Since the outbreak of COVID-19 over one year ago, the world has become a different place. The pandemic’s ongoing presence has created a level of uncertainty that has disrupted daily life and impacted many sectors of the economy. The prospects for top home luxury categories, especially premium home appliances, high-end furniture and designer interiors, are looking exceptionally positive in 2021.
In a recent Luxury Institute survey of Global Luxury Expert Network (GLEN) members and a select group of premium and prestige brand leaders, there was a consensus that the luxury homeware and products market is set for a very good year. 56 percent of participants agreed that the home appliance sector will make gains on the back of innovation/technology driven upgrades, while 68 percent concurred that home furnishings will flourish as more people seek to customize their spaces in the stay-at-home era. And almost all survey respondents (96 percent) expressed confidence in the continued ascendance of the health and wellness sector thanks, again, to new technologies/innovation.
A great example of the innovation that is pushing growth in the home appliance sector is LG SIGNATURE, an ultra-premium brand known for its pioneering technologies and design. Another company unafraid to try new things, Italian designer-furniture maker Molteni&C is representative of the home furnishing category’s continuing success, which is being fueled in part by the greater attention people are affording their living environments in the time of the pandemic. At the same time, the health and wellness sector’s strong performance is having a flow-on effect in the area of home interiors, where technology and design innovation are meeting the rising demand for safer, healthier homes.
While the pandemic and resulting shift to a home-based lifestyle are significant factors, innovation is without doubt the most essential ingredient in creating a real luxurious and comfortable way of life at home. New and upgraded technologies and designs are proven to deliver value and make time spent indoors much better on a number of levels. And it’s not just technology-focused companies that are bringing meaningful innovation to the table, but premium furniture and lifestyle brands as well.

Innovation in Home Appliances: Boosting Synergy with Technological and Design Innovation

The luxury household appliance market is expanding as the demand for innovative home electronics products continues to rise. Embracing innovation in everything it does, LG SIGNATURE has developed a strong reputation among the world’s most discerning consumers for products that maximize quality-of-life through the harmonious blend of art and technology. LG SIGNATURE preserves each product’s unique essence with its outstanding core technologies while eliminating any unnecessary elements to achieve the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality.
Innovative technologies and designs are applied throughout the brand’s premium lineup to enhance performance, ease-of-use and visual appeal.

The LG SIGNATURE Wine Cellar leverages InstaViewTM technology to keep internal temperatures stable and lock in freshness, creating a strong thermal barrier to maintain the perfectly chilled environment for wines and specialty foods.

With a brushed stainless steel finish that looks and feels hand-crafted, the LG SIGNATURE Refrigerator is a stylish addition to any modern kitchen. The non-directional hairline brushing method has expert technicians performing hundreds of thin, multi-directional brush strokes that are only revealed through the shifting of light, evoking an added sense of artisanal exclusivity. All this demonstrates LG SIGNATURE’s commitment to creating products of the highest quality, whose strength and elegance is equaled only by their advanced, user-centric capabilities.

 

LG SIGNATURE’s does not stop there. In the first half of this year, the brand will showcase its most technologically evolved innovation yet: the LG SIGNATURE OLED R. Boasting an extremely sleek look, the ultra-thin screen rolls into a state-of-the-art base that houses the TV’s sound system. The television that appears when you need it and disappears when you don't – with a simple click on the remote control – is an outstanding achievement only possible with OLED technology's self-lit pixels. With three viewing modes (Full, Line and Zero), the OLED R reimagines and expands the user experience in previously unthought of ways, seamlessly integrating with any room or décor and epitomizing the brand’s vision of futuristic luxury.

Innovation in Home Furnishings: Redefining the Concept of Custom-made with Multiple ‘Individualization’ Options

With people arguably more focused on curating their living spaces than at any point in recent history, homes are now being designed to fit people’s lifestyles, and not the other way round. Accordingly, many home-furnishing brands, including top luxury names, are using innovation to create solutions tailored to the needs of the individual and not the masses, while continuing to adhere to their brand heritage and design identity. An Italian designer furniture company known as much for its technological innovation as for the timeless beauty of its modern-classic furniture pieces, Molteni&C continues to gain fans (and customers) worldwide.
From beds to tables, sofas to sideboards, Molteni&C furnishings are made from the highest-quality materials and crafted with the help of technological advancements exclusive to the company. Emblematic of the growing customization trend in home furnishings, Molteni&C’s wardrobe system is redefining the concept of custom-made, providing multiple ‘individualization’ options that allow customers to tailor configuration and aesthetics to their own unique needs and tastes. Just a few of the many choices available include handles made from pewter, or clad in eco skin, and innovative doors with seamlessly integrated 180-degree hinges and exposed aluminum frames inlaid with four-millimeter-thick crystal.
The style, usability and unabashed luxuriousness of Molteni&C’s furniture collections have made the company a perpetual favorite with consumers, who understand and are prepared to pay for enduring quality and premier design. And by recognizing that people no longer want one-size-fits-all solutions, the storied furniture maker is once again innovating its way to a position of global prominence.

Innovation in Home Interiors: Creating More Sanitary Environments with Safety/Hygiene Innovations

Interior design can reflect the trends of the day, the aesthetic tastes and preferences of the individual designer or home owner, and the needs of the lifestyle it is intended to facilitate. One of the byproducts of the ongoing pandemic is that keeping the home sanitized and safe has become a top priority for many people, which in turn has led a growing number of interior brands to focus on developing hygiene-enhancing home solutions. A leading interior design innovator has released a collection of touchless kitchen faucets that allow users to start and stop the flow of water, and dispense measured amounts, via voice command or motion-based interaction. Kohler also offers a toilet with an integrated sensor that enables touchless flushing, helping to remove a common method of spreading germs throughout the home.
Additionally, interior design materials with surfaces that have antibacterial properties, and are easy to clean and maintain, have grown in popularity since last year. Aligned with this shift, high-end Italian tile manufacturer Marazzi has launched its Carácter antibacterial tiles, which eliminate bacteria and other harmful microorganisms without the need for external activation agents, such as UV radiation.

The home has become the center of the universe for many people over the past twelve months. Given the abundance of time now being spent there, it makes sense that more and more consumers are willing to invest in premium home appliances and furnishings. Luxury products with innovative features and exceptional styling add to the enjoyment of daily life, lifting one’s spirits while offering real, practical benefits that, once experienced, are almost impossible to live without.