Thinking about investing in indoor outdoor living?

Indoor outdoor living areas are HOT right now, but couple those improvements with smart home tech…and you’ve got something special!

Not only will these improvements make living on your property even more enjoyable, but they can also add serious VALUE to your home.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• Why Indoor Outdoor Living Is Important
• Smart Electrical Upgrades To Install First
• Smart Home Technology For Connected Indoor Outdoor Living Spaces
• The Best Outdoor Smart Home Features To Install

Why Indoor Outdoor Living is Important

Before we dive into the tech stuff…

Research shows home owners are investing more money into their outdoor spaces than ever before. In fact, according to Fixr.com, 98% of kitchen and bath industry experts agree that renovating your outdoor living space can have a huge effect on your home’s value. That’s basically every contractor who was surveyed.

What does that mean for you?

Unite the indoors with the out. Use consistent colors. Match your flooring. Extend your technology outwards as well.

The problem is…

Typical homes aren’t designed with smart home outdoor living in mind. The electrical hasn’t been upgraded. There’s no real infrastructure in place.

Once you upgrade your electrical and install some smart home technology, you’ll be well on your way.

Smart Electrical Upgrades To Install First

Alright – the first thing you’ll need to think about is the house wiring.

It’s the one thing home owners forget about when looking to install smart home tech. You can’t properly run your outdoor smart home gear without the correct electrical outlets and up-to-date wiring.

This means upgrading your fusebox and ensuring your electricity supply can handle the additional load.

Here are a few things to consider:

Does your current fusebox need replacing?

When calculating your budget, you should factor in the cost to replace consumer unit as part of your smart home upgrade.

Obviously, the older your current fusebox is, the more of a priority this will become. Upgrading to a modern fusebox not only provides better protection for your home, but it can support the new technology you’ll be adding as well.

You’ll be adding smart outdoor lights. Heck, you might even add a weather station. Smart irrigation systems. Entertainment systems. Weatherproof power sockets are a must.

If your current electrical set up doesn’t support all of that, it’ll be a nightmare.

Make sure you get the following installed:

• Power sockets that are rated for outdoor use.
• Enough circuits to power high-load devices individually.
• Weatherproof junction boxes.

These upgrades don’t seem like much, but trust me. They’ll allow you to add all of the tech you want afterwards.

Smart Home Technology For Connected Indoor Outdoor Living Spaces

Now we can talk about the fun upgrades.

Smart home technology is already shaping up how we use indoor and outdoor spaces. But with the global smart home market valued at over $127 billion in 2024, it’s only going to expand.

Why the rapid growth?

Simple. Homeowners want convenience. They want to feel like their homes are working for them.

Smart Lighting

Okay, lighting is the easiest place to start.

You can buy smart light bulbs that connect to your phone. So you can have the same lighting inside your lounge room connected to lights on your patio.

Benefits of smart lighting include:

• schedule your lights to turn on at sunset
• create rooms that transition from inside to outside
• controls that adjust depending on the activity
• save money with automated controls

Instead of using regular incandescent or halogen lightbulbs, smart lighting uses LED lights. This reduces energy consumption by a HUGE margin.

Smart Climate Control

Listen…smart thermostats indoors can connect to patio heaters outdoors!

Imagine walking out onto your patio. Your smart thermostat recognizes you’re no longer in the living room and turns itself down. At the same time, it could trigger your smart outdoor heater to come on.

Intelligence at its finest.

Smart Security

Smart doorbells and security cameras these days have built-in outdoor options.

Your indoor cameras should pair with outdoor cameras for ultimate protection. You’ll want motion sensor lighting both inside and outside that trigger from each other.

This allows you to:

• control every camera from one app
• receive alerts and notifications from both inside and outside
• have better coverage with smart positioning
• easily keep an eye on things when you’re away

The Best Outdoor Smart Home Features To Install

Alright! Now let’s look at outdoor upgrades specifically.

Smart Irrigation

You shouldn’t have to watch over your yard all day.

Smart irrigation systems hook up to the weather. Some systems even monitor soil moisture levels. Only watering your lawn and garden when it needs it. Easy on your wallet. Happy for the environment.

Oh, and you can control the entire system from your phone…. Indoors.

Outdoor Entertainment

Outdoor kitchens and entertainment areas are hugely popular. And why not? The tech you can add takes it to another level.

Smart speakers are waterproof. Take your indoor music experience outside. There are even smart TVs you can buy now that are built to withstand outdoor environments. You can even have your outdoor lighting sync with music for parties.

Here are some of my favorites.

• Amazon Smart Speakers – Take your indoor audio outside!
• Smart TVs – Yes, they make TVs that can go outside
• Smart Grill – Rest assured… THEY HAVE ONE FOR GRILLS TOO.

Automated Shade Systems

Your pergola or patio covers can automatically close themselves off based on certain conditions.

It’s too sunny outside? Time for some extra shade. Your sensor detects it’s raining. Pull those pergola covers closed to protect your outdoor furniture.

My favorite part? You don’t have to lift a finger.

Smart motorised pergola covers and awnings can react to changes in weather instantly.

Bringing Your Indoor Outdoor Spaces Together

Notice a trend here?

You should connect ALL of these devices.

Through a smart home hub and voice assistant, you can now control indoor and outdoor environments with your voice. Create scenes where indoor lighting triggers outdoor lighting. Set an automation where your patio heater turns on when your indoor thermostat turns off.

“Hey Google, it’s movie time!” Your indoor lights dim. Your smart TV turns on. Outside, your patio lights turn on. Your smart inflatable activates. And that fancy outdoor heater? Turns on too.

Everyone’s favourite way to spend a night at home.

Connect With Consistency

If you’re going to attempt to setup outdoor smart features, you’ll need a strong WiFi signal.

A lot of people don’t consider this when moving smart tech outdoors. WiFi that covers your backyard doesn’t always come from your indoor router. Solve this problem by installing a mesh network or outdoor access points.

Trust me when I say having spotty WiFi on your patio will make your smart tech annoying.

Final Thoughts

There you have it.

Smart home improvements for indoor outdoor living are one of the best things you can do to your home today.

Let’s recap:

• Upgrade your electrical infrastructure
• Install smart indoor/outdoor lighting
• Connect your indoor and outdoor climate control
• Install outdoor smart entertainment features
• Control it all with a smart home hub and voice assistant

Homeowners are craving homes with indoor outdoor living options. Don’t be left in the dust. Smart technology lets you blend both spaces together and create unique homes that sell themselves.

Need help wrapping your head around what smart home tech you actually need? Check out my FREE Smart Home Starter Kit today!