Demand Networks and systems are growing to

help city residents enjoy their lives on their terms and at the speed they want.

Guided Discovery Novel twists on subscription services are helping homeowners break out of routine behaviors by delivering a curated selection of products directly to their homes.

“My life is busy, I need the best of what’s out there to come to me.”

Art Sharing Service Enables Swapping Of Contemporary Artwork Every Six Months

GETARTUP

Food Subscription Service Delivers Recipes And Ingredients To Home Chefs

HELLO FRESH

Community Outsourcing Person-to-person services are enabling individuals to tap into the valuable skills and availability of people within their community to help accomplish personal tasks and errands.

“Sometimes I need an extra hand to help get things done.”

Startup Matches Designers With People To Help Solve Everyday Problems

FIXPERTS

Service Gives Access To A Network Of On-Demand Personal Helpers

WUNWUN

Make It Yourself A new range of DIY kits and tech-nologies are making the process of envisioning and producing custom products and designs accessible to anyone regardless of space or skills.

“If it was up to me, I would have designed it this way”

Home 3D Printer Lets Owners Print DIY Designs At Home

PRINTRBOT

Starter Kits Teach Users To Make Their Own Interactive Electronics

TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US

Entertainment Cloud Home entertainment is shifting away from wires and cords to streaming cloud-based services that allow people to seamlessly access content when and where they want it.

“I want all of my enter-tainment options accessible throughout my home.”

Wi-Fi Enabled Dongle Streams Videos From Phone To TV

PLAIR

Sleek Set-Top Box Combines Streaming Content Services Into A Single Interface

FAN TV

Equilibrium The home is being re-imagined as a

platform to integrate balance, health, and well-being into people’s everyday lives.

Purified Living A mix of tech-enabled and natural filtering systems are being placed into appliances to improve the environmental quality of people’s living spaces.

“If it was up to me, I would have designed it this way”

Range Hood Purifies The Air While You Cook Dinner

GREENHOOD

Air Purifying Wallpaper Captures Harmful Toxins

PERMASORB

Home Farming Compact gardening solutions are being developed to accommodate the time, space and resource restrictions of modern urban living.

“I want to be able to grow some of what I eat at home.”

Self-Cleaning Aquarium Feeds Attached Herb Garden

AQUAFARM

Tech-Enabled Garden System Tends To Itself

CLICK AND GROW

Hushed Interiors To control noise levels both within and from outside, home products and decor are incorporating soundproofing technologies and materials.

“I want my home to be an escape from the rest of the world.”

Lighting Fixture Creates Soundproof Spaces

PETALE LAMP

Soundproof Blinds Dampen Exterior Sounds

FELTONE BLINDS

Quantified Lifestyle Sensor embedded technologies provide unprecedented access to personal information, helping people make smarter decisions about their daily lives.

“I just need a little nudge to change my behaviors for the better.”

Display Tells You Exactly How Much Water You’re Using

myWATER

Bathroom Mirror Concept Instantly Reads And Displays Vital Signs

MIT MEDICAL MIRROR

Resourceful Design Home furnishing and appliances are lowering resource consumption by leveraging a combination of recycling systems and alternative energy sources or completely rethinking traditional designs.

“I don’t want to have to think about living an eco-friendly life.”

Efficient Shower System Filters And Recycles Water To Reduce Waste

ECOVEA SHOWER

Solar Powered Plug Concept Sticks To The Window To Power Devices

WINDOW SOCKET

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