From simple smart displays to powerful DIY projects, let’s find the perfect command center to organize your family’s busy life.

Remember the days of the overflowing kitchen corkboard? The one covered in school notices, appointment cards, and hastily scribbled to-do lists that were already out of date? My family tried everything—shared calendars that nobody updated, group chats that got too noisy, and a fridge door that looked like a modern art project. We needed a central command center, a single source of truth to tame the chaos. What we were really searching for was the perfect family dashboard.

If you’re feeling that same pull towards a more organized life, you’re in the right place. A family dashboard is essentially a digital hub, often on a tablet or dedicated screen, that displays all your family’s essential information at a glance. But with so many options out there, from simple smart displays to full-blown DIY projects, where do you even begin? Let’s break it down and find the right fit for you.

What to Look For in a Great Family Dashboard

Before diving into specific products, it’s helpful to know what you actually need. While every family is different, a good dashboard usually covers these bases:

• Shared Calendar: The heart of the system. The ability to see everyone’s schedule, and maybe even filter by family member, is a must.
• To-Do & Reminder Lists: For everything from “Buy milk” to “Pay the electricity bill.”
• Weather Forecast: So you know whether to grab a jacket on your way out the door.
• Meal Planning: What’s for dinner tonight? What about the rest of the week? This can be a lifesaver.
• Smart Home Controls: If you have smart lights or thermostats, being able to control them from your dashboard is incredibly convenient.
• Mobile Access: Life happens on the go. You and your partner need an easy way to add appointments or grocery items from your phones.

Think about your own family’s needs. Are you big on meal prep? Do you have a ton of smart gadgets? Knowing your priorities will make choosing a system much easier.

Option 1: The “Plug-and-Play” Family Dashboard

If you want something that just works right out of the box with minimal setup, this is your category. You don’t want to code, you just want to organize.

Google Nest Hub / Amazon Echo Show:
These smart displays are probably the most accessible entry point. They’re relatively inexpensive and do a decent job of showing your calendar (especially if you’re in the Google or Amazon ecosystem), weather, and reminders. You can ask them questions, control smart devices with your voice, and use them for video calls.

• The Good: Super easy to set up, voice-controlled, and integrates well with their respective ecosystems.
• The Not-So-Good: Customization is very limited. You can’t really change the layout or add unique widgets. You get what they give you.

Option 2: The “Guided Customization” Approach

This is the middle ground. These options offer more flexibility than a standard smart display but don’t require you to build everything from scratch.

DAKboard:
DAKboard is a fantastic service that lets you design a beautiful, custom digital wall display. You create your layout online by adding and arranging blocks for your calendar, weather, news feeds, photos, and more. Then, you can display it on any device with a web browser—like an old tablet or a Raspberry Pi connected to a monitor. They even sell pre-built screens.

• The Good: Highly customizable layout. Integrates with a ton of services (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Todoist, etc.). Can run on hardware you might already have.
• The Not-So-Good: It’s a subscription service, so there’s a recurring cost for the best features.

Cozyla:
This is a dedicated device that aims to be the perfect digital family hub from the start. It’s built specifically for this purpose, with a clean interface and features tailored to family life. It’s a great choice if you like the idea of DAKboard but want the hardware and software all in one clean package.

Option 3: The Ultimate DIY Family Dashboard

Okay, so you like to tinker. The idea of building something completely your own is exciting, even if you don’t have the time to go all-in right now. Welcome to the world of Home Assistant.

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform that puts you in complete control. You can run it on a small computer like a Raspberry Pi or an old laptop. While its main purpose is automating your home, its dashboard capabilities are incredibly powerful. You can design a screen that shows anything—from your family calendar and local weather to the moisture level of your garden soil or the current status of your 3D printer.

• The Good: Limitless customization. Seriously, if you can dream it, you can probably build it. It’s free, private, and supported by a huge community.
• The Not-So-Good: There is a learning curve. It’s not a “set it and forget it” solution. You’ll be spending some time in settings menus and configuration files. But for many, that’s part of the fun.

So, Where Should You Start?

Finding the right family dashboard is about balancing convenience with control. My advice? Start simple.

If you have an old tablet lying around, try setting it up with DAKboard’s free tier to see if you like the digital dashboard life. If you’re already using Google or Amazon services heavily, a Nest Hub or Echo Show could be an easy win.

But if you have that little voice in the back of your head that loves a good project, download Home Assistant and just start playing. You don’t have to build the perfect system overnight. Start by just displaying your calendar and the weather. As you get more comfortable, you can add new features and integrations over time.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a system that genuinely makes your family’s life a little bit easier. Start there, and you can’t go wrong.