While I've been going kind of nutty learning about modern stage lighting technology, it kind of hit me that you can do so many cool things with lights now. You don't have to be technically inclined, you really just need to be able to use your phone.
When we last moved, about five years ago, I put a bunch of Hue lights outside in front of the garage and over the porch, so we could change them to whatever color felt right. Red and green for Christmas, red white and blue for the 4th of July, orange and purple for Halloween, etc. I have them in our living room, too, but don't generally mix those up outside of Christmas. Those also include a strip of lights above the over-TV shelf, which throw light up on the wall.
And then there are the WiFi switches and outlets, so you can turns stuff on remotely or on timers. We use one in the bedroom so my lazy ass doesn't need to get out of bed to turn off the lights. And for the holidays, we just tell the speaker, "Merry Christmas," and the trees, lighted garland and Hue lights all come on at the same time. The one in the front window is also on a timer.
Speaking of Christmas, have you seen these Twinkly lights that you phone can map out and animate on the tree? That's insane. A hundred bucks isn't cheap, but to do what it does is pretty incredible.
I thought about getting those permanent roof trim lights, but I wouldn't use them all that often. If I were going to spend money on permanent lighting, I would probably want ground level washes pointing upward, and on the front roof parts. Now that the house is white, I think that would look pretty cool.
It's also worth mentioning that all of this stuff uses a fraction of the power that they used to, because of LED's.
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