Everyday Home Must-Haves Beg for a Makeover
The Nest's much-improved take on the thermostat has us pondering reinventions of other necessities around the house
What home product designs drive you insane? I know I've been tempted to chuck my cable box, microwave and vacuum cleaner out the window. For Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, the humble thermostat's unattractive and difficult design got under their skin. The two, both former Apple employees, researched past and present thermostats to come up with a better solution. "We weren't going to design another white plastic box," Rogers says. The result is the Nest, a sleek and easy-to-use product with lessons for the future of home automation.
If Fadell and Rogers can turn the thermostat into a thing of beauty, what other essential home gizmos could use a makeover?
If Fadell and Rogers can turn the thermostat into a thing of beauty, what other essential home gizmos could use a makeover?
Dyson DC24 All Floors Upright Vacuum - Frontgate
What else needs fixing, and what gets it right? The Nest answers a decades-old design problem that had simply been overlooked. So, what other home products could use a makeover? "There are a lot of things," says Rogers. "Start with when you walk into the house. The door — you need to get your key out to unlock it, technology that's been in use since the 1700s."
Design problems abound in the average home. Everything from light switches to electrical outlets can become sources of frustration. "All of these things have been around and the same since the '50s and '60s," says Rogers. "Traditional technology companies are just not in the space. There's never really been a technology company working in this area."
Are any products getting it right these days? "Dyson vacuums," says Rogers. "They've helped make the vacuum interesting."
Design problems abound in the average home. Everything from light switches to electrical outlets can become sources of frustration. "All of these things have been around and the same since the '50s and '60s," says Rogers. "Traditional technology companies are just not in the space. There's never really been a technology company working in this area."
Are any products getting it right these days? "Dyson vacuums," says Rogers. "They've helped make the vacuum interesting."
Simplehuman Butterfly Sensor Trash Can
Rogers also loves Simplehuman trash cans, which are a redesign of a previously unpleasant object. Now there's an alternative to standard aluminum or plastic trash cans with awkward lids and ever-present smells. Simplehuman trash cans have motion sensor technology and a beautiful design.
Kupu Photoelectric Smoke Alarm
European companies also have been tackling some of the ugliest necessities, such as the smoke alarm. Similar to the thermostat, most smoke alarms are unattractive must-haves. The simply designed Kupu Smoke Alarm is changing that. Now, in Europe — the only place it's available — a smoke alarm can actually add something to a room's design.
The world of home design will never be perfect. Lighting, for one thing, continues to frustrate Rogers (shown). "We shouldn't have to remember to flip a switch every time we go in and out of a room," he says. While he'd love to redesign every light in his home, he plans to focus on the thermostat for now.
The new Nest, released October 2, 2012, upgrades the modern thermostat in both appearance and function. Now compatible with 95 percent of low-voltage residential heating and cooling systems, it's also available in a slimmer form and with a stainless steel ring to mirror the wall color behind it.
Tell us: What home object do you think needs a makeover?
The new Nest, released October 2, 2012, upgrades the modern thermostat in both appearance and function. Now compatible with 95 percent of low-voltage residential heating and cooling systems, it's also available in a slimmer form and with a stainless steel ring to mirror the wall color behind it.
Tell us: What home object do you think needs a makeover?
"Programmable thermostats were a big thing in the '80s," says Rogers. "But after talking to the EPA, we found out that only 11 percent of thermostats are actually programmed." Consumers needed a way to be comfortable and save energy without having to remember to readjust and set their thermostats.
The Nest learns people's heating and air conditioning habits and adjusts accordingly. Aesthetically, the sleek design — a circle with a standard degree display — makes it unlike any other thermostat. The solution came during one of the duo's first meetings, when a friend drew a simple circle on the whiteboard with "72°" written in the middle.