The best new home tech gadgets: TV screens, speakers, drawers and lights — all hidden in plain sight

These ingenious plant pots, wall art and lamps conceal hi-tech surprises

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Kate Burnett22 July 2019

Launched at Milan Design Week this spring, Symfonisk is the result of Ikea’s collaboration with home sound-streaming specialist Sonos.

As well as a more conventional rectangular speaker — which can double as a shelf — there is a table lamp, where the wi-fi speaker forms the base.

Although it is not directly voice-enabled, it can be controlled by the Sonos app as well as other Alexa products.

In two colourways, the lamp costs £150 and is available from next month (ikea.com).

Speaker-cum-plant pots

In the grooviest gardens, speakers can be cunningly disguised as plant pots. The Atrium Garden System from Polk Audio doubles as a base for a pot or planter.

It comes in one size in grey or the pictured terracotta but can also be painted to blend into your outdoor space — and it has been tested against extreme weather.

£499 | Polk Audio | Buy it now

Or Urban Outfitters has a small Bluetooth-controlled pot for shelves or desks at 24cm tall.

£16 | Urban Outfitters | Buy it now

Concealed speakers

Some products lend themselves to sculptural design, and speakers definitely fall into this category. The BeoSound Edge for Bang & Olufsen by designer Michael Anastassiades, isn’t your typical speaker in terms of both its sculptural form and unusual function.

Its built-in controls include sensors that detect when you get close to the speaker, illuminating the aluminium touch interface. Designed for both floor and wall, the volume is adjusted by gently rolling the speaker forwards or backwards.

£2,900 | Bang & Olufsen | Buy it now

Alternatively, the Bang & Olufsen Shape, below, might be for you. Groups of the individual hexagonal speaker “tiles” have interchangeable covers in a variety of colours.

They can be customised on the wall and have integrated noise dampers that can help with the room’s acoustics.

From £3,400 | Bang & Olufsen | Buy it now

Bang & Olufsen Shape speakers can be customised for your wall

TV/artwork

Samsung has created the Frame “lifestyle TV". ”When you’re not watching a programme, the Frame can be customised with your choice of artwork and photography from renowned collections.

The company has negotiated with leading galleries worldwide, including the V&A and Tate Modern in London, to offer a selection of famous works.

From £799 | Samsung | Buy it now

Light that's also wall art

Green tech Canadian company Nanoleaf is behind Canvas, a range of touch-activated lighting panels that create wall art as well as providing illumination using LEDs.

The LEDs come as 15cm square tiles that can be configured and linked to create modular patterns on the wall or ceiling. As well as conventional white light or solid colour, the built-in Rhythm module allows Nanoleaf Canvas to react to music, changing colours to suit every mood.

From £89.99 for four tiles | Nanoleaf | Buy it now

Nanoleaf's Canvas range of touch-activated lighting panels create wall art as well as providing illumination using LEDs

Kitchen drawers - but not as you know them

They may look like ordinary kitchen drawers but Fisher & Paykel’s range of drawers open to reveal a variety of functions, including dishwashing, cooling and refrigeration.

The CoolDrawer offers five temperature settings, from freezer to pantry.

The New Zealand-based manufacturer has a choice of colours in its range of Double DishDrawer options.

£2,249 | Fisher & Paykel | Buy it now

The Signature OLED TV R screen can completely disappear

Rollable TV

Innovative British architects Foster + Partners have been working with Korean manufacturer LG on a new and — literally — revolutionary, rollable TV screen — the Signature OLED TV R (model 65R9), unveiled earlier this year in Milan and Las Vegas.

The television screen can completely disappear, emerging in increments from its rectangular aluminium base. “Line View”, extended at about 25cm, can display features such as a clock, personal photographic images, music and home dashboard. “Zero View” still offers audio even though the screen is completely hidden.

Fully extended, the screen measure 65 inches diagonally. This luxurious telly is expected to be on the market at the end of this year with a rumoured, equally luxurious, five-figure price tag (lg.com/uk)