Smart technology surrounds our lives. From handheld devices, home appliances, and even vehicles, IoT (Internet of things) is the thing of today. In no time, this technology has crept into our living spaces and turned humble abodes into futuristic residences. While this might appear to be a common thing around most developed countries of the world, some countries are still uninitiated with this lifestyle trend. The Kingdom of Bahrain was one of them until a well-known fashion model brought about a wave of change.
Meet Omar Al Mohammed. A personal advisor on nutrition, skin care and wellness, life coach, dance choreographer, Omar is the creator and interior designer of the first-ever voice-controlled luxury smart home of Bahrain.
The Home located in New Juffair, Manama, the one-bedroom apartment boasts a host of latest appliances and gadgets that are controlled by Omar’s voice. With voice-activated curtains, illuminated taps that change color according to the water temperature, a robotic vacuum cleaner that plugs itself on low battery, among other such fascinating details, his luxury pad is truly the country’s first voice-operated smart home. The highlight of the home is the ‘family hub’ – a large screen built into the refrigerator door which can be used as a regular smartphone, only more advanced. It displays messages, finds recipes, places orders online or connects to an Uber service, and shop, all at the same time. The screen also allows the user to peep inside of the refrigerator without as much opening it and gives an inventory check, scans barcodes and informs about food expiry dates.
The Wi-Fi enabled screen is used to mirror the television so one can watch their favorite shows while cooking or connect to radio channels, online channels, or web apps. From oven to the washing machine, clock, and even air-conditioners, all work on Omar’s voice commands.
Apart from being technically sound, the apartment is also high on aesthetic value with minimal and contemporary design. Using his own creativity, Omar kept the interiors in a simple black and white theme with silver and grey accents. Contrasting the desert island weather of Bahrain, the house enjoys a rich winter look with birch tree branches and Eiffel vases, and Tom Dixon carpets.
Omar’s journey of innovation
Omar’s keen interest in technology goes way back to his childhood. Unlike most children of his age, he would stay at home and experiment with his toys and try to understand their mechanism. His curiosity led him to break apart his robotic toys and see how they worked. Later, as an adult, he found his inspiration from the evolving tech space that has been taking the world by storm. Be it voice-activated smartphones or home appliances connected to personal devices. With no technology background, Omar Al Mohammed took the leap of faith with a smartphone-controlled vacuum cleaner and set it up to be voice controlled
That was the start of a revolutionary idea that would change the face of Bahrain’s lifestyle and living spaces in the future.
It took Omar one year and BD 45,000 to put his idea together and shape the smart home, which he named Ghafarado’s: The Pad, after his nickname Ghafarado. The hi-tech and luxurious property made the headlines in leading national dailies and publications like Gulf Daily News, Al Watan News, Al Ayam News, The Daily Tribune, Biz Bahrain. Leading property magazine Arabian Homes featured Ghafarado’s The Pad as the Property of the Month.
Omar Al Mohammed considers himself to be a personal ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain and his innovation of the maiden smart-home has brought his and his country’s name into the spotlight.