65 days ago I made a post asking for ideas on how to make my kitchen lights smart: https://www.homekit.blog.com/r/HomeKit/s/WPJKKUCUdc and I got a lot great suggestions from the community that kicked off the much bigger journey I anticipated. And I learned a lot along the way. I started by adding a Philips Hue kit (hub and 3 color bulbs) in the living room to start my smart home journey. And then I went a little crazy: I love the Hue setup, but I decided it wasn't what I wanted in the kitchen, so I kept looking. As the Christmas sales happened, I picked up more Hue bulbs, both color and white, and added them to more rooms in the house, along with some automation. And more... and some more... I also picked up some Nanoleaf bulbs for my stepson's room to try out. And I won't buy more. Hue is more expensive, but they are much better. The Nanoleaf app is harder to use, the lights take longer to respond, one frequently becomes inaccessible, and I like the color range of the Hue bulbs better. After some research I also took the plunge into Lutron, buying a starter kit with a hub and two Casesta dimmer switches (and Pico remotes) I added the switches in the master bathroom to control the vanity lights and over the kitchen table to control the chandelier. And I found the answer I wanted for the main lights in the kitchen. Going crazy, I bought a new Samsung TV and added Hue lighting to it (gradient strip and two playbars) via the Hue app. Added 3 HomePods around the house (with plans to get more). I also replaced about half of my crappy switches with Lutrons (Casettas where I want dimming, Claros where I don't, and two Aurora dimmers to control the Hue setup in the living room). Two of the four ceiling fans in the house are now also controlled by Lutron switches. I'll do the other two eventually. After switching to fiber internet last year, I updated my home network a bit with a new router and recently added a wired backhaul (via MoCa) from one end of the house to the other. The plan was to add a wireless access point there, but so far I haven't needed it. What I added was an unmanaged switch so I could hardware my PC, TV and Apple TV box. And back to the original point, Wifey and I finally made a decision about the ceiling lights for the kitchen (my original step) and installed new ones yesterday. They are not expensive or luxurious. I purchased two Commercial Electric led panels from Home Depot for about $80 each. These are adjustable and change color with about 5 options going from warm white to off white (4000k to 6500k is the range if memory serves) controlled by a Lutron Cassette at one end of the kitchen and a wall mounted Pico at the other . And so far it's working great. I have 4 more Lutron switches to install this week, then I'll take a break and work on other projects (like painting the kitchen). What we've decided works for us is the Lutron ecosystem for most attached lights controlled by switches (ceiling fixtures, sconces, vanity lights, etc.) and the Hue ecosystem for lamps, accents, etc. Long post, hope it helps someone. And thanks to those who commented on the original post and inspired me.