How to Style Your Smart Home

This post is sponsored by Samsung.

[dropcap2_large]W[/dropcap2_large]hen you were growing up would you ever have dreamed that a cell phone could control parts of your home? I certainly never did. I didn’t even learn of cell phones that weren’t the size of bricks until I was much older. Fast forward to today and the smart home industry is one of the fastest growing out there. You can automate nearly every item in your home and control it with the swipe of your finger on your cell phone. Today I’ve partnered with Samsung again to share with you tips for installing SmartThings Wifi and how to style your smart home.

Tips for Installing Samsung SmartThings Wifi

Nearly a year ago we received and set up Samsung’s first mesh Wi-Fi and smart home device, and this year we upgraded to the SmartThings Wifi. Following their simple directions for set-up makes it easy to have the Wi-Fi system up and running in just a few minutes. Since we set ours up, we now have security cameras, lights, a Samsung Frame TV, and can control our Wi-Fi with the SmartThings app on our cell phone. Working from home has its challenges but with the SmartThings app being able to control so much in my home – it really makes life easier. I set up automations on the app and with one tap of my finger the whole mood of the houses changes. You can read more about our first experience with it in my blog post about a connected home.

The new SmartThings Wifi has updates that include AI-based Wi-Fi with Plume technology. This means that the SmartThings Wifi hubs will be able to optimize and improve your Wi-Fi network speed where and when it needs it most. After installing the Plume app on our phones, we can see a map of our devices and whether or not they are receiving optimal signal. We made a few adjustments to their location to help optimize the speed of our network. One unit was hidden behind a cabinet door and it turns out it wasn’t the best location. Good thing the design of these are so simple, you hardly notice them with our other decor. We were even able to set up a guest Wi-Fi network so that they have access to the internet, but not our other smart devices like our wireless speakers and lights.

Tips for Styling Your Smart Home

With so many smart home devices in our home, I got together with my stylist friend, Elisabeth, to help style our home and offer some great tips for helping smart things blend into your current decor.

1. Choose stylish smart home pieces
   One thing I love about the smart home market now is the wide-selection of devices. One thing I’ve loved about the SmartThings Wifi is that it is sleek and stylish which makes it that much easier to blend into your current decor.
2. Visually balance your SmartThings Hub on your shelf
   To visually balance your hub on the shelf you should surround it with items of varying heights that do not block the signal. Group items in 3’s or odd numbers so that the product blends in with decor easier.
3. Group items of the same color together. For my shelf, Elisabeth wanted to group similar items into each “area” of it, but not too many of the same in a row. It helps to add movement so the viewer isn’t too drawn to one place.
4. Hide. Your. Cords.
   Cords are the bane of my existence with smart home devices, and luckily SmartThings Wifi hub only has one for each unit. My favorite tip for hiding cords is to run them behind a shelf or support leg and hold them in place with furniture-color tape.
5. Enjoy your tech!
   Think of ways that you can automate your home to your advantage. I have a setting on my SmartThings app that lets me dim the lights for entertaining with the touch of a button.

Do you have smart things in your home? What would you automate if you could?

Styling by Elisabeth Wallace.

This post is sponsored by Samsung, a company I’ve partnered with many times before and personally use in my home. All photos, words, and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make life here at Hej Doll a little sweeter.