21 Ways to Make Your Space Into a Smart Home

If you’re really looking to get the party started, this Sonos Bluetooth speaker with 360-degree sound and Alexa compatibility is the perfect accessory for any room in the house—or even an impromptu rooftop hangout with friends.

The Philips Hue smart lighting system is one of our favorites for turning an ordinary room into one that can really fit any mood. The hub just needs to connect to Wi-Fi and then all the bulbs can be programmed to your heart’s content via iPhone or Android.

If the idea of swapping out all your regular lightbulbs for smart ones makes you a little crazy, this smart switch kit from Lutron can help. It can create vacation mode, night-lights, and dimming control with just one switch installation, and you can choose to control your lights via smartphone, voice assistant, wireless remote, or directly from the switch.

With its ability to create a schedule based on your temperature preferences, this smart thermostat really is a cut above other popular touch-screen models. Compatible with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, just ask it to adjust the temperature or adjust on your phone, tablet, or laptop.  

Give yourself some peace of mind with a stealthy camera that can watch any part of your property while you’re away. While there are lots of options in this category, we love Nest’s for its night vision, wide field of vision, built-in speaker, and not-too-technical-looking design.  

Equipped with two-way audio, night vision, and HD video, Blink’s MiniCam will ping you if it sees any motion in the room it’s monitoring, and you’ll be able to tune right in. Or tell the dog to get off the sofa.

As soon as motion is detected on your stoop (or when someone taps the doorbell), Ring sends an alert and a live-cam link right to your phone. Best of all, you don’t even need an existing doorbell to have it installed.  

This is your PSA to stop hiding keys! If you need to let someone in, send them an electronic key from the August app (programmed to work for any time period you choose) that’ll unlock this smart deadbolt or connect with Amazon Alexa to grant entry. Bonus: It stores video clips for a full 24 hours.

This three-pack of water sensors (two back water-detector probes and one front probe for pipes) will send out email and app alerts if they detect any sign of a drip or leak. And if your Wi-Fi’s temporarily disabled, a built-in 100dB alarm will help you locate where the water is instead.

If you’re constantly paranoid that you’ve left the stove on, Nest’s smart smoke and CO alarms send all alerts to your smartphone at the first sign of carbon monoxide or heat, and even remind you when you need to switch out the batteries 

A smart robotic vacuum can easily cost close to $1,000, which is why we love the highly-rated Shark IQ that effectively cleans different types of floor surfaces and is designed to trap pet dander and allergens. It’s both voice-activated (with Alexa or Google) and—even better—controllable via the app, so you can clean your house before you head home.

The ever-popular Roomba series (this model alone has more than 40,000 positive Amazon reviews) provides a similarly smart system with Google Assistant and Alexa voice controls, and comes in at under $300. 

Replacing your washer-dryer is not an everyday kind of task, but when yours are ready to kick the can, you should definitely go smart—and combo. This top-loading washer-dryer from LG works with Alexa, Google, and its app.

If you’re constantly fighting congestion and dry skin, this smart humidifier connects to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to help you maintain healthy moisture levels. It also doubles as an aroma diffuser—just add your favorite essential oils to relax your mind or help you sleep.

Or if your main concern is clean air, not only does this smart air purifier have HEPA filtration technology to capture pollutants and trap bacteria on voice command, it can also take accurate readings of a room’s air quality, set up a cleaning schedule, and remind you when you need filter replacements through the app.

Rather than buy all new smart products, make your existing electronics voice- and app-activated with Amazon’s smart plug, which adds Alexa voice controls to any outlet.

Always dreamed of lightning-fast internet to stream 4K video and attend Zoom meetings across your home? Look no further than Eero’s mesh Wi-Fi technology that will allow you to confidently use your devices without fear of buffering or dead zones. Just set up the router and extenders where you want and use the Eero app to manage your network from anywhere.

Enjoy your favorite movies and shows from Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and more with this 4K Ultra HD picture TV that keeps all your streaming subscriptions in one place.

Or, turn any regular television into a smart TV with the Amazon Fire Stick, which allows you to use Alexa voice control to watch even more of your favorites from Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and more.