MasterCool fridges already are going into custom home projects, says company spokesperson Lori Dolnick, and Miele has extended RemoteVision technology to its line of washers and dryers. The company also plans to network-enable its dishwashers and ovens.

At February's International Builders' Show, Cleveland –based TMIO debuted its new Connect Io Intelligent Oven (www.tmio.com). The Connect Io, which costs around $6,000 in a dual-oven configuration, lets homeowners start and stop cooking or check the status of their meals from anywhere—even while stuck in traffic. The oven connects to a broadband home network via Cat-5 wiring or a wireless bridge. Homeowners can then call up their oven from the TMIO Web site and access a software version of the oven's touch-panel controls. If they don't have computer access, they can call into the TMIO voice-control center and issue commands to the oven over the phone.

Whirlpool has tested similar capabilities for washers and dryers, though it has yet to bring such connected appliances to the market. Last July, the company took part in the well-publicized Laundry Time project, a field test with three families in Atlanta that involved technology from Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Panasonic, and Procter & Gamble. Using Wi-Fi, the machines sent status alerts to consumers via their cell phones, PCs, or TV sets, notifying them if, for example, the wash was done. In general, the pilot found people liked keeping tabs on their laundry while watching TV, but didn't see the need for cell phone alerts.

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Smart appliances aren't limited to kitchens and laundry rooms. Kohler's new DTV Custom Showering System (roughly $1,100) lets homeowners select water pressure, hydromassage, and temperature for each showerhead, then save the settings as a custom program. Family members can then select their own personal showering experience from the DTV's digital display (www.us.kohler.com).

Kohler also recently came out with its C3-200 toilet seat, which marries old-school bidet functionality with next-generation technology. The electronic C3-200 has an in-line water heater, a user sensor (to turn down the power when no one is using it), and a programmable remote control that homeowners can set to their preferred temperatures, water flows, and more.

In fact, there's even an “Intelligence Toilet.” Built by Japanese company Toto, the $3,500 device can measure your weight, body fat, blood pressure, and the sugar levels in your urine, then transmit the data to a PC via a home network. (It also cleans itself.)

As products enter high-end homes, they'll have to be networked so they can talk to each other. So far, home networks have been built primarily around computers and entertainment gear, and covered applications such as distributed audio and home automation.

Though kitchen and laundry connectivity is still a nascent concept, those devices soon will ride on home networks the way lighting control and other products do today. Earlier this year, LG announced a line of washers and dryers that are compatible with Exceptional Innovation's LifeWare automation software, which lets consumers control devices using a Windows Media Center PC or LifeWare-compatible touchpad (www.exceptionalinnovation.com).

Today, many appliances can be controlled remotely using custom systems from vendors such as Crestron, or by plugging them into off-the-shelf modules that communicate using wireless technologies such as ZigBee or Z-Wave (for more on wireless technology, see page 52). Even then, in most cases users are usually limited to turning the devices on or off. As more appliances come with networking technology built in, they'll start to be used in truly revolutionary ways, says Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing for Exceptional Innovation.

For example, your fridge will be able to send you an e-mail at work when you're running low on milk, or your oven will be able to query your fridge and tell you what recipes match the ingredients you have on hand. Your washer or dryer may be able to detect what type of fabrics are inside it and adjust settings accordingly.