I used to think painting was just about picking a color and not getting it on the ceiling. Then I tried to hang a smart thermostat, set up smart lights, and run low-voltage cable through a wall that had just been painted the week before. That was a mistake.
If you want a smart home ready house in Denver, the short answer is this: plan your tech and wiring before the first drop of paint hits the wall, pick paint types that play nice with sensors and smart devices, and work with a painter who actually asks about your gear instead of just your color. If you already have a contractor lined up, send them your device list and wiring plan, then schedule painting after all the messy low-voltage work but before you mount most smart hardware. That alone can save you a lot of patch jobs and extra costs on your next House painting Denver project.
Why “Smart Home Ready” Painting Is Different
A regular paint job is about making walls look clean and consistent.
A smart home ready paint job adds one more layer: the walls need to work with sensors, hubs, wires, and brackets, not fight them.
You are not just painting for today. You are painting for all the small holes, mounts, and upgrades you will make next year and the year after.
If you are filling and painting walls without thinking about smart devices, you are almost guaranteeing extra patch and repaint work later.
Here is where tech changes the way you should think about painting:
- You have more devices on walls and ceilings: sensors, cameras, keypads, displays, touch panels.
- Some wireless devices do not love heavy or metallic paints.
- You might need removable mounting options instead of permanent ones in some areas.
Smart planning helps paint support your tech, not block it.
Step 1: Map Your Smart Devices Before Color Choices
Before you open a paint deck or think about “greige,” you need a device map. Not a fancy CAD drawing. Just a clear idea of what will live where.
Create a simple smart device map
Walk your Denver home room by room with a notepad or notes app. For each space, quickly mark:
- Wall switches that will become smart switches or dimmers
- Thermostats that might be upgraded
- Sensors: motion, contact, temperature, humidity, leak
- Cameras: indoor, outdoor, doorbell, baby monitor cameras
- Wireless access points or mesh nodes
- Media gear: wall mounted TV, soundbar, in-wall or in-ceiling speakers
- Control points: tablet mounts, keypad controls, touch screens
You do not need every model number. You just need locations:
– “Motion sensor near entry”
– “AP on hallway ceiling center”
– “TV on living room north wall, 65 inch”
– “Door contact on sliding door right side”
This impacts painting in a few ways:
– Where not to put fresh texture you will drill into immediately.
– Where to avoid heavy filler that is hard to re-drill.
– Where you might want extra care on patching because you will be staring at that wall around your TV every day.
Share your device plans with your painter
Painters are not mind readers. Many will happily paint a wall perfectly, then watch you put twelve holes in it next week.
You can avoid that by sharing:
- A rough floor plan with device locations marked
- Any areas that will get wall mounted TVs or big gear
- Rooms that will be “tech heavy” such as offices and media rooms
Then say something like:
“I am planning a lot of smart devices and wiring. If you see any walls where patching might be tough around these spots, let me know before painting so we can plan.”
Most decent Denver painters will appreciate the heads up. Some will ignore it. If they brush off your tech plans entirely, that is actually a useful signal, and you might want to question if they are the right fit.
Step 2: Time Your Painting Around Wiring and Install
The schedule is not obvious until you have gone through it once. Smart home work and painting trample all over each other if you do them in the wrong order.
Ideal order of work for a smart home ready repaint
For a typical Denver house that is being updated or refreshed, this order usually works well:
- Low-voltage and electrical rough-in
- Drywall repair and patching
- Primer and wall prep
- Final wiring terminations and device test fits
- Finish coats of paint
- Mount smart devices, TVs, speakers, and decorative hardware
A few points that matter:
– Pull your network cables and speaker wires before the big paint job.
– Do rough box placements, cutouts, and reinforcements before primer.
– Have your painter fix and prep walls after all the messy cutting and drilling.
– Test fit at least one of each device type so you know the wall is smooth where the backplates and covers sit.
If your painter expects to “come in at the end of the project when everything is done,” push back. For a tech heavy home, that plan hurts you.
New build vs repaint in Denver
In a new build, trades are usually slotted in with some logic, but tech can still be an afterthought. If you are adding smart wiring, you want:
| Stage | What you do | What painter should do |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-drywall | Run cables, place boxes, backing for heavy gear | Nothing yet |
| Post-drywall, pre-primer | Cut final openings, confirm layouts | Start planning repairs or smoothing as needed |
| After rough tech work | Leave devices out, wires exposed but labeled | Patch, sand, prime, and prepare final surface |
| After primer | Test fit plates and key panels | Adjust texture or patch if needed |
| Final | Install devices, mount TVs, sensors, speakers | Touch up around tricky areas if needed |
In a repaint, the main risk is trying to “keep the walls nice” while you cut holes for new devices. In reality, it is cheaper and cleaner to accept some mess before paint and repair it once.
A paint job that happens too early in a smart home project usually means your walls get patched twice and never look quite right.
Step 3: Picking Paint With Smart Gear In Mind
Most people pick paint based on how it looks in a sample. Tech adds a few more factors.
Sheen levels and smart devices
Sheen is how shiny or flat the paint is. It matters more than people think once you start mounting small devices.
Here is a basic comparison for living spaces:
| Sheen | Pros for smart homes | Cons for smart homes |
|---|---|---|
| Flat / Matte | Hides wall defects, wires, and small patches very well. Looks clean on camera. | Marks easier, can burnish where you touch around switches and thermostats. |
| Eggshell | Balanced look; handles touch better around devices. Common in Denver homes. | Shows more flaws behind low-profile plates compared to flat. |
| Satin | More durable, useful in hallways with lots of devices. | Reflects light more, can create halos around devices, not great for glare near screens. |
| Semigloss / Gloss | Good on trim near keypads and outlets; cleans easily. | Harsh reflections, looks bad next to wall-mounted displays, highlights any uneven patch. |
Short version:
– Flat or matte works well in media rooms and offices with screens.
– Eggshell works in most living areas.
– Satin or gloss is fine for trim and doors near smart locks or door sensors.
Color choices for sensors and cameras
You do not need to match every device color. That ends up stressful and unrealistic as tech changes.
Focus on a few rules:
– Avoid very high contrast between devices and walls in areas where you care about clean lines, like a TV wall.
– On camera walls, medium to darker colors often hide devices and wires better than bright white.
– In a hallway full of sensors and cameras, softer off-whites or light grays hide wall flaws better than pure white.
If you are into smart lighting, keep in mind:
– Cooler wall colors can look a bit odd under very warm smart bulbs and vice versa.
– If you use RGB smart lighting, neutral paint tends to handle color shifts better than strong colored walls.
Paint chemistry and wireless gear
Most interior paints work fine with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals, but a few special cases pop up:
– Metallic paints or heavy metallic flake can reduce wireless performance. Not always, but enough that it is risky around access points.
– Very heavy textured walls can affect how some sensors read, especially ones that rely on reflections or lines of sight.
If you plan to mount a wireless access point on a wall or ceiling, do not place it on:
– Metallic paint
– Behind stone veneer
– Over any hidden metal mesh in the wall if you can avoid it
For most Denver homes, standard modern interior paints with low VOC are fine and safe around electronics.
Step 4: Dealing With Drywall, Mounts, And Future Upgrades
A big part of smart home work is making holes. That does not mix naturally with perfect walls.
Planning for future device changes
You are probably going to change something:
– You will upgrade the thermostat at some point.
– You will swap camera brands.
– You will move a motion sensor that annoys your pets.
You can plan your painting with that in mind.
Some ideas that help:
- Use larger backplates where possible around thermostats and some switches so minor future patches stay hidden.
- Place sensors in consistent, logical places in each room so any moved devices leave fewer random scars.
- Ask your painter to keep a clearly labeled touch up kit with small containers of each color and sheen.
Drywall work before paint
If you are running new wires or retrofitting, you will need holes. Many Denver painters can handle basic drywall repair.
Ask directly:
– Who is handling drywall repair?
– Are they comfortable patching multiple small holes and getting the texture right?
– Do they fix recessed box changes, like moving a thermostat up or down?
If they only do “minor repair” and you plan to cut a lot of openings, you may need a separate drywall person.
For tech heavy homes, focus on:
– Smoothing large TV walls so mounts sit flush.
– Fixing old cable or phone jacks cleanly.
– Removing and patching unused wall boxes that will never hold anything smart.
Reinforcement for heavy smart devices
Big TVs, soundbars, wall mounted tablets, and in-wall racks need strength, not just paint.
Ask your painter or drywall person:
– Are there studs or backing where the large TV will go?
– Are you covering any voids or old holes with a thin patch that will not hold a new mount?
If backing is missing:
– Add blocking or at least mark stud locations clearly before painting.
– You can use paint safe labels or drawings in pencil that get lightly sanded before the final coat.
This feels picky, but nothing is worse than trying to find studs on a perfectly painted wall with a stud finder that keeps lying to you.
Step 5: Making Smart Devices Look Like They Belong
Once the paint is on, your smart gear should not feel like an afterthought stuck on top.
Switches, plates, and trim
Tiny details matter more in a smart home where you might have extra controls and sensors.
You can:
– Use consistent plate styles across the home so the wall visually feels uniform.
– Pick plate colors that either match the wall closely or match a theme, not a random mix.
– Line up switches and sensors at similar heights where practical.
If you know you will change multiple switches to smart ones over time, it might be better to keep cheap basic plates now and upgrade all of them after the smart switch phase is done. That avoids watching your painter work around fancy plates twice.
Where not to paint
Tell your painter, plainly, to avoid:
– Painting over access points, sensor lenses, and camera covers.
– Painting over device labels you intentionally left on for reference.
– Painting over low-voltage cables that have not been terminated yet.
Some painters wrap everything in tape. Some do not. Just saying “please do not paint over any of the tech devices” is not always enough. Be specific about which blanks or boxes are temporary and which need to stay clean.
Dealing with smart lighting and shadows
Smart lighting makes bad paint work more obvious. Especially strip lights and accent lighting.
Watch out for:
– LED strips near ceilings that reveal every roller mark.
– Downlights that create harsh cones on any bumpy patch or misaligned texture.
– Under cabinet lights that highlight uneven backsplash wall paint.
If you know you will add these, tell the painter where:
– Over cabinets
– Along baseboards
– Behind a TV
– Under shelves
Then ask for extra care in those areas.
Step 6: Exterior Painting For Smart Homes In Denver
Outside walls now host cameras, lights, doorbells, smart locks, and maybe solar equipment. Exterior painting touches all of that.
Climate and hardware issues
Denver has sun, temperature swings, and occasional snow and hail. That matters for smart hardware:
– Strong UV can fade both paint and plastic on your devices.
– Temperature swings can make caulk and seals fail around mounts.
– Moisture can creep into poorly sealed camera or sensor mounts.
When planning exterior painting with tech:
- Remove or mask smart doorbells, cameras, and sensors instead of painting right up against them.
- Check that mounting holes are sealed with caulk before repainting.
- Use exterior paints suited for UV exposure, especially on south and west walls.
If your painter wants to tape around doorbells and leave them in place, that is often fine, but you may want to take them off and remount yourself once the paint is dry.
Color and visibility for outdoor devices
You have two opposite goals that sometimes clash:
– You want security devices to be visible as a deterrent.
– You want your house to look clean without cables and cameras standing out.
You can balance this by:
– Matching cameras roughly to trim color, not main siding color.
– Choosing doorbell and lock finishes that go with your chosen door and trim paint.
– Keeping cable runs hidden in channels that either match the wall color or the device color.
If you paint over conduit or cable channels, make sure your painter uses compatible paint that will not peel off plastic easily.
Step 7: Picking The Right Denver Painter For A Smart Home Project
You do not need a “smart home specialty painter” but you do want someone who listens and is willing to adjust.
Questions to ask potential painters
When you talk to painters in Denver, ask very direct questions about tech related issues:
- Have you worked in homes with a lot of smart devices, cameras, or network gear?
- How do you handle painting around wall mounted TVs, thermostats, and sensors?
- Can you coordinate with my electrician or low-voltage person on timing?
- Do you do drywall repair where tech gear has been moved or removed?
- Will you label and leave me small containers of every color and sheen you use?
You are not looking for perfect answers. You are looking for someone who does not get annoyed by these questions.
If they say “we just paint whatever is there, you can worry about your gadgets later,” that is your clue they are not thinking about long term use of the space.
What to include in your painter brief
Prepare a short document, even half a page, and send it before they start:
– Short description of your smart home plans.
– Device dense areas such as office, media room, entry, and exterior camera zones.
– Any walls that are “feature” tech walls such as a projector or TV wall.
– Any areas where you expect to add more devices later, like future speakers.
You might feel a little nerdy doing this, but it will save arguments over why a wall looks bad behind your wall mounted tablet.
Smart Home Friendly Rooms: Practical Examples
Let us go through some common rooms and what smart-home-ready painting looks like in each.
Living room with wall mounted TV
Key points for paint and prep:
- Smooth out the main TV wall; avoid heavy orange peel texture where the mount sits.
- Use flat or matte paint behind the TV to avoid glare in dark scenes.
- Make sure cable pass-throughs, power outlets, and boxes are patched cleanly if moved.
- Decide if speakers will go on walls or stands before patching any old holes.
Ask the painter to do a light check on that wall. Turn on your main living room lights and see how the wall looks from the main seats before they leave.
Home office with lots of tech
A typical home office might have:
– Wall mounted monitors or arms
– Wi-Fi router or mesh node
– Smart lights
– Sensors and maybe a small camera
Helpful painting ideas:
- Pick a neutral, low sheen paint behind main screens.
- Have the painter fix any old cable entry points and phone jack boxes you no longer need.
- Keep one wall relatively clean for future gear. Avoid random holes that get half-patched.
If you plan intense video calls, consider how the wall behind you looks on camera. Blemishes and uneven patches show up more on 4K webcams than you think.
Hallways loaded with sensors and switches
Hallways can easily turn into patchwork zones of:
– Switches
– Dimmers
– Sensors
– Thermostats
– Door contacts
To keep that under control:
- Group controls vertically where possible to reduce scattered plates.
- Use one type and color of plate for everything.
- Ask your painter to focus on smooth blending around previous patch areas.
Often, a soft eggshell finish works well in halls, because it survives bumps and fingerprints but still hides small imperfections.
Common Mistakes To Avoid With Smart Home Painting
It is easy to get lost in gadget plans and forget how fragile a fresh paint job is.
Mistake 1: Installing all tech before painting
If you mount every TV, camera, and sensor, then call a painter, you will:
– Pay more for tight, slow brush and roll work around devices.
– Risk paint on lenses, microphones, and sensors.
– Have odd outlines if you move any devices later.
It is cleaner to remove as many devices as possible, leave the wiring and boxes in place, and reinstall after walls are fully done.
Mistake 2: Painting, then cutting new holes
Sometimes this is unavoidable, but often it is just poor planning. Every late hole:
– Creates dust that sticks to fresh paint.
– Needs patch and touch up that rarely matches perfectly.
– Can damage the new finish around the cut.
Try to lock in as many device locations as possible before the main paint phase. You will never hit 100 percent, but moving from “maybe 50 percent are planned” to “90 percent are planned” changes the wall quality noticeably.
Mistake 3: Ignoring light temperature and reflection
Smart bulbs can go from cool white to warm white. Your walls look different under each setting.
If you only test color with one bulb at one time of day, you might end up with:
– A color you love in the afternoon but hate at night.
– Strange reflections on your TV wall when your smart lights shift.
Use your smart lighting to test colors at several settings before finalizing.
Is It Worth Thinking About All This?
If this sounds like overthinking, that is fair. Many people just want the walls to be clean and do not care if a sensor ends up surrounded by small scuffs later.
But for someone already running Home Assistant, tinkering with automations, or planning a big Wi-Fi upgrade, the wall work becomes part of the system.
You do not need a perfect plan. You just need a better one than “paint now, drill later.”
If you are still on the fence, here is a simple way to decide how deep to go:
| Smart level | Examples | How far to plan painting |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Smart thermostat, a few bulbs, one camera | Just tell your painter about the devices; normal painting is enough. |
| Moderate | Smart switches, multiple cameras, mesh Wi-Fi | Device map, schedule painting after main wiring, basic drywall plan. |
| Heavy | Whole home audio, wired network, many wall panels | Detailed planning, coordination with low-voltage crew, full repair strategy. |
If you are in that middle or heavy group, treating painting as part of your smart home project, not a separate cosmetic task, starts to make sense.
Paint is cheap compared to the cost of your tech, but bad wall work will bug you more often than a firmware bug.
Quick Q&A To Wrap Up
Do I really need to tell my painter about my smart home plans?
Yes. You do not need a full wiring diagram, but they should know where you plan big devices, cameras, and new wiring. It changes where they focus prep work and how they schedule.
Can paint affect Wi-Fi or sensor performance?
Regular interior paint rarely causes problems. Metallic paints and some heavy textures can, especially near access points or sensors that rely on signals reflecting cleanly. If in doubt, use standard low VOC paint near important wireless hardware.
Is flat or eggshell better for a smart home?
For most Denver homes, eggshell is a good balance in main rooms, with flat or matte on feature walls that hold TVs or big screens. Glossy finishes tend to highlight flaws around smart devices and can create glare on displays.
What if I already painted and now want to add smart wiring?
You can still do it, but expect patches. Try to group new work into planned sections, then have a painter come back for a focused repair and repaint rather than constant small fixes.
How much should I worry about future upgrades when choosing paint?
Enough to keep a labeled touch up kit, choose practical sheens, and avoid wild colors on critical tech walls. Beyond that, do not let fear of upgrades stop you from painting. You can always patch and repaint specific areas later if your smart home grows faster than expected.
