We get asked the same question most months: if we can only do part of it now, where should we start? The answer is nearly always the same, and it is not what most people expect.
First: fix the network
It is not exciting, and it decides whether everything after it is stable. Smart devices rarely fail outright. What drives people up the wall is devices that work sometimes, and eight times out of ten that is weak signal or a network configuration problem.
Make sure every spot where you plan to put a device has solid coverage before you buy anything. Do it the other way around and you will spend a lot of evenings suspecting the products.
Second: lighting
Lighting gives the best return, because you use it dozens of times a day. It is also the one everyone in the house notices, unlike features only the person who installed them ever touches.
Start with the two or three rooms you spend the most time in — living room, kitchen, the hallway outside the bedrooms. Once that is done you will know very clearly what else you want.
Third: the locks
Locks come third because they fix real, recurring annoyances: forgetting keys, letting somebody in, knowing what time the kids got home. None of that is glamorous, and all of it happens weekly.
What not to start with
Voice assistants, automated shades and whole-house audio are all good. They are also additions. Doing them before the groundwork tends to produce a house that demos beautifully and cannot be relied on.
On budget
We suggest thinking about it across three years rather than one project. Year one, network and lighting. Year two, locks and cameras. Year three, look at climate and energy. Each step gets used in anger before the next one is decided, and you buy far less that turns out to be unnecessary.
