leaving aside the obvious question as to why exactly you would want ‘intelligent’ appliances [since of course, the appliances will at best be ‘competent’ and at worst ‘moronic’] – thalia [‘thinking and linking intelligent appliances’] looks, ummm, well-designed [although ‘flash’ sites rub me the wrong way].
this reminds me that it would probably be cheaper to revisit the linux home automation site and order a few firecrackers [hint: the special ’24-hour only’ deal has been running continuously for at least a year]