Our Living Room Smart Shades
When we started planning our window treatments, I knew I wanted something that wasn’t just pretty but also smart, practical, and easy to live with every day. Enter: Serena Smart Shades from Lutron.
We installed these shades ourselves (yes, even 18 feet in the air!) and honestly, they’re DIY-friendly. Would I recommend using scaffolding for fun? Definitely not. They’re much easier to install when you’re safe on the ground, but the point is, it can be done without hiring out if you’re comfortable with a drill.
Custom Look That Blends Right In
For the design, I went with two different fascia styles to blend seamlessly into the windows
White fabric-wrapped inside mount fascia for the windows.
Black architectural outside mount fascia for the doors.
Both styles house shades in the Vista < 3% Crystal fabric, which looks gorgeous while filtering light and maintaining privacy.
If you are unsure about measuring and ordering or have any questions at all about the options, I can confidently say that Lutron has some of, if not the best, customer service I have ever experienced. I called them a few times because I was nervous about making such a large purchase, and they helped me so much. They were kind, knowledgeable, and incredibly patient, which made the whole process feel stress-free.
Whisper-Quiet Operation
One of the things I love most is how quiet they are. You can barely hear them opening and closing, and it feels so luxe compared to clunky blinds.
Battery Power That Lasts
You can buy these shades hardwired, but our windows sit behind massive beams, so that was not an option. We chose the battery-powered version, and it has been great. They run on D batteries that last up to five years, and swapping them out takes less than a minute.
Why We Chose Lutron
We have been slowly building our smart home with Lutron products because they are reliable and high quality. The shades integrate perfectly into their ecosystem. Here is how we control them:
With the Lutron app on our phones
Using Google Home voice commands
With a remote
Or by setting schedules so they open and close automatically at certain times of day
This upgrade has made everyday life smoother. Mornings feel brighter, nights feel cozier, and everything in between feels a little more effortless.
Links At A Glance
Mixing Faux & Real Plants indoors
If you’ve ever seem photos of the various rooms in my home and wondered, “Wait… is that real?” the answer is sometimes. I love plants and flowers for the life and texture they bring to a space, but let’s be honest, I can’t keep everything alive. So I’ve found a sweet spot by mixing real and faux greenery throughout my house based on one thing: how likely I am to actually take care of them.
In areas I frequent every day , I go with real plants because I’m much more likely to water them if I see them.
My sunroom is full of happy real plants like my monstera, snake plant, and money tree, and three small real plants under a console table that has a hidden grow light. They’re thriving, and I love seeing that little burst of green when I walk by. However, the white flower arrangement on the coffee table is faux from an estate sale.
The primary bathroom is a little mix of both. There’s a real snake plant soaking up the humidity, but the red leaf stems and hydrangeas are faux.
My primary bedroom is where the blinds are usually drawn, so it’s all faux in there. Most of the pieces came from estate sales and they give color and texture to the room.
The living room is mostly real plants except for the faux palm, because I’ve accepted I can’t keep palms alive no matter how hard I try, and a faux olive tree. Those are finicky and I’m not about that stress. Everything else in there is real and happy because of the massive amount of light this space gets.
My entryway has a sweet little real plant that makes me smile every time I walk in the door, and the office has a stunning faux floral arrangement I scored at an estate sale. It looks so good, it fools just about everyone.
So that’s my not-so-secret formula: real where I see them, faux where I forget them. Mixing the two lets me enjoy the beauty of plants without the guilt, and honestly, some of those faux ones are pulling their weight in a big way.
Shop the Rooms