Technology Revolutionizes Future Homes IFDA Forecasts Multiple Home Offices/ Automation/ MateriaIs Altering Home Design by 2020

Furniture World Magazine

The Internet, home automation as well as the explosion of home offices and other technological advances will irrevocably transform home interiors and furnishings by the year 2020, according to a major new research report, "20/20: IFDA's Vision for the Future," by the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), the premier organization representing the furnishings and design industries. The current surge of home office development is expected to become a tidal wave by the year 2020, as the trends towards telecommuting, self-employment and flexible scheduling permeate our society predict the respondents, representing leaders in virtually every segment of the interior fashions industry, including manufacturers, retailers, product and interior designers, editors and marketers. 97% of survey respondents say it is very likely that a home office will be integrated into home design and planning. Technology will make a major impact on materials for the home as well, IFDA members believe. The types of materials used in furniture, home textiles and other interior furnishings will continue evolving over the next 20 years, with substantial increases in new classifications of synthetic fibers and green materials. 69% of survey respondents believe it is very likely that home design will incorporate more than one home office. "More people will work from home on a flex schedule, necessitating his and her offices," asserts Sarah B. Jenkins, president of a Washington D.C. interior design firm. Among the factors that will cause this surge is the ability of technology to replace small offices cost effectively. "Computer rooms with fax machines and multi-phone lines will be the norm," notes Janice E. Schreft, an interior design consultant based in Fort Lauderdale. "Even if people don't actually 'work' there, more people will be ordering food as well as clothing over the Internet." Techno-Trends Technology will fundamentally alter our home environment, changing the way we live and work, according to the IFDA survey. According to 54 %of survey respondents, cable lines are expected to have the most significant impact, 49 % say wireless phones also will have a major impact, and 30% believe solar power will have a substantial influence on our homes. "Homes will be more functional to accommodate technological advances," points out Judi Alexander, consumer marketing manager for WestPoint Stevens. "We won't have to leave our homes for anything-work, shopping, entertainment or socializing. We will continue to spend on our homes, consumer goods and privacy, and security will be more important than ever." Automatic Action A remarkable 97% of survey participants anticipate that voice, sensor and other types of activation may come into wider general use by 2020; 92% of respondents say that lighting will be automatically controlled; 84% look forward to automatically controlled environments, and 84% believe 'Internet access will be directed by this type of technology. Patti Anderson, account manager for Whirlpool, notes that her company is partnering with other leading tech companies to produce smart, programmable appliances that can be operated from both within and outside the home, improving energy management and performing multiple functions automatically and at a distance. "Imagine," she says, contacting your refrigerator from your office PC and asking what ingredients you will need to prepare dinner." 78% of respondents also expect energy-saving devices to be controlled by advanced activation technology; 65% say window coverings will be operated automatically; the same number believe kitchen equipment will be managed in this way; 45% anticipate automatically controlled windows; 39 percent predict cleaning and maintenance duties will be managed by technology; and 33% say this technology will be used to control recycling. Lyn Lewis, a marketing executive with Benjamin Moore & Co., observes that "Internet purchasing and merchandise exposure" will also have a profound impact on homes in the future. "We have gotten used to high tech in the home, office and entertainment area, but, in the future, we will feel technology's impact in whole different way," notes Helen Wagner, public relations manager at 3-M. "The home in 2020 will be unlike anything we have ever experienced." Commenting that last year 34% of 3M's sales were generated by products new in the last four years, she is convinced that companies will "step up to the plate," speeding the pace to meet product needs of future lifestyles. Richard Hammar, director of product development for Ohio-based Hinckley Lighting concurs, "By 2020, the computer chip will be utilized in ways we can only dream about today. Our technology will make them very affordable and placed almost everywhere. to make our lives easier. Computer automation will enable us to do more in less time. We are headed for exciting times in the lighting field-smart controls and fiber optics will be everywhere." Material Matters While not ruling out continued desirability of natural fibers, especially for luxury goods, 76% of the respondents believe that the usage of micro-fibers will increase substantially; 65% predict green materials in home furnishings will increase significantly. The prevalence of plastics is also expected to grow say 55%; 51% anticipate a rise in the use of nylon, polypropylene and similar fibers, primarily in the carpet industry. "Recycled products, such as metals and plastic, will replace or significantly impact the use of natural products, such as wood from our endangered forests," says Resa Fanner, president of Southeast Interiors, a Georgia interior design firm. Looking to the future, Christine Pratt, chairperson of home products at the New York's Fashion Institute of Technology reports "innovations" by her students who, in their forecasted rooms, did not place a lot of furnishings, as we do today . They showed techno-furnishings to make life easier; place mats with fiber optic messages, selfwarming fabrics and fiber optic "window-scapes" featuring scenes that could be changed frequently to hide unattractive views. These students, she notes, "will be instrumental in what is developed in 2020 and will also represent a huge market at the peak of their spending power at that time."