The gadgets in the HGTV Smart Home in Palmetto Bluff are amazing
With its newly built 2018 Smart Home located in Bluffton’s Palmetto Bluff, HGTV has brought the latest in high-tech features to the Lowcountry. On Thursday, HGTV held a media day at the house, which is otherwise not open for public tours.
The fully furnished, approximately 2,850-square-foot home is set on a wooded lot on Maritime Road in the development's Moreland Village.
It was designed by Tiffany Brooks, season 8 winner of "HGTV Star," It features three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms with an aesthetic HGTV describes as elevated Southern style.
Smart technology abounds, from a hidden gaming and virtual reality room, to solar powered skylights, to smart window tint that can change opacity with the touch of a button. And, according to Matt Kothe, media relations specialist with Discovery, almost every device in the home you can think of can be voice-activated through Amazon Echo.
The bathrooms, which, Kothe said, "are probably the most feature packed rooms in the entire house," include motion-activated smart toilets made by Kohler. The master bathroom toilet, called the Numi, comes with seat and foot warmers and a remote control. It even plays music.
The master bathroom also has a Smart Touch Vanity Mirror and TV that conceals a bathroom TV behind a touch activated mirror. The mirror also functions as a tablet on the Android operating system.
Each year, HGTV builds a Smart Home as a demonstration project which doubles as a home giveaway. Contestants can enter up to twice a day by registering on the HGTV website.
April 17 will be the first day you can enter, and June 7 is the deadline for entries. The drawing will be held some time in the summer, Kothe said.
The grand prize winner receives the home and all its furnishings plus a 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e 4MATIC Plug-In Hybrid and $100,000 provided by national mortgage lender Quicken Loans.
The home is not open for tours because it will be constantly in use during the prize promotion. "This is basically a live set," Kothe said.
Meaning, the only way for a member of the general public to see it is to be lucky enough to win it.
This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 4:20 PM with the headline "The gadgets in the HGTV Smart Home in Palmetto Bluff are amazing."