This week was the selection of window coverings. (As a side note – if you’ve never been through this process – prepare yourself. The selection of designs, colors, etc. is the easy part. The tough pill to swallow is the cost.)

It seems that one of the holy grails in the world of home automation is the window covering. There’s a myriad of products you can DIY – all of which perpetuate the impression that home automation is the realm of the tech nerd who likes to hack. Nothing in the DIY world is clean, minimal, and easy. You are looking at “solutions” that will essentially look like a Rube Goldberg set of gateways, radios, wires and circuit boards – all strung together to… open or close your shades.

On the other end of the spectrum, all of the solutions that are turn-key are expensive, in addition to an already pricey financial commitment.

We chose the latter – I’m at a point where I don’t want to fuss with rolling a DIY solution. Perhaps it’s the Apply fan in me, but I want a solution that looks good and just works. So we went with the Somfy motors on the shades in the Living Room, with the thought that I will have the scenes setup to be able to press a button or ask Alexa, “Turn on Movie Mode” – and the shades will drop, the lights will dim, and the TV and surround system will turn on and be ready to go.

At least that’s the goal. I’ll post again once we’re settled in and I’ve set things up.