As someone involved in reviewing smart home devices, I will admit that I can be a bit pretentious when it comes to selecting products for my personal use. Naturally, I want top picks in every category, and I am willing to go to the expense necessary to get them.

But when it comes to the ongoing DIY smart home renovations, we had to be more realistic. With all the new cabinets, modern appliances, and expenses incurred to renovate a 1980's galley kitchen into an open space, I am budget bound. And one of the devices I'm saving money on is a smart thermostat.

Don't get me wrong. Smart thermostats are one of the most useful IoT products for managing energy consumption, improving smart home routines, and simply making your home more comfortable. Some of the best smart thermostats have built-in voice assistants or even support sensors that read the temperature of different rooms and adjust settings.

Ecobee and Nest are the most well-known smart thermostat manufacturers. The top-rated Ecobee SmartThermostat (5th generation) and Nest Learning Thermostat do not resemble traditional button-filled thermostats. Instead, they feature colorful displays with touch-screen navigation and other tactile controls. It is also priced at over $200.

The recently released Nest Thermostat is less expensive at $130, but its ease of use eliminated it from consideration in my home. The Nest product works well with Alexa (I chose Alexa over Google Assistant), but its modern design is intimidating. I want an app that allows me to control the thermostat from anywhere without having to tinker with an aging HVAC system, but I also want classic controls so that guests don't wonder what swipe will activate the air conditioning in the summer.

The thermostat is also one device that my parents, who are still getting used to voice-enabled devices, don't want to have to relearn how to use. I won't reveal my parents' ages at the risk of being rude, but they say they're too old for this.

To make everyone happy - me, the smart home guru, and my parents, the reluctant but supportive parenting parents - we came up with a solution to upgrade our current thermostat setup to one with smart features. The best part? The new thermostat looks just like the old one.

The $79 Honeywell Home Wi-Fi 7-day Programmable Thermostat is not the sexiest smart thermostat. In fact, I couldn't tell it apart from the existing Honeywell Home in my home. All the physical buttons work the same way, but the Wi-Fi 7-day Programmable Thermostat, as its name suggests, also offers connected control.

This allows us to regulate the temperature the same way we have for the four years we've owned this house when my parents walk by. The Honeywell Home brand is also compatible with the Brilliant Smart Home Controller I wrote about in last week's Neutral Line description.

It can be changed from your phone while you are away. This is especially helpful in the dead of winter. Parents may want to stay warm, but they want to make sure the pipes are warm enough not to freeze.

Yes, even though I'm a big fan of smart homes, I also make budget-conscious decisions. Sometimes it is worth spending money on a device that has all the features you want. But if a device under $100 offers everything I need, why not buy it? You can build a smart home for less than you think, as long as you know what to look for.

For more gadget recommendations, be sure to check out our guide to the best smart home devices (and the best inexpensive smart home devices). We'll be back next week with more DIY smart homes. Until then, if there's anything you'd like us to cover about connected spaces, please email us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.