Sometimes the itch is "I like the challenge of finding/building a solution for X" not "I need a solution for X".
Different from home automation, but sometimes I find myself carried away researching "the best photo printer", "the nicest hybrid smart watch", "the best value tiny PC I can mount on a monitor" or some other gadget. I browse around the reviews, youtube videos, shopping sites, and find the best product for the best price. And then ... I move on because, realistically, I don't need the thing.
There’s a very nice one on Kickstarter right now. Ad Maiora.
It does look nice in the renders. If the smart features are also powered by the self-winding mechanism, that's a game changer. It's quite pricey though.
I currently have a Kronaby Apex on my wrist. A few years old model, but I quite like the legible watch face, the 2 year battery life, and the absence of anything giving away it has smart features.
When i got my current dog i built an outdoor dog kennel (12m2) for it. My previous dog lived inside in a temperature controlled environment, so i never wondered if it would get too hot or too cold. It did however destroy most of our stuff when it was alone.
Living in Scandinavia, temperatures can vary from +35C to -18C during the year, and while most of the range is "ok" (27C - -8C), the extremes was the reason for building it in the first place.
Had the dog been living outside all the time this wouldn't have been a problem, but when confined to a (relatively) small space, and living indoors for half it's day means that in the summer it cannot move to a better/cooler place, and in the winter it may not have a thick enough winter coat.
It has an insulated dog house there, approved for all year usage for guard dogs, and unlike my previous dog, this one actually uses it - though mostly when it rains.
Sometimes it's just art and craft. Kind of like people making tools / knifes. There's a pleasure in making something even if it's not really going to be used.
Heavily underestimated the time sink it is and how often things break. But it definitely scratches and itch.
I’ve learned so much about circuit boards, electricity, and soldering in the past few weeks I think it’s well worth it, even if the smart home dream itself might never materialize.