When we started planning our first-ever booth at IFA Berlin, our goal was simple: to step away from the standard trade show stereotype. If you’ve ever walked the floor at a massive tech event like IFA, you’ll know the feeling all too well – endless aisles of corporate, sales-driven stands, harsh neon lighting, high-pressure pitches, few places to sit, and aircon blasting at full force. It’s enough to give anyone a headache by lunchtime.
We wanted to offer a welcoming respite from all that noise. We wanted to build a home.
Opening our door to the public
Unlike industry-only trade shows like CES in Las Vegas, IFA opens its doors directly to the public. These were the people we were aiming to connect with: everyday smart home users and curious visitors – from tech-savvy enthusiasts to those who just want their devices to work reliably, and may not yet be aware of data privacy issues.
So we filled the space with comfortable sofas, cushions, ambient lighting, plants, CDs, and a coffee corner. The goal wasn’t just to make the booth look pretty. Every design and decoration choice was intentional and part of our bigger idea: building a home.
We wanted a place where technology worked quietly in the background, all locally controlled in real time. Inspired by the Japanese concept of omotenashi (wholehearted hospitality), we created a space where we could invite visitors in to take a breath, sit down, and have a real conversation with us.
Warm welcoming, and ready to receive our guests (also a great place for me to get acquainted with the venue map).
It didn’t take long for visitors to be drawn to our booth!
We knew we were breaking the unspoken rules of a tech show, and that was the point. We didn’t have a product to sell or contracts to sign. We were simply there to share our vision of what an amazing place the smart home can be when it’s built around privacy, choice, and sustainability.
People at the heart of the home
While I realize a trade show booth may never fully look like a home, it can certainly feel like one. Cozy touches like soft furnishings help, but it’s people who bring it to life.
We had an incredible team at the booth: community volunteers who showed up every single day to give their time, endless energy, knowledge, and enthusiasm, as well as a diverse mix of friends from our partners Nabu Casa and Apollo Automation, and members of our creator network, working alongside salaried staff. We’ll be sharing more about what it’s like to be part of an event like this from the community’s perspective in coming weeks – so watch this space!
The open, relaxed space meant more chances for open, relaxed conversation.
Comfy setup, uncompromising principles
While the surroundings made people feel at home, our messaging didn’t pull any punches. Amid the homely decor were anti-corporate stickers, posters projecting our core principles, our very own magazine for people to take away and read at leisure… and one special piece of artwork: a handcrafted cross-stitch. Rather than the usual “Home sweet home,” it displayed a spicy quote from Open Home Foundation President Paulus Schoutsen:
Just me, standing innocently next to a tapestry.
That cross-stitch wasn’t just an edgy photo op (although it did attract a lot of attention, including from The Verge’s Jennifer Pattinson Tuohy): it reflected our promise to the community.
Many smart home companies are built on venture capital, which eventually forces them to monetize private data, lock features behind subscriptions, or abandon products after an acquisition. By structuring ourselves as a non-profit, our projects are permanently protected from that type of buy-out. We don’t prioritize shareholders demanding growth at all costs; we prioritize a community that values privacy, choice, and sustainability.
Stickers, mags, merch and more…
Technology that blends into the home
Of course, our guests were naturally curious about the tech powering the room, and we wanted to show them what’s possible in a way that felt practical and grounded in everyday life.
That’s where our web developer Darren stepped in. He spent weeks designing a setup that could be integrated into the living space: including an interactive CD wall that instantly changed the music using physical tags, e-ink displays, and custom ESPHome touchscreens.
If you’re curious about how the tech team pulled off such a seamless setup, here’s Darren on the behind-the-scenes engineering:
Not many people realized that the entire booth was running off a single Home Assistant Green using two ZBT-2s for Zigbee and Thread. Building the CD wall was probably my highlight because people loved that physical interaction. People were also fascinated by what e-ink could do, thanks to screens running on OpenDisplay. And despite the massive amount of Wi-Fi interference on the show floor, we had five Voice Preview Editions running Sendspin via Music Assistant that all stayed perfectly in sync with almost no issues the entire week!
I had a lot of questions about the devices we used and how we set them up, so I've done a deep dive on Reddit that goes through the technical details.
– Darren Griffin, Web Developer, Open Home Foundation
It’s fun to showcase clever gadgets, but the real point was to prove you don’t have to surrender your privacy or lock yourself into a single corporate ecosystem to have a magical smart home. Seeing Works with Home Assistant and commercial partners’ hardware running side-by-side showed open standards give you complete control, allowing devices from totally different brands to work together for you.
Visitors to our booth were able to see all the tech working in a real-life setting.
What we’re taking away
Stepping onto that busy show floor each morning reminded me why this movement is so special. Creating a welcoming space built on openness and human connection felt like a breath of fresh air for everyone who entered our booth.
A few key things will stick with us:
- Open source belongs on the main stage: Building a privacy-first smart home isn’t a niche hobby – we’re taking up space right alongside Big Tech giants.
- Local-first is the future: People are tired of cloud shutdowns and endless subscriptions; local control is what people actually want in their living rooms – and the rest of the home!
- Our community is everything: The spirit, wisdom, and warmth of our volunteers made visitors feel truly welcome. And best of all, we had a blast doing it!
Tech shows definitely don’t have to be boring.
Finally, thank you!
A massive thank you to everyone who stopped by for a coffee, took away a magazine, or shared videos and photos online. We built the room, but you made it feel like home ♥️
Did you catch our booth at IFA or see coverage online? Jump into the community forums or Reddit to share your thoughts!