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Originally published by Ching Yuen. Last updated by Beverly Ngai.
Living in a small apartment can be tough, even for the most organised person. You’re either forced to live a “minimalist” lifestyle or you end up piling one thing on top of another, and before you know it, you’ve forgotten what your sofa looks like. To help you avoid living like you’re in a bad episode of Hoarders, we’ve scoured the internet to find the coolest home gadgets to perfectly fit your humble abode.
Having an air purifier can work wonders when it comes to combating dust particles, bacteria build-up, and pesky allergies. While it’s useful to have one in a small home where these problems are magnified, these home gadgets often take up a lot of space. Enter the POUT Noise1 Air Purifier, which has a lot more to it than just a cutesy name.
With a 360-degree ventilation system, sleek simplistic design, and a long-lasting filtration core, this lean, mean, cleaning machine can get rid of up to 99.75 percent of dust and bacteria in the air. Having a bad allergy day at the office? This baby is powered by USB connection, which means you can pretty much take it with you anywhere you go.
How much: $499–$698
Hands down, air fryers are one of the most useful tools to have in the kitchen. This nifty home gadget provides a healthy alternative to traditional frying methods, since it uses hot air to cook foods with little or no added oil, while still keeping the crispy results we all love!
Our favourite is the Philips Air Fryer, the OG on the market. All you need to do is set the right temperature, prep the timer, and kick back until your dinner is served. Can it do a whole spring chicken with veggie sides? Yup, just pop it in for about 15 minutes. Can it do fries? You bet. What about heating up leftovers? Can, can, can. This wonder gadget rivals even the best of tabletop ovens.
How much: $1,998
What do you get when you put together LED grow lights, an automatic watering network, and a smart hydroponics set-up? A connected control system for an indoor garden to grow your own vegetables, of course! Aspara is the newest home gadget to have for growing herbs and vegetables with no need for any chemicals or pesticides, or even soil—for those who cannot abide by mess. It uses 90 percent less water than conventional farming and yields 50 percent faster plant growth.
Best of all, it’s much cheaper than buying your vegetables every day and you don’t have to do anything but wait! We’re on board with this mini farm that doubles as a lovely tabletop decoration in your home.
How much: $3,600
Accidentally smudged some lipstick on your favourite dress just before going out? Or did you forget to wash your lucky shirt before a big day? If you don’t have the luxury of owning a tumble dryer at home—this is Hong Kong, after all—then this Smart Frog dryer gadget is the answer. Simply hang your washed item of clothing onto the hanger, press a button, and your clothes will be clean and dry in no time. This magic hanger can even dry your soggy shoes on a rainy day, and is portable too, making it perfect for those who love to live and travel light.
How much: RMB¥138–RMB¥188
How smart can a mirror be? You’d be surprised. AVITA features an HD touch screen integrated into a mirror to offer you endless possibilities of a smart home, wherever you hang it in the house. There are weather forecasts, news updates, movies, and music—you name it!
It combines almost all of the functions of a smartphone, making itself using in the living room, bedroom, and also the bathroom. Music in the shower is literally the dream, so we guess you won’t be needing that gigantic TV after all.
How much: $5,980
A smart way to ensure reliable home security is to install a Ring Video Doorbell, where you can see, hear, and speak with anyone in front of your door from wherever you are. It’s basically like a peephole that’s condensed into an app, so you can answer the door from your smartphone, tablet, or PC.
Not only does this make your front door more formidable, it also saves you from missing parcel deliveries when you are not home. You can also let friends hang out in your house if you are just on the way back, or check out the pizza guy before you open the door—wink wink!
How much: $1,950
Why bother finding storage space for all your different pots and pans when you can pretty much fry, boil, steam, and sauté anything using just the Bruno Compact Hot Plate? With its top-of-the-line induction cooking technology and interchangeable pans, you can whip up anything from juicy burgers to one-pot-pastas and even Takoyaki—all on this portable A4 sized cooktop!
Afterwards, all you have to do is simply wipe down the cooker surface, and you’ll be done with cleaning up. Why worry about dirty dishes piling up in the sink when you can spend that time catching up on the latest Netflix shows?
How much: $998
Even with all the gadgets in the world, sometimes a little washing up is unavoidable. That’s when having a dishwasher can come in handy—except that your minuscule kitchen can barely handle your home gadgets as it is. Enter the Rasonic Table Top Dishwasher—compact, easy to use, and with two-in-one installation, where users can select free or fix installation.
Don’t be fooled by its size either, as this tabletop device can hold plates and utensils for a five-to-six person meal. Cleaning up after a dinner party will be the least of your worries. Oh, and did we mention it automatically sterilises and dry everything for you too? Amazing.
How much: $2,980
Vacuum cleaners have come a long way since those clunky, corded machines that take up way too much storage space. Miele’s latest Cordless Stick Vacuum has small-space dwellers in mind with its cordless and wall-mounted design for maximum storage flexibility. The battery-powered machine comes with three reconfigurable modes to cater for all your vacuuming needs—from quickly tackling large areas, to getting into those hard-to-reach areas underneath furniture to removing countertop crumbs.
Get the sniffles every time you vacuum? We hear you. Thanks to the powerful in-built HEPA filtration system that captures 99.99 percent of fine particles and allows effortless dust disposal, vacuuming no longer has to be a dreaded chore for allergy sufferers! Once you are all done, simply plop the nifty cleaner onto the wall-mounted bracket for use next time or store it upright on its own in any space.
How much: $7,788
We know, we know. The smell of fresh ink on paper is like aromatherapy for many book nerds, but you cannot deny that print books can take up a lot of precious real estate on your shelves—especially if you are a bibliophile with a tendency to hoard. With Amazon Kindle, you never have to worry about making room for your new reads again!
This portable e-reader can hold thousands of books in one sleek device and has a glare-free display that reads like paper, even under direct sunlight. If you want to enjoy a novel whilst tidying up or doing the laundry, seamlessly switch to audiobook and multitask like a pro!
How much: $968–$2659
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your ‘local eyes’—and for that, you need two i’s.
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