Three smart home improvement ideas you can DIY
With a couple of bank holiday weekends coming up, now’s the ideal time for a bit of DIY. Whether you’ve just moved to a new house or are wondering how you can update your current pad, here are three ideas to improve your home using smart technology. From the quick and relatively cheap to the slightly more technical, each of these options is easy to install and ideal for some home improvement inspiration.
Switch on new lighting to switch things up
One great way to breathe new life into your interior design is to update your lighting scheme.
Different lighting has the potential to completely transform your space. Without good lighting, the impact of other interesting features, like wall art, flooring and furnishings, can be lost completely.
Smart lights allow you to focus your lighting on the places you want to draw attention to. You can even use colour-changing bulbs to add a pop of colour to a room, and change it depending on the time of day or what you’re doing. Working from home? Try a bright white to keep you focused. Reading in the evening? Switch to a relaxing blue hue to help you wind down.
DIY Difficulty Level: Easy
Plug in for peace of mind
If it’s home improvements you’re after, this tiny tip will make a huge difference to your life: invest in some smart plugs! These simple little devices enable you to control appliances from your smartphone, tablet, laptop or Apple Watch, so you can turn things on or off from wherever you are.
That dreadful feeling of “Did I leave it on?” is now a thing of the past. When you leave the house after using the iron/hair straighteners/coffee machine and want to double check you’ve not left it on, simply open the app and tap to turn off if you need to.
Smart plugs are also great for added security; if you’re going away, set your smart plug to turn your lamps on automatically and make it look like someone’s home.
DIY Difficulty Level: Easy
Set your home improvement plans in motion
While motion sensors can also be used for security, their real benefits are brought to life when they are set up to make your other smart tech even smarter. Did you know you can link an indoor motion sensor to your lights and heating? Then they’ll turn on automatically, as soon as you walk into a room.
For instance, pop a motion sensor in the hallway, connect it up to your lights and you’ll always have a bright, warm welcome waiting for you. No more fumbling around in the dark for the light switch!
DIY Difficulty Level: Moderately easy
Find out more about how Hive’s family of smart home products can improve both your home and your life at Discover Hive.
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