Homestead’s Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide

The future of home improvement is smart. A lot of us have a list of devices that we would love to add to our home but often hold back. We talk ourselves out of them because they may seem impractical, expensive or extravagant. However, it’s quite the opposite. Smart home gifts are the most practical gifts to buy. They often increase your homes’ value and make your home more energy-efficient and technologically advanced. Whether you’re making a list for yourself or shopping for someone who is impossible to buy for – there’s something for everyone here. Here is Homestead Custom Carpentry’s Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide.

Smart Thermostat

This gift is a little bit of a splurge, but what better way to stretch your budget than with a device that saves money in the long run? Living in a city like Calgary, we all know how expensive heating and cooling can be. Smart thermostats, like the Nest thermostat, are an amazing option for controlling household temperature and saving on your electrical bill. The Nest thermostat has the ability to connect to Wi-Fi which means you can control your household temperature when you’re out from your mobile device! For those design-lovers, it’s also not hard on the eyes. The sleek round case and high-resolution color display are also a major aesthetic upgrade from most thermostats.

Smart Outlets

These days, even the modest wall outlet is getting a high-tech upgrade! Take a look at this smart outlet from Belkin. Once it’s been plugged into an outlet and connected to your home’s Wi-Fi, you can control it from your smartphone. Whether you’re home or away, you can turn things on and off with a few simple taps. All you have to do is plug the Wemo Switch Smart Plug into an electrical outlet, plug a device into the Smart Plug, and control your device using the free Wemo app. When paired with Nest’s smart thermostat, Nest’s “home” and “away” modes can sync with your Wemo Switch for automatic control. The thermostat can tell Wemo when you’re home, so your fan, lights or anything else can turn off to save energy when the house is empty.

Smart Home Voice Assistants

Google’s newest addition the Home Mini, or the new Echo Dot from Amazon are useful gifts for just about anyone. These little smart home voice assistant devices can make life so much easier. You can ask them to play a song or playlist or set a timer while cooking dinner. You can even ask for the weather report, check the traffic and tell it to create a to-do list! Also, if you have compatible devices in your home, like a smart thermostat or outlet, you can even ask ‘Google’ or ‘Alexa’ to turn down the lights in your room or turn up the heating.

Automated Kitchen Appliances

Have someone in your life that loves staying up to date on the latest technology but likes practical things that make their daily life easier? These gifts are for them! For the caffeine-addict, there are smart coffee makers that can be synced to their home voice assistant, like Amazon Echo. They can ask Alexa to start brewing their coffee while they’re still in bed. Know a busy mom or dad that has trouble balancing work and getting dinner on the table? There are crock pots and ovens that you can control the temperature and cook time while you’re stuck late at work from an app on your smartphone.

A big ticket gift for the technology-loving cook in your life is the new Family Hub refrigerator from Samsung. This fridge has a tablet screen built into its door. This screen is accessible from any connected device. You can create and share shopping lists, integrate calendars and schedules and even play your favourite cooking music.

These smart home gifts will instantly improve your home without you having to plan a major home renovation. At Homestead, we know you want to buy things that are practical and have a lasting impact. We hope our Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide has given you some ideas for some gifts that are sure to impress on Christmas morning.

Want to see some of our work? Check out some of our home renovation projects in our Gallery.

Have some renovation inspiration and want to chat? Contact us!