Take Control of Your Home > Escape Proprietary Smart-Home Tech with This DIY Panel

Over the last few years, I've added a fair amount of smart-home technology to my house. Among other things, I can control lights and outlets, monitor the status of various appliances, measure how much electricity and water I'm using, and even cut off the water supply in the event of a leak. All this technology is coordinated through a hub, which I originally accessed through a conventional browser-based interface. But scrolling and clicking through screens to find the reading or setting I want is a) slow and b) boring. I wanted an interface that was fast and fun—a physical control panel with displays and buttons.