(FORTUNE Magazine) – Every year top interior designers declare what's hot and what's not at New York City's Kips Bay Decorator Show House (April 25 to May 21, $20; 212-987-5400). Joining in the fun this time around is Philips Electronics, displaying future technology that may or may not make your house a better place. Nearly every household appliance, from coffeemaker to videocamera to PC, can be connected to the prototype Remote Home Control server. Whether you're in another town or just another room, you can turn on the front-porch lights, tape the ball game, or check to see if your spouse is really alone watching JAG. (The TV set-top box also stores data, audio, and images, so you can replay any hanky-panky for the divorce lawyers.) Devoted couch potatoes should also head to the show house to see the latest in flat-screen TVs, voice-activated appliances, and set-top receivers that allow the viewer to pause live shows, do instant replays, teleconference, and surf the Web. For the agoraphobic, there's live video of the show house at www.philips.com/kipsbay.

--NOSHUA WATSON