Your home is your fortress but if this fortress is not only reliable but also super comfortable, it is always better. Home automation helps to make your home as comfortable and functional as it is possible. And for those who still believe that home automation is something excessively expensive, we have prepared some projects – DIY and not only. For all of them, you can use electric linear actuator systems, and for some of them, lift columns will be needed.
How To Automate Your Kitchen With DIY Lift Columns
The kitchen is normally the most used space in a house. There, you store and cook food, and there, you want everything to be as comfortable as possible. That’s why there is nothing surprising that the kitchen is normally filled with different types of devices and items.
However, what can you do if the kitchen is small (it is a very common case in the majority of flats and even some houses), and you still want everything to be maximally efficient? Then, you might need to automate some items.
We recommend starting with the most demanding though the most effective project – the installation of lift columns. Once you have purchased the needed number of them (yes, there might be several columns used if you need to install several devices), proceed as follows:
Decide where you are going to install the column. Remember please that the place shall be comfortable to use the device you’ll fix there.
- In the kitchen cabinet, install the column.
- In the cabinet top, make an opening to let the device pass.
- On the column, fix a platform.
- Install the device on the platform.
Now, when you lift the column, the device lifts to the cabinet top, and you can use it. Once you don’t need the device anymore, clean it, and lower it in the cabinet by bringing the column in an extended position.
Now, when everything is tested, you can make a cover (or use the piece from the top that you have cut out) to close the opening when the device isn’t in use.
Along with installing a lift column, you can install a lift rack. It is easy to do so. Just fix a linear actuator behind one of the wall-mounted kitchen cabinets, and attach a rack to the actuator’s moving side. Now, your rack is ready, and you can store there all those little things that are normally scattered around – jars with spices, kitchen utensils, and similar.
Now, when your kitchen is arranged, you can advance with other spaces in your house.
Your Living Room Deserves An Upgrade
Now, let us check what can be done in your living room. In most cases, people would like to install a TV lift but for financial reasons, they do not do it.
However, if you have some tools and enough patience, you can handle it even if you have no skills.
Let’s start with a new TV lift then. Here, we will check an installation in a cabinet. It is more complicated than a wall-mounted lift, and still can be done by you only without hiring any specialists.
So, you for sure have a nice cabinet. What about hiding your new TV set here if it fits of course? To do so, you need to purchase a TV lift. Once it is received, you can start with your another home automation project:
- In the cabinet, in its top, make an opening big enough for the TV to pass.
- Once done, fix the TV lift in the bottom part of the cabinet. The TV lift shall be located in a way for the TV to be aligned with the opening in the cabinet top.
- Now, install the TV set on the lift, and test to check whether it works smoothly and whether the opening is aligned properly.
- Once you make sure everything works as expected, fix the TV by tightening the screws.
- Arrange the cables. They shall not hang down or lie around to prevent tangling or stumbling. Otherwise, you can damage your TV and yourself. In case there are small kids or pets in the house, arranging cables properly might also be the matter of your little ones’ safety.
- The last detail is left. You can install a cover to close the opening when the TV set is hidden. It can be opened and closed automatically, too. However, you might also leave everything just as it is if the TV screen isn’t excessively thick.
Your Bedroom Can Add To Your Storage Space
Now, it is time to upgrade your bedroom. This project will be especially useful if you need more storage space.
So, here, you will need two actuators powerful enough to lift the bed frame. Once you have them, you can proceed with the bed automation and installation of a huge storage space beneath.
Everything is simple here. You order a storage box, of the size of your bed, just high enough to fit under the bed. Then, you install the bed frame on the actuators to make them lift the frame when you bring them in an extended position. Once they are retracted, the bed frame returns to its place. With it, your storage space will be ready for use.
Now, you might be wondering whether you can just install the huge box beneath the bed without automating the frame. Moreover, many beds and sofas are equipped with such a storage room.
And indeed, you can do it. Think, however, how you will be pulling out and pushing it back beneath the bed every time you need to store something there. Now, you see why automating the bed frame is an optimal solution. Moreover, it is safe: actuators have a locking function, they lock in one place in case electricity goes off or an actuator breaks down. Therefore, you do not have to be afraid that the bed frame just falls down on you if something gets broken.
Bottom Line
Now, automation is not as expensive as we believed it is. You can do many things on your own, there are many readily made systems to facilitate your DIY projects.
