Nothing else is really needed, IMHO.
What I did do, which paid off handsomely, is run RG6 coax and Cat5 cables everywhere in a star configuration. I did all the work myself to make sure it was done right. Haven't had any trouble at all with it, despite lots of upgrading of the electronics.
BTW, another thing I did, which isn't exactly home automation. I bought a $10 microwave from the thrift store, and put it in the bathroom. I don't have to run the faucet anymore waiting for hot water for a wash cloth. Just wet the washcloth and throw it in the microwave. Aaaahhh, the luxury of hot washcloth on my face! If I was designing a house these days, I'd build in a special spot for the microwave in the bathroom.
As for the bathroom, another option would be a small on demand water heater under the bathroom sink.
I hadn't thought of the on demand heater. But it's hard to beat a $10 microwave that just plugs in.
Try it some time. You'll never go back to cold washcloths!
Me, I watched the electrician at work, and the cable guy working at my previous house. I noted the tools they used, and bought them. A Milwaukee right angle drill puts the holes in the studs. I bought the Telewire Supply coax strippers and crimpers, and the ethernet socket tools. With that, you can do a pro job which will last and costs very little.
I learned back in college that using professional electrical/electronic tools, like a soldering iron, makes a huge difference.
As for the bathroom, another option would be a small on demand water heater under the bathroom sink.
If we're already struggling with phone addiction and an out-of-control attention economy, probably the last thing you'd want is to constantly be forced back to your phone if you just want to do basic household things.
Also, I don't understand how anyone could think that random passcodes in the place of what used to be a button would be good UX.
Even when the power goes out for 2 weeks, I still reflexively hit the wall switch every time entering a room.
Home automation only makes sense for people with very limited mobility.
Matter is unfortunately not that vision. It is still locking you into a cloud-based system, but you can take your devices to a system of your choice.
The system just needs to be simple. You should be able to buy a smart switch from any company. It should power and dim attached dumb and smart bulbs the old fashioned way. Pairing directly connected bulbs should just be turning the switch on and off 5 times quickly. Wireless pairing shouldn't require an app or attestation or other cloud stuff, just sharing a secret one time in-band on some standard protocol over 802.15.4. If you want to have a wireless switch clone a wired one, turn them on and off together 5 times. If you want an all-on, all-off wireless switch, turn all your lights on, and flip the master breaker 5 times along with your new switch. If you want something complicated, get an 802.15.4 bridge/controller. If you want to control with an app, let the bridge controller be accessible via a TailScale-like tunneling VPN or the local WiFi, still no cloud.
This could all be simple and interoperable, but that won't let any company tell their shareholders that their cloud-based smarthome base is growing X% YoY or that their gross margin on smart bulbs is 80%.
mystraline•45m ago
No passwords, no stupid. Doesn't even need internet, just the local network.
I can even share access creds to pur garage doors remotely.
Again, I focus on simple and effective 'smart', not throwing enshittifying internet garbage everywhere.
XorNot•36m ago