Building one house to be fully smart.
This is the running log of a house I'm building and wiring myself. Home Assistant is the brain, Google Home is what the rest of the household actually talks to, and Somfy moves every blind and shade. Every guide here comes out of a decision I had to make on site.
Written from a building site, not a spec sheet
Most smart home content online is written by people who have never pulled a cable or plugged in the device they're rating. This site is the opposite. It follows one house from empty walls to finished rooms, and the stack was picked before the plasterboard went up: Home Assistant runs the logic locally, Google Home handles voice and the everyday routines my family uses, Somfy motors drive the blinds and the external shades. Everything else has to prove it plays nicely with those three.
So the guides here answer the questions a build actually throws at you. Where do you run the Ethernet? How many neutrals do you need behind a switch box? What breaks when the internet drops at 8pm on a Sunday? Devices spend at least two weeks in daily use before I'll give a verdict, every claimed integration gets checked on its own, and firmware versions go on the page so a verdict can be revisited later. No manufacturer pays for a score, and none previews my copy.
Latest Posts
Fresh guides, reviews, and news — published this week.
Browse all blog posts →
A wired pushbutton in the garage now runs a TaHoma scene instead...
The garage door was the last motor I put on the network...
Most smart kitchen appliances talk to their maker's cloud and nothing else....
Shelly's first security camera is a 1080p box that records to a...
Two links, one decision. You can hand Somfy straight to Google Home,...
Every protocol comparison assumes you own the walls. Renting changes the question...
Explore Somfy's top 10 smart home solutions that offer enhanced security and...
Most Thread trouble in Home Assistant traces back to border router sprawl,...
The brain: Home Assistant
Everything in the house runs through it, locally, and keeps working when the internet doesn't.
Pine64's PineVoice is a $50 RISC-V smart speaker with open firmware, local...
I buy the category leader in every room: iRobot, Somfy, Gardena, Fujitsu,...
Commercial smart sprinkler controllers want a subscription and a cloud account to...
Home Assistant organizes everything around three building blocks: entities, devices, and automations....
Smart Cameras & Security
Top‑rated cameras from Wyze, Arlo, and Blink for complete home monitoring.
Browse all products →
The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro packs a 2.6K outdoor camera, on-device...
Arlo Essential VMC2030 delivers 1080p video, color night vision, and IP65 weather...
Arlo Go 2 VMC3050 is a 1080p HDR wire-free camera with LTE,...
Arlo Pro 4 VMC4050P delivers 2K HDR wire-free with color night vision...
Aqara Camera G100 offers 2K resolution, AI person detection, 140-degree view, IP65...
Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) offers 2K HDR video, 152°...
Eufy Security Video Doorbell C31 delivers sharp visuals and two-way audio for...
The Google Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen) offers 2K HDR video, 166°...
The Kasa Smart Doorbell | KD110 provides sharp video, two-way audio, and...
Philips Hue Secure Wired Video Doorbell with 2K resolution, 180° view, color...
Aqara G400 wired doorbell with 2K video, 165-degree head-to-toe view, PoE or...
2K video doorbell with built-in Matter hub, HomeKit Secure Video, mmWave radar,...
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra pairs 6 000 Pa suction with a self-washing...
Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum uses 360° vision, Hyperdymium motor suction,...
Slim 2.85-in robot vac with 2000 Pa suction, 100-min battery and 55...
Eufy RoboVac X9 pairs 5,500 Pa suction with smart mopping and AI...
Premium robot vacuum-mop with Clean Base® self-emptying dock, AI obstacle avoidance and...
The Neato D10 Robot Vacuum offers superior smart home cleaning with advanced...
Command with your voice
Routines and natural‑language tips for Siri, Alexa, and Google.
The iLife A11 pairs 4000Pa suction and LiDAR mapping with a budget...
Somfy TaHoma can hand your garage door to Google Home, so the...
Home Assistant is free, local smart home software with 3,000+ integrations, and...
Running a local AI model inside Home Assistant means your bedroom light...
Articles by topic
Samsung SmartThings works with 390+ brands and supports Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, and...
Not all Philips Hue products work the same way with Alexa, Google,...
I've put a Z-Wave deadbolt, a Zigbee lock, and a Wi-Fi lock...
WiFi devices get a bad reputation in Home Assistant circles, but that...
I've swapped Zigbee coordinators three times in two years, and the biggest...
Step-by-step WiFi setup for Home Assistant using CLI commands or the web...
IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE reads room temperature and humidity over Matter and Thread. Needs...
The Shelly Wave H&T puts temperature and humidity on Z-Wave 800 hardware...
Zemismart ZME2 dual relay inline module with Matter over WiFi: 300W per...
A close look at the Shelly Wave Plug US: Z-Wave 800 chip,...
Amazon Echo Frames 2nd Gen are smart glasses with open-ear Alexa audio,...
Amazon Echo Glow is a multicolor LED orb for kids that pairs...
The SONOFF MINI-ZBDIM-E is a Zigbee wall dimmer with 0-100% flicker-free control,...
The Sonoff D1 Smart Dimmer Switch controls dimmable lights via Wi-Fi and...
TP-Link Kasa HS220 smart dimmer switch installs in about 10 minutes, needs...
Philips Hue Smart Button offers easy, one-click control of your smart lights....
Sonoff ZBMINIL2 Zigbee mini switch fits in any EU wall box. No...
GEMNS WePower kinetic switches cut waste and add flexible control for lights,...
Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 combines climate control, security monitoring, and Matter hub...
Aqara Radiator Thermostat W600 offers smart scheduling, extended 2-year battery life, and...
One unrooted iRobot Roomba j7+ has run here for two years, which...
I've wired three thermostats into my own HVAC and lived with each...
Zigbee2MQTT bridges your Zigbee radio to Home Assistant through an MQTT broker...
Nine times out of ten, a device Home Assistant won't discover is...