{"id":2239,"date":"2026-06-17T03:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2026-06-17T03:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:18:08","slug":"in-praise-of-a-dumb-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239","title":{"rendered":"In Praise of a Dumb House"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

But at the moment it seems like more of a headache than a blessing to deal with nascent technology breaking, getting hacked\u2014or worse, somehow going haywire and murdering your entire family. As a Gen X\u2019er who often fears change (I never got a CD player and clung to my mixtapes till the bitter end), I know the future is coming, but I sure won\u2019t be an early adopter.<\/p>\n

Designer Rafe Churchill of AD PRO Directory firm Hendricks Churchill<\/a> agrees wholeheartedly. Over the past 30 years he has outfitted several houses with so-called smart systems, but today he has regrets. \u201cUltimately they create little more than frustrated clients and even more frustrated second owners who realize the equipment is becoming obsolete,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the risk of offending prospective clients, I firmly believe there is nothing comforting about illuminated touch screens.\u201d<\/p>\n

For me, it\u2019s the concept of a smart kitchen that\u2019s really the stuff of nightmares.<\/p>\n

Within the next year, Samsung will begin embedding Google Gemini directly into Bespoke AI refrigerators, microwaves, and ranges. Do I want my fridge cameras scanning my groceries (the images are called \u201cshelfies\u201d) and ordering more? LG\u2019s Signature Oven Range has introduced Gourmet AI, which recognizes your dishes and automatically applies what it deems to be optimal settings. AI Browning monitors bread and sends notifications when it\u2019s ready. But, like, I have eyes. A fridge that informs me if my milk is spoiling? I have a nose. Do I really need AI to tell me when fresh food is good or bad? What if I suddenly can\u2019t turn off this allegedly smart oven and burn my house down?<\/p>\n

Aesthetically, I also don\u2019t want a BlueOrigin command station in my kitchen. The room is supposed to be a charming gathering nook where my family can hang out, not a control room outfitted with complex launchpads.<\/p>\n

Even some showers are now supposedly \u201csmart,\u201d operated by an app, a control, or your voice. AD100 Hall of Fame designer Alexa Hampton<\/a> describes one bathroom contraption gone hilariously awry: \u201cI was recently in a house where I could not figure out a complicated shower. I had to ask a fellow houseguest to help me. We ended up sprayed and steamed\u2014while dressed\u2014in a tense variation of a Silkwood shower. I was not pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n

While AI is seemingly invading every corner of our lives, designers, paradoxically, are increasingly being asked to strip away the complexities of buggy, overly automated systems, opting for manual control (hello, faucets!) as the ultimate luxury. High-end, custom-designed smart systems are often over-engineered, frustrating, and difficult to manage, not to mention possibly not great for security. I don\u2019t know much about hackers, but I did see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo<\/em>, and I\u2019ll take an old-school deadbolt over a computer guarding me any day. I want to turn a lock, feel a click. I want my house to look like a nice cozy place to play mah-jongg, not produce a podcast. I even read about a sensor system that tracks your steps, with the floor illuminating under your feet like in the \u201cBillie Jean\u201d video. No, thanks. Automation is not my lover.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Architectural Digest<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But at the moment it seems like more of a headache than a blessing to deal with nascent technology breaking, getting hacked\u2014or worse, somehow going haywire and murdering your entire family. As a Gen X\u2019er who often fears change (I never got a CD player and clung to my mixtapes till the bitter end), I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[37,57,570,435,750],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-design","tag-gadgets","tag-housing","tag-technology","tag-the-future-of-home"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\"},\"headline\":\"In Praise of a Dumb House\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239\"},\"wordCount\":553,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"design\",\"Gadgets\",\"housing\",\"technology\",\"the future of home\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239\",\"name\":\"In Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2239#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In Praise of a Dumb House\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"description\":\"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"width\":1115,\"height\":522,\"caption\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\",\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SILVYBRAND\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","og_description":"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.","og_url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239","og_site_name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"SILVYBRAND","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SILVYBRAND","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239"},"author":{"name":"SILVYBRAND","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3"},"headline":"In Praise of a Dumb House","datePublished":"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239"},"wordCount":553,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg","keywords":["design","Gadgets","housing","technology","the future of home"],"articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239","name":"In Praise of a Dumb House - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T03:18:08+00:00","description":"Tech has been encroaching on the family domicile for years\u2014but actor, writer, and satirist Jill Kargman is all in on analog.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AD_Oyow_Final.jpg","width":1280,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2239#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In Praise of a Dumb House"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","width":1115,"height":522,"caption":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3","name":"SILVYBRAND","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SILVYBRAND"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com"],"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}