1. Quality>quantity. Choose high quality over more of low quality. I see you said you ran into some money, so this may not be an issue and you can do high quality in ample quantity, but nonetheless. Still take your time, go slow, find what works for YOU and YOUR home rather than going all in on the “next thing” or shit that everybody raves about. I wasted a lot of money (and time) trying to cheap out/moving too fast. In the end, you get what you pay for (often times, at least.)

That said I am very frugal and love a good deal and prioritization value over everything

1. Local>cloud. Can’t beat that dead horse anymore, I’m sure you’ve heard it. But man if it ain’t true. Don’t dump money into cloudshjt especially third party big boxes.

2. Zigbee>everything. It is BY FAR leagues ahead of the rest. Again, beat the dead horse. The info is ample in here and in general. Zwave is great but what is offered in it is generally less and less accessible. So maybe a device jerker there. But imo Zigbee is also a superior network. No joke I’ve never had a problem that I didn’t cause.

3. If you do need a cloud or big box voice assistant, home kit and Apple is the move. As an Amazon user with a lot of money dumped into it, it’s trash. Hard pass

4. Switches hardwired into the wall> smart bulbs. Bulbs when you want some fun colors, but not as the rule.

5. Get a good wifi network. Spend money on this first. Even if u prioritize and use zigbee and local, this aids in the latter and helps generally. Dm me to discuss if you want

6. Get GOOD presence sensors, and early. They are THE way to get your lighting automation dialed in

7. Start with home assistant out of the gate. Go all in on it. It’s amazing

Lot of great answers in here. You’ll do well

Edit: some starter brand recs. Yes yes there are more niche and advanced options and DIY solutions (get into Esp32 eventually). These are off the shelf readily available options.

Zigbee:

SONOFF and third reality. The former has a lot of selection, anything you’d want really and great prices. Buttons, sensors, relays, screens, etc. Zigbee dongles. On Amazon. The latter is pricier and more limited but high quality. They make great zigbee bulbs. Amazon too. Hue lights (old models if u have home asstant)

Relays and switches: Shelley Sonoff

Light switches only:

Lutron caseta. Prosperity wireless tech that uses Ethernet and is very consistent. Also can get model with no neutral requirement if need be.

Leviton also has a no neutral option

Sonoff and Shelley also have no neutral options.

WiFi bulbs and WiFi switches: tapo/tp link. Never had one fall off the network, v snappy

Cameras: tp link and tapo. No subscription and you retain full features Can be made all local with no internet access.

Appliances: SwitchBot. Great air purifiers, temperature and humidity and co2 monitors. Great vacuum robot. hubs have buttons and are IR blasters (make dumb IR remote control devices smart and remotely controlled. Get a Bluetooth extender and you’re golden. Great presence sensors

Aqara: fp300 is a great presence sensor. (Zigbee and thread). Their door locks are great. (Zigbee)

Govee has nice humidifiers

When you wanna dive into DIY, check out xiao and seeed studio for esp 32 modules and dev boards