The Start of Our Smart Home Journey

In light of full discretion, I’ve never much been the tecchy type. Though I’ve since upgraded, I lived happily with an iPhone 4 for longer than I’ll ever admit, and always shied away from anything with too many bells or whistles. Keep it simple was always the name of my game, and while that still rings true in many aspects of my life, I’ve recently realized that transforming our home into a smart home is the simplest answer. Yup. We’ve begun to climb down the rabbit hole and it’s its own kind of glorious.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to take a tour of the Best Buy Smart Home. And while I knew it would be beautiful (it was designed by my incredibly talented friend Christine Dovey, after all) I was legitimately shocked at my reaction. In truth: I was blown away – both by the actual technology that exists out there, and by the fact that none of it took away from any of Christine’s designs.

From a super sleek Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator that could tell you when you were running low on milk, to an integrated Bosch espresso maker that you could control from your phone while laying in bed (#goals), I knew I had opened Pandora’s box, and there was no turning back.

While we’re still a ways away from anything too over the top**, Justin and I have recently started incorporating a few notable smart home changes into our own house.

With the help of the wonderful Geek Squad, we recently switched out our ancient thermostat for the Nest. It looks so much better, but, most importantly, the cozy factor has improved big time. Not only has it significantly helped with our hydro bill by tracking our habits and automatically adjusting the temperature when we’re home or away (how does it know!??). But we also have access to everything through the app on our phones. Meaning: we can turn the temperature right up when we wake up in the morning, and linger in bed a little while longer until the house has a chance to warm up. Or, the crazy dog lady within me can turn it up (or down) if I’m out and concerned about Sage’s comfort. Yes, I’ve done that. No, I’m not even ashamed.

In addition to the Nest, we’ve also installed this super simple security camera just outside our front door. I tend to have an overactive imagination (the true crime podcasts I’ve been hooked on as of late don’t help). And it’s something I’ve wanted to do since we moved out of our condo. I love that I can monitor and interact with anyone who comes on our property. When the door rings at a strange hour, I can check on my phone to see whether or not I feel like putting pants on to answer it. I know. I’m living the life here, people. It’s my cozy little cocoon and I wouldn’t change it for a thing.  

SHOP THE POST:

If you, too, are looking to venture down the rabbit hole of Smart Home products but don’t know where to start, I feel you. Though the helpful folks in the blue shirts at Best Buy are incredible, I would be happy to answer anything and everything that I can – simply shoot me an email, or leave a note in the comments below.
 
**Namely: our appliances are yet to develop recipes for us, dangit 

Photos: Heidi Lau | Sweater: H&M | Leggings: Old Navy – similar here | Acrylic Tray: West Elm | Tea Mug: Cathy Terepocki | Sage’s Collar: Copper Leaf Leather | Toss Cushions: Rebecca Atwood

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Best Buy. All opinions are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that help fuel this little space of mine. It truly means the world.