As high technology becomes more and more prominent in daily life, product designers are finding ever more creative ways to make our home lives better, healthier or simply more fun. Here's a look at some of the new products we've come across recently that would be right at home in George Jetson's house.

LG Electronics, the company who brought you the world's first Internet fridge, continues to marry high-tech with home appliances. The new TV Refrigerator features a built-in 13-inch TV, so you can work alongside your favourite TV chef, or chill out and watch your favourite program over lunch. The fridge itself is packed with cool features like a built-in wine chiller bar, 26 cubic feet of interior space and a full range of colours including LG's new Titanium finish. (lg.ca)

But why just restrict your TV watching to kitchen appliances? A new bathroom towel warmer made by Myson Inc. features a full-length mirror and a built-in plasma TV screen which disappears when the TV is off. The 34-inch by 48-inch unit projects about four inches from the wall and is available in chrome or satin nickel finish. (mysoninc.com)


The flood of digital home photography has brought a new dimension to an old-fashioned hobby -- scrapbooking. Using a digital camera and photo printer to capture and print images, you can manipulate your images to the right dimensions and frames for a perfect scrapbook scene. And with special software such as HP's Creative Scrapbook Assistant, you can even assemble the scrapbook pages themselves, by drag-and-dropping the images into preformed templates -- no cutting or gluing required! (hp.com)

The first time we heard of a machine that plays CDs infused with fragrance, we couldn't help giggling, until we realized what a great idea it was. The Scentstories player by Febreze is a small player that sits on a table or shelf and plays one of four special CDs, each with five complementary scents that change about every half-hour. (scentstories.ca)

As more and more homes acquire multiple computers, the question of how to hook them all up to the Internet simultaneously has become an increasingly annoying problem. With the advent of wireless technology, however, there's no longer a need to rewire your home with multiple cable outlets or phone lines -- and you don't need to restrict your surfing to just one room. The secret is installing a wireless router and corresponding wireless technology within your home computers -- and in fact, most computers built in the last three or four years already have this capability or can be easily upgraded. Once you're “wired for wireless”, so to speak, you can work on your project in the kitchen while your daughter surfs the Net upstairs, or take your laptop into the den and write your novel stretched out on the couch. In fact, the technology is set to become the norm in as little as two years from now. (mydigitalhome.ca)

The Swordfish Ultraviolet Air Treatment System from Allanson uses ultraviolet light to kill airborne moulds, bacteria and viruses in indoor air. The easy-to-install unit is mounted out of sight within your HVAC or air conditioning return duct, and uses replaceable ultraviolet fluorescent tubes. It even has an indicator to tell you when a tube needs replacing. (swordfishuv.com)