This post was written in partnership with Kohler. All opinions are my own.
I’m always on the hunt for home products that aren’t just “connected” or “smart”, but are using tech to truly add value and make life easier. Kohler’s new kitchen and bath lineup is brimming with great examples. Not only am I impressed with how they’re innovating with technology in these spaces, but really digging the purposefulness too; I’m now 100 percent convinced that using their smart home tech for the bathroom and kitchen counts as acts of self-care. Read on to see why.
Kohler Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror
Verdera Voice is the first Amazon Alexa-enabled lighted mirror of its kind, designed to make your time in the bathroom more productive, and help you cement your morning and evening routines.
It has beautiful panels of really bright (and dimmable) voice-controlled and adjustable LED light, so you can set a putting-in-my-contacts level, or a dimmer how-will-i-look-by-candlelight level. And with Alexa built in, you can ask it about everything from the weather to traffic updates and even play music while you’re doing your makeup and brushing your teeth. I love the idea of being able to set reminders, and add things to my shopping list all while I’m dabbing serum on my eyes or flossing… usually if I can’t write those things down when I think of them, I run the risk of forgetting. Of course, Alexa can go into privacy mode if you’d rather not have her listen to your bathroom banter.
The mirror also connects to other elements of Kohler’s connected bathroom, so you can use it to turn on, say, your DTV+ shower system with Kohler Konnect using just your voice. Voice commands enable you to activate presets that include lights, steam, music and of course lots of jets of water, so you can feel like you’re stepping into a spa before you start your morning commute.
Veil Lighted Collection
GAHH the Veil Lighted Collection made me feel like I was standing in a luxe Las Vegas bathroom— not tacky Vegas, but way-fancier-than-home Vegas. The collection that previewed at CES 2019 is coming later this year, and includes a toilet, free-standing bath and a sink, mirror and vanity combo. The shapes are all inspired by natural organic figures. They also feature beautiful backlighting inspired by natural light— so they can shine the bright, blue tones we need to perk up start our day, and the warmer, sunset tones that help cue our bodies to get ready for sleep.
All the lighting changes are completely synchronized with motion sensors that correspond to the time of day (yep, your bathroom can tell time now.) This makes it so that when you enter, whether you’re there to put on makeup, get ready for bed or get a glass of water in the middle of the night, the lighting will adjust and accommodate.
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Other features worth mentioning: “Switch” glass in the vanity that goes from clear to frosted, so that you can have privacy that’s automated for when you need it. (Say, you’re entertaining and want to stuff a bunch of clutter under the bathroom sink!) There’s also a magnification mirror that will light up as you approach so you can really see every square inch of your face in detail (sometimes wanted, sometimes scary!).
Sensate Kitchen Faucet with Kohler Konnect
Kohler won a 2019 CES Innovation Award for their take on the smart faucet, and it’s easy to see why. The Sensate kitchen faucet with Kohler Konnect has some killer features I didn’t even know I wanted, but now I feel like my current kitchen faucet’s days are numbered. First, the Sensate comes with touchless and voice activation, so you can be breading your chicken tenders and instruct your faucet to turn on and off, just by using your voice. You can also use a hands-free motion to turn it on, so you don’t have to touch faucets while your hands are dirty.
The “Measured Pour” feature is my absolute favorite: It allows you to program your faucet to fill up your pasta pot or coffee carafe perfectly every time without overflowing. You can also get a precise measurement of water by asking it to pour, say, two cups of water into a pot for your mac and cheese. Genius.
Sensate with Kohler Konnect can also help you with your water conservation efforts by recording all the ways you’re using water in your kitchen. You can then observe your habits with on the Kohler app, which will coach you to reduce your use over time.
Oh, and cleanup is a breeze with it’s innovative sweep spray, which creates a wide and forceful blade of water so you can clean every nook and cranny of your sink with a lot more precision and speed.
For more information on Kohler’s Smart Home products visit kohler.com/smarthome.
Images provided by Kohler Co.
