Smart Lighting on a Budget: Complete Room for Under $100

Smart lighting is the gateway drug of home automation. One smart bulb leads to a second, which leads to a light strip, which leads to motion sensors, and suddenly you're knee-deep in Home Assistant YAML at 2 AM wondering why your hallway lights won't dim to exactly 23%. We've all been there. But here's the thing — you don't need to spend hundreds to get impressive smart lighting. With careful product selection, you can light up an entire room with color-changing, voice-controlled, automated smart lights for under $100. Here's exactly how. The Plan: One Complete Room We're going to smart-light a typical living room or bedroom with: Main overhead light — smart bulb or smart switch Accent lighting — LED strip behind the TV or under furniture Lamp lighting — smart bulb in an existing table/floor lamp Automation — motion-triggered and time-based schedules Control — voice, app, and physical switch Total budget: $100 or less. Option A: The WiFi Route ($72-95) If you don't have a smart home hu