Hyper-realistic visuals and intuitive control
Case study
A Home Assistant dashboard that looks and feels like the home it controls
For this project, Highlands Smart Homes created a custom dashboard that turns the home’s floor plan into an interactive lighting control interface. A realistic 3D render of the home was produced from the house plans, then enhanced with room-by-room lighting scenes so the homeowner could control and understand the home visually.
Interactive 3D-rendered floor plan
Whole-home lighting control
Home Assistant
The challenge
Making smart home control feel natural
Traditional smart home dashboards often rely on lists of switches, icons, room names and menus. While functional, they can feel abstract, especially in larger homes with many rooms, lighting zones and scenes.
Most smart home dashboards are built around buttons, toggles and lists. That works, but it is not always the most intuitive way to control a large home.
For this project, the goal was to create a more natural interface: one where the homeowner could simply look at the floor plan, see the current state of the home, and tap the room they wanted to control. The dashboard needed to feel visual, realistic and immediate.
The concept
A floor plan that becomes the control interface
A 3D render was created from the home’s floor plans and styled to match the actual design of the house, including flooring choices, room layouts, furniture placement and key interior details.
Rather than using a generic floor plan, the dashboard became a recognisable representation of the home itself. This makes the interface much easier to use because the homeowner is not thinking in terms of switch names or device lists, they are simply interacting with the rooms they already know.
Lighting scenes
Tap a room. See it light up.
Lighting scenes were created for individual rooms and zones. When the homeowner taps a room, the dashboard changes to show that room illuminated, using a realistic lighting overlay designed to match the direction, warmth and ambience of real lights in the space.
This gives instant visual feedback. Instead of wondering whether a switch has changed, they can see the room come to life on the floor plan, room by room, with hyper-realistic light effects and no need to navigate menus.
Home status
More than lighting control
The dashboard was extended beyond lighting control. Room temperature and other key home information were displayed directly on the floor plan, giving the homeowner a quick overview of how the home is performing.
Living room
21.5°C · Lights on
Kitchen
22.0°C · Scene: Evening
Main bedroom
20.5°C · Lights off
Why it works
Designed around the way people actually think about their home
People think in rooms and spaces, not entity names or device lists. The homeowner does not need to remember light group names or understand how the automation system is structured, they look at the home, tap the room they want, and see the result.
Visual
The interface matches the home — not a generic list of switches and device names.
Intuitive
Rooms are controlled by touching the room itself, the way people naturally think about their home.
Informative
Lighting and temperature information is visible at a glance across the whole property.
Platform
Powered by Home Assistant
The dashboard was built using Home Assistant, allowing the visual interface to connect directly with the home’s lighting, climate and sensor data.
Home Assistant made it possible to combine reliable smart home control with a completely custom user interface. The result is a dashboard that feels purpose-built for the property, rather than a generic app applied to the home.
The result
A premium dashboard that feels effortless to use
The finished dashboard gives the homeowner a fast, visual and highly intuitive way to control the house. Lighting can be adjusted room by room, the state of the home is visible at a glance, and the interface feels connected to the actual layout and design of the property.
The result is a smart home experience that feels less like operating software and more like interacting directly with the home, simple enough for everyday household use, with the flexibility to grow over time.
- Whole-home lighting control from one visual dashboard
- Hyper-realistic room-by-room lighting feedback
- Floor plan based on the actual home design
- Temperature and home status information visible at a glance
- Built using Home Assistant for flexibility and future expansion
- Simple enough for everyday household use
- Premium interface suited to a high-end home
Want a smart home dashboard designed around your home?
Highlands Smart Homes designs custom smart home systems and dashboards for homes across the Southern Highlands, Wollongong and Sydney. From lighting and climate to security, audio and automation, we create systems that are powerful behind the scenes and simple to use every day.
Book a smart home consultation
Tell us about your home and project. We will be in touch for a no-obligation consultation to discuss scope, platform options and what is possible for your property.