Best smart lighting 2026: the $60 living-room upgrade to try first

If ten minutes between bedtime and collapsing on the sofa is all the spare time you get, a $60 LED strip and a camera-matched TV backlight are the… Aliteq Homebase · Home & Family Contributor

Buy this first: the Govee M1 LED strip — around $60, genuinely bright, great for gaming/movie nights, app is a bit much but you'll only open it twice.

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Buy this if your TV is the room's centrepiece: the Govee TV Backlight — camera-matched colour behind the screen, roughly $60, the single most 'wait, how is this only sixty quid' upgrade on this list.

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Buy this if you want it to just work, forever, no fiddling: Philips Hue — most reliable, best app by a mile, but you're paying for a Bridge and premium bulbs and it adds up fast.

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The honest catch: every one of these needs a clean, dry, warm surface for the adhesive or it will peel — so wipe the surface down first, which is the install advice reviewers give too.

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Going on the specs and the reviews, start with the Govee TV backlight if you only try one thing — it's the cheapest, fastest change you can make to how a room feels, camera-matched colour and all.…

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