GoKawiilHome Assistant user commissions illustrator to build hand-drawn interactive dashboard
A smart-home enthusiast who automated most of a house using Home Assistant found that certain devices, like garden lights on a timer, still required manual control via an app that no one in the family wanted to use. To solve this, they commissioned an illustrator to create a hand-drawn floor plan of the house, which was turned into an interactive dashboard showing live states like a flickering fireplace and glowing garden lights.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The project illustrates a common hurdle in home automation: technically capable systems often fail at adoption because interfaces feel unapproachable to non-technical household members. By prioritizing aesthetics and familiarity over typical 3D or pixel-art dashboard styles, the creator suggests that design choices can be as important as functionality in getting smart-home tools actually used by an entire family.
- A custom illustrated floor plan was used to replace a standard Home Assistant dashboard.
- The redesign aimed to solve a human-adoption problem, not just a technical one.
- The dashboard reflects live device states, such as lights and climate control, within the artwork.
Home Assistant Yellow hub — If you're building out a Home Assistant setup like this custom illustrated dashboard, having dedicated reliable hardware running the show matters. Home Assistant Yellow is purpose-built for running Home Assistant locally with Zigbee built in, making it easy to connect garden lights, climate sensors, and all the automations described in the article. It's a great foundation for anyone wanting to expand their smart home without relying on cloud apps everyone in the house hates opening.”} wait fix format issue—provide valid single line JSON. Correcting: {
See Home Assistant Yellow hub on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: antonfrolov.substack.com — Anton Frolov, 2026-10-07
Published there as: “I hired an illustrator to draw my house. Now it's my Home Assistant dashboard”
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