design Archives | Cool Mom Tech

Ooh…Cromatica Bluetooth speakers are music for the eyes, too

by Liz Gumbinner | Gear + Hardware, Life and Home

One look at the Italian Cromatica Bluetooth speakers and…whoa. Think of this lamp-speaker hybrid like a mood ring for your home. You choose the color illumination that suits you, choose your music, then lie back and chill. Or, clean your bathroom. Or, get some...

A Design Kit: The fabulous new type overlay and stickers app to keep your Insta stories on point

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Social Media

Last year, I fell in love with the A Color Story app for photo editing, and named it my cool pick of the week on our Spawned podcast. Just this weekend, they launched A Design Kit, their equally fun, friendly, and really wonderful app this time for design. Especially...

Got design commitment issues? You need this handy new website.

by Caroline Siegrist | Life and Home

I admit, my decorating skills are limited, and I’m always worried about painting a room only to discover I really don’t like it, so I was intrigued to hear about Modsy, a website that uses your input and photos to help transform a room in your home into...

Hot home tech design: 7 devices you never knew could be gorgeous

by Liz Gumbinner | Life and Home

It’s amazing how far home tech design has come, even since we started this site six years ago. What once may have looked sleek and amazing — a baby monitor, a humidifier, even a lawnmower — now looks clunky and dated compared to what’s...

Your iPhone flashlight just got a whole new use.

by Kate Etue | Life and Home

There are times when the brightness of my iPhone flashlight is helpful — like, when I’m helping my kids look for their forgotten shoes outside in the dark, or I can’t read a darn menu in a restaurant. Then, there are times when a little bit of...

5 of the most glam, stylish wearable fitness trackers: perfect for spring or, you know, Mother’s Day (hint, hint)

by Nicole Blades | Fitness + Health, Mother's Day Gifts

It’s springtime! Bring on the warmer weather, chirping birds, flower blooms, lighter layers, and the fabulously stylish wearable fitness trackers that look more and more like cool jewels. Why should you be stepping into the sunny skies with some boring rubbery...

The Garmin Vivofit by Jonathan Adler: Ooh, fitness trackers are getting fancy.

by Jeana | Fitness + Health

A few years ago, you could spot someone wearing a big, black, rubber band-looking fitness tracker a mile away. I’m so happy that fashion has integrated its way very nicely when it comes to wearable tech, and I’m especially thankful for designers who are...

Type geeks, your fabulous new font finder is here

by Liz Gumbinner | Websites We Love

I tend to browse lots of places looking for cool fonts that I may never use. (When it comes to typefaces I’m more of a collector than a designer; kind of like having lots of books at home you haven’t yet opened. But I digress.) I’ve just stumbled...

9 of the most stunningly beautiful mobile games add some zen to your apps.

by Julie | Best Apps

Think for a minute about how far we’ve come in games design from the days of Asteroids and Space Invaders. Now, there are some stunningly beautiful mobile games for both iOS and Android that change the way we think about gaming apps. Hey, I’m all for...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.