HGTV Smart Home 2018 showcased a new era of connected living, highlighting design-forward technology integrated into everyday spaces. Viewers toured renovated rooms where lighting, climate, security, and entertainment responded seamlessly to voice and app control.
This overview focuses on how HGTV presented smart home features in 2018, emphasizing practical layouts, user-friendly hubs, and scalable systems suitable for both new builds and major remodels.
| Property | 2018 Showcase Example | Typical Tech | Design Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Hub | Control by Logitech or Crestron in main family room | Touchscreen wall panel, voice gateway | Single point of control for entire system |
| Lighting Control | Philips Hue and Lutron RadioRA 2 | Smart switches, dimmers, color scenes | Mood presets tied to time of day and activity |
| Climate & Energy | Nest thermostats, Sense energy monitor | Remote sensors, schedules, usage analytics | Comfort in main zones with energy savings |
| Security & Access | SimpliSafe, August Smart Locks, video doorbell | Mobile alerts, geofenced arming, smart garage | Visible but unobtrusive protection for family routines |
Smart Home Layouts for Open Concept Living
Designers used open layouts to ensure consistent Wi‑Fi and Zigbee coverage, positioning smart switches and repeaters out of sight. This approach kept clean lines while supporting reliable device communication across kitchens, dining rooms, and great rooms.
Zone-based control allowed families to adjust lighting and temperature in linked areas rather than single rooms. Scenes such as "Morning Start" or "Entertaining" coordinated shades, music, and ambient lighting with one tap or voice command.
Voice Assistant Integration and Routines
Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant served as primary voice interfaces, enabling hands-free management of lights, plugs, and media. HGTV demonstrated how short, natural phrases could trigger complex routines across multiple rooms simultaneously.
Routines were tied to motion sensors and presence detection, so lights and music activated when family members arrived and powered down when the house was empty. This reduced manual steps and created a seamless daily rhythm without extra hardware clutter.
Whole-Home Audio and Media Zones
Multi-room Sonos and other scalable systems distributed music throughout the house while maintaining zone independence. Each area could play different tracks, or all zones could sync for parties and gatherings.
Wall-mounted speakers were paired with hidden wiring chases to preserve clean aesthetics, and control remained accessible through wall panels, remotes, and voice for different user preferences.
Smart Kitchens and Connected Appliances
In 2018 HGTV highlighted refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers that reported status through a unified smart home app. Users could start a cycle, check temperatures, and receive maintenance reminders without opening the kitchen hub panel.
Countertop devices like smart scales and connected coffee makers were integrated into routines so that preheating the oven or grinding coffee could be scheduled alongside lights and music cues in adjacent spaces.
Smart Home Roadmap and Next Steps
Planning a similar upgrade benefits from staged implementation, clear zone definitions, and vendor choices that prioritize interoperability and long-term support.
- Audit current devices and map rooms into logical control zones before purchasing hubs or controllers.
- Prioritize lighting and climate control for immediate daily impact, then expand to security and entertainment.
- Choose a primary voice assistant and hub platform that supports open standards and local execution.
- Use a mix of wired and wireless devices to balance installation simplicity with long-term reliability.
- Schedule professional calibration for multi-zone audio, energy monitoring, and advanced automations.
FAQ
Reader questions
How does the 2018 HGTV smart home layout handle Wi‑Fi dead zones in larger houses?
Designers recommended distributed wired access points, wired Ethernet backhaul for hubs, and dual-band Zigbee repeaters placed in hallways to maintain reliable device connectivity without visible wiring.
Can the same voice routines work with both Alexa and Google Assistant in the HGTV 2018 setup?
Yes, the showcased systems used cloud-to-cloud integrations and IFTTT or hub-based bridging so that core routines triggered the same smart devices regardless of which assistant the user preferred.
What happens to smart schedules and scenes if the internet goes down during the HGTV 2018 concept?
Local execution through the central hub and Zigbee mesh allowed essential automations like lighting scenes and climate setpoints to continue, while cloud features required connectivity.
Are the smart devices shown in HGTV 2018 compatible with later software updates and new models?
Manufacturers emphasized backward compatibility and long-term firmware support, and designers chose platforms with proven update cycles to protect homeowner investments over time.