I remember when I was I kid I used to love those sci-fi movies that had something to do with the future of our planet. In those movies that did not present our future as an apocalyptic
wasteland but as an advanced civilization, I was always very impressed with the homes that the characters lived in, not just by the technology, but also with the people's vision of the future home styles. The decoration of future homes was usually envisioned as a combination of minimalistic style and apartment utility that was hidden all over the place so as to conserve space. So the TV pops out of the wall, the shower comes down from the ceiling, there are no switches, everything is voice operated, the kitchen does most of the work for you and so on.
Today, a big part of the technology that was imagined in the movies from the 80s and the 90s is very much real. If you wanted to, and had the cash for it, you could modify your home in such a way that it can resemble the apartments from let's say "The Fifth Element" or some similar flick. I'll try to encompass everything you need to take into consideration when you are doing this in this text, so you can keep everything in mind.
House Vs Apartment
The first distinction we need to make is whether you are aiming for an apartment or a house. If you are building a house, you have a slight edge when it comes to creating a distinctive look for your place compared to an apartment, since you can very much influence the design of the building itself. There are tons of young and creative architects that are obsessed with the futuristic look out there. They can work wonders when it comes to shapes they can pull off and still keep the design practical. As far as the apartment goes, well, all I can advise is to look for the best designed apartment building in your city.
The Technology
Of course, the gadgets in your home need to be top-notch in order to pull this off. All the cutting edge technology will not only benefit the look of your home, but will also bring with it a lot of functionality, so spending your hard earned money on it is never a mistake. Many of the movie gadgets are already out there at reasonable prices. To name some of them, let's see, we have the automatic vacuum cleaners, the voice operated lights, televisions and stereos, automatic doors, card, password, voice and fingerprint recognition locks, television sets that give off lights to match the ones on the screen, transparent TVs, nightlights that turn on automatically via sensors and so on. These are just some of them. Technological advances for home appliances have advanced so much that you won't even believe it.
Materials
Most people think that this minimalistic design style is a bit dry and soulless but I would have to disagree. As in all things, it is all about creativity and vision. The minimalistic style dictates a few things except simplicity, but in order to achieve an artistic look you do not need to use too many elements. Complexity is not a core element of art; it is the composition and the idea. The materials that you will need to use for your home range from wood, plastic, chrome, stainless steel and everything in between so you really have a lot of options at your disposal. As in all things the devil is in the details.
Decoration
Decorating this kind of place well can be tricky. The best advice I can give is keep it modern. Antiques and paintings will not work here, nor will a complex tapestry. Again, as we talk about this modern style, we turn to young artists. Many of them use steel and chrome to make exceptional statues and ornaments, so it might be a good idea to search through some of the cutting-edge artists in order to find what you are looking for. Plants can be used also, but not too much and only certain kinds.
For example new things in home design are the stainless steel tiles which would fit perfectly for this kind of home modification. The material is well suited for the style, it is durable and can fit in the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom or your office. But the main reason I decided to mention them is the fact that you can get really creative with them. Fitting the tiles into an interesting design and creating a unique mosaic for your home can really break the monotony and give you that much desired distinctiveness. Also, they are really easy to clean and very, very hard to break, so there is that utility we were talking about before. The only things that can really destroy them are acid from food or let's say a sledgehammer. So, unless you are planning to spray your food on the wall or using a hammer to calm your neighbors, you are pretty much OK as far as the tiles are concerned. They will also go well with the colors of the furniture and the appliances since most of them will be black, gray, white or silver.
Back to the Future
I hope I managed to help with at least some of the dilemmas you had with achieving this particular home decoration style. These are just some pointers to keep in mind when going for this style, if you really want to put this to practice I recommend doing some in depth research on your own. Good luck with your home design endeavors and see you in the future!