Until just a few years ago, domotized and automated homes were a privilege reserved for ultra-wealthy renters. That trend has taken a radical turn, and today, big money is looking for the opposite: “dumb” homes.
Digital Detox: A New Form of Luxury
“We often hear clients say that they don’t want a home that’s smarter than they are,” Holly Hunt, a luxury home interior designer, told Town & Country. She’s not alone. The ultra-rich increasingly want their homes to be as low-tech as possible.
Long gone are the days when big Hollywood stars like actress Sofia Vergara bragged about controlling every appliance in their homes from a smartphone.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates took his famous Xanadu 2.0 mansion to another level. According to Business Insider, Gates’ guests received a device that let the house automatically detect their presence and adjust the room’s lighting, temperature, and ambient music based on their preferences.
Today, the ultra-rich prefer to stay away from hyper-connected homes. “Once upon a time, attracting a high-end buyer meant flat-screens in almost every room, including outdoor areas. In today’s overly automated market, however, too much tech can be a massive turnoff,” Pacific Sotheby’s real estate agent Gillian Flynn told The Hollywood Reporter.
Experts in high-end homes, such as India Alexandra of real estate consultancy The Moder House, told the Financial Times:
“There are elements of smart homes that some buyers find appealing. We absolutely have clients who prefer to live in houses that use more simple, traditional technology linked to simple pleasures—taking a long bath, lighting a fire, cooking a meal over a slow heat.”
The real estate expert emphasized that “people have busy lives, and a home is often a retreat from the technology that dominates life otherwise.” As a result, the ultra-rich no longer think of their homes as automated places but as havens of disconnection from screens and tech.
The Hidden Inconveniences of Smart Homes
One major factor driving this trend is the constant evolution of technology, which often lacks standardized systems. The result: incompatibilities and planned obsolescence that age poorly.
“Data shows that roughly 57% of homeowners with smart devices face compatibility issues, which make managing a connected home less about ease and more about troubleshooting,” George Carrillo, executive director of the Hispanic Building Council, told Realtor.
Beverly Hills interior designer Carrie Livingston told The Hollywood Reporter her clients had grown tired of their $100,000-plus home automation systems. “They could not find a single light switch in the entire home. The wife complained that every time she got up at night, her husband would see her path illuminated as she made her way from bed to bathroom,” because the system detected his movement and turned on all the lights.
“Other times, she’d enter a darkened room where the lights wouldn’t go on no matter how much she flapped her arms,” Livingston said. She eventually scrapped the entire automation system in favor of simple switches.
Eyes Everywhere
Home automation systems also raise serious security concerns. Leonie Tanczer, associate professor of international security and emerging technologies, told the Financial Times that any Internet-connected device is vulnerable to hacking.
Cybersecurity companies like Kaspersky have echoed this concern, warning of vulnerabilities in connected devices and the risk that cybercriminals could access cameras or take control of entire systems—essentially like handing over a house key.
Another concern is the enormous amount of data these devices collect. Every appliance—from the vacuum cleaner and washing machine to the air conditioner or TV—remains connected to the Internet and continuously collects data revealing usage patterns and household routines.
In contrast, a “dumb” home eliminates those risks by eliminating unnecessary digital connections. For many millennials, true luxury now lies in a simple home where they can flip a switch without worrying about invasive technological ecosystems.
Image | Sebastian Scholz (Nuki) (Unsplash)
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