The Eight Mistakes
In the order they usually happen.
1. No neutral wire at switch points
The most common and most expensive to fix. Ask for neutrals at every switch box during wiring — it costs almost nothing then and requires wall-chasing later.
2. Lighting on too few circuits
Scenes need separately controllable groups. One circuit for the whole living room means one brightness for the whole living room, forever.
3. Treating the network as an afterthought
A smart home is a network appliance. A single builder-supplied router in a shoe cabinet is the root cause of most 'automation is unreliable' complaints.
4. Buying hardware before deciding scenes
Decide what should happen when you walk in at 8pm. Then buy the switches that do it. Not the other way around.
5. Over-automating
Motorised curtains in the guest bathroom impress nobody. Spend the same money on better lighting control where the family actually sits.
6. Mixing incompatible ecosystems
Four apps for four brands is not a smart home. Standardise on one control layer and check every device against it before purchase.
7. Ignoring who else lives in the house
Parents and children need physical switches that still work normally. Any scene must be overridable by a wall press without opening a phone.
8. No maintenance plan
Firmware updates, camera storage, battery replacement in curtain motors and sensors — budget an AMC of roughly 5–8% of system value per year.