Originally published August 2025. Updated August 2026 to incorporate new information related to smart home technology in the kitchen.
- Smart home technology must be part of the initial conversation with new clients.
- Smart tech that affects electrical, lighting, appliances and/or cabinetry lay-out needs to be considered early in the design process.
- The goal of incorporating kitchen-specific smart home tech systems is to support how the client actually uses the kitchen.
As a kitchen designer you’ve likely experienced an increase in client questions regarding smart technology features for their new kitchen.
Smart technology in the kitchen isn’t really about having the latest gadgets. The more important question is whether technology affects the electrical and lighting plans, appliance specifications, the cabinetry layout or the way the client intends to use the room. Those decisions need to happen early in the remodel planning.
You are expected to be an expert on every aspect of the kitchens you create. It is challenging enough to keep up to date with design trends and ever-changing appliance models. Now smart tech features may be another factor in your design.
What do you actually need to think about when technology enters the project?
Start with the Client, not the Technology
Smart home technology should be one of the first conversations you have with your clients, not an afterthought. It should be built into the timeline, budget and the design before anything is finalized. Retrofitting technology after the project is complete can be more difficult, limit the available options and increase costs.
Before anything else happens, you and your clients need to determine what they actually want from technology in the kitchen. This is in addition, of course, to all the usual questions about family size, lifestyle, special interests, etc.
Ask your clients if they want:
- Remote appliance control
- Lighting controls
- Hands-free faucet
- Charging stations
- Music
- Aging-in-place features
- None of the above
Once you are on the same page, you can begin to lay out a plan.
Plan Infrastructure Early
Planning for smart technology may affect the location and number of electrical outlets, charging stations, lighting controls, appliance connections and network access. Identifying those requirements before cabinetry, electrical and lighting plans are finalized can prevent costly changes later.
Here’s some good news. You don’t need to become an expert; you can partner with an expert!
And that partner will be a technology integrator: someone who knows the ins and outs of today’s electronic systems, who is an expert in tech-related products, networks, security and infrastructure requirements.
They are the expert so you don’t have to be.
Your job is to make the design functional and beautiful. The tech integrator makes the smart tech home systems work.
Smart Home Technology in the Kitchen
Some features of kitchen-specific smart home tech include:
- Smart lighting and automated controls
- Hands-free or voice-controlled faucets
- Connected appliances
- Charging stations
- Leak/water monitoring
Lighting
Lighting can be tied in with a smart home system to make it all work together.
Smart controls can coordinate task, accent, under-cabinet and toe-kick lighting and adjust lighting levels for different kitchen activities.
Faucets
One of the most popular smart home tech-enabled offerings is the hands-free faucet that can be turned on and off by voice or a hand wave motion. In addition, smart faucets can control the amount of water dispensed, as well as the water temperature.
Appliances in the Smart Home Kitchen
More appliance manufacturers, such as Gaggenau and Sub-Zero, and plumbing products from Kohler and Moen, are adding smart features so their products can integrate easily into the overall smart home technology system.
For a closer look at the benefits and potential drawbacks of connected appliances, see our article “Smart Appliances: Love ’em or Hate ’em.”
Seniors can Benefit from Smart Home Technology
Smart technology can also support aging in place. Hands-free faucets, automated lighting, appliance alerts and simple voice controls may make the kitchen easier and safer to use. As with any aging-in-place feature, ease of use should drive the decision.
Design for Technology without Letting the Technology Drive the Design
Kitchens last a long time; technology does not.
The cabinets may be in the house for 20 to 30 years while today’s hot tech may be obsolete in five.
Flexibility should be designed into the kitchen rather than designing permanent cabinets around a trendy, fleeting gadget.
Conclusion
The smartest kitchen isn’t necessarily the kitchen with the most technology. It’s the kitchen that has been designed to accommodate the technology the homeowner actually uses—and can adapt as that technology changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What’s the timing for incorporating smart tech features in a kitchen remodel?
A. Smart home technology should be one of the first conversations you have with your clients. It should be built into the timeline, budget and the design before anything is finalized.
Q. All this technology is overwhelming. Does a designer need to learn everything about it?
A. No. A technology integrator can be your partner for specialized technology and infrastructure requirements.
Q. What are some smart tech features that could go into a new kitchen?
A. There are many; here’s a condensed list: automated lighting controls, connected appliances, water monitoring systems, hands-free faucets.
Resources
At Bob Aungst Cabinet Sales, we work with kitchen dealers and designers and design-build remodelers throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland to help them sell cabinetry for real homes and real lifestyles.