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Customized appliances, vertical laundry room setups, and an increasing number of wellness-inspired home design options were on display Monday at the virtual CES 2021, which runs through Friday. Take a look at some of the trends from this year’s popular tech show that likely will influence home design this year.
1. More colorful kitchens. More appliance manufacturers are touting four-panel refrigerators. They offer more options for temperature settings for individualized food compartments. The four-panel model also offers flexibility for greater organization. The refrigerator could also get more colorful.
Samsung debuted its Bespoke line of four-door, contemporary, flat-panel refrigerators, which can be fully customized, during the kickoff of CES 2021. You can select from eight colors in glass or steel finishes: gray glass; sky blue glass, navy steel, champagne steel, matte black steel, navy glass, white glass, and rose pink glass.
“As families spend more time in the heart of the home—the kitchen—they’re investing in home appliances they can personalize,” says John Herrington, senior vice president and general manager of home appliances at Samsung. Bespoke refrigerators are customizable on the outside and inside with a variety of colors, materials, and finishes as well as convertible drawers.
LG also showed off a line of customized appliances through its Furniture Concept Appliances, which offers several materials and color combos to choose from, such as stainless steel, glass, and metal.
2. Wellness design centers on relaxation. Several tech companies at CES 2021 are promoting relaxation and wellness gadgets as more people spend time at home. Kohler’s Stillness Bath could take the freestanding tub to the next level in an owner’s suite.
It mixes water, light, fog, and essential oils and features an infinity-style water cascade that falls onto a Hinoki wood moat that then recirculates the water back into the bathtub.
3. Laundry rooms go vertical. Appliance manufacturers showed off vertical washer and dryer setups that bypass side-by-side models, which often take up too much space in a tight laundry room.
The space that’s freed by the vertical alignment can then be used for more storage. An armoire or bookshelf could fit for storing more items, such as common home products.
For example, LG presented the stackable WashTower as part of its new lineup. Its design is thoughtful when it comes to user-friendliness: The control features are in the middle of the two stackable units for easy access.
4. TVs on display—or tucked away. As televisions get larger, they may get tougher to mount on walls. Several TV manufacturers presented their latest high-tech models on three-legged metal stands, displaying fancy televisions like artwork on an easel. LG Electronics showed off a new OLED Evo panel on a gallery stand.
Samsung’s The Frame, an extra-slim 4K television, attempts to turn the TV into actual artwork that you can hang on your wall like a picture frame. It’s offered in sizes from 32 to 75 inches and is as thin as a picture frame. It also can be displayed either horizontal or vertical. You can access more than 1,400 curated pieces to add to your TV art.
If you want to make your TV more discreet, LG also showed off a futuristic concept: an OLED TV with a transparent display that can slide in and out from the foot of the bed.
