I've wanted a dedicated family calendar screen in my kitchen for years. One screen on the wall — or propped on the counter — that shows everyone's schedules at a glance, without anyone having to pull out a phone or ask "wait, when is that?" The problem is the price. A decent 15-inch smart display purpose-built for the kitchen runs $150 to $250, and frankly most of them are locked into their own ecosystems with apps you didn't ask for.

So I did what any self-respecting tinkerer does: I built one. Total cost came in at around $110–$120, it runs KinCals (Kinmory's family dashboard), and it looks sharp on my kitchen counter. Here's the full breakdown — parts, wiring, and setup — so you can do the same thing in an afternoon.

You need four things: a small Linux-capable computer, a touchscreen, the cables to connect them, and a power supply. That's it. Here's exactly what I used and what it cost.

* Prices vary. Buying a used Pi 3 on eBay around $27–30 keeps the total under $115 comfortably. A new Raspberry Pi 5 from Micro Center runs $39.99 and will give you snappier performance if you prefer buying new.

Short answer: yes, absolutely. Any small computer that runs Linux or Android will work with KinCals. The Raspberry Pi is just the most popular choice because it's cheap, widely available, has a huge community behind it, and runs Linux out of the box.

Other solid options to consider:

Raspberry Pi 5 (new, $39.99 at Micro Center) — noticeably faster than the Pi 3, better for smooth scrolling and animations. Worth the extra few dollars if you're buying new.

Used Raspberry Pi 4 (eBay, ~$40–$50) — a great middle ground. More RAM options (2GB, 4GB) and USB 3.0 ports.

Old Android tablet — if you already have one collecting dust, KinCals has an Android app. You might spend $0 on the compute side.

For this guide, I'm using the Pi 3 because it's the cheapest entry point and handles KinCals without any issues.

Once your parts arrive, the hardware assembly is genuinely simple. No soldering, no tools required. Here's the sequence:

If your Pi came with an SD card already loaded with Raspberry Pi OS, you can skip straight to the next section. If not, here's how to flash one.

This is the part that surprised me most. The KinCals installer handles everything automatically — dependencies, full-screen kiosk mode, screen-saver suppression, and boot autostart. You don't have to configure any of it manually.

First, figure out which package you need. Open a terminal on the Pi and run:

Then download and install the right package. Here's the command for a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 running 64-bit OS (the most common setup):

Once the install finishes, reboot the Pi. KinCals will launch automatically in full-screen kiosk mode — no extra configuration needed. The installer takes care of:

Once it's all running, this isn't just a digital whiteboard. KinCals is a live family dashboard synced to everyone's Kinmory accounts. Everything that gets added to Kinmory — from the app on anyone's phone — shows up on the screen in real time.

On any given morning, the screen shows: each family member's schedule for the day in their own color, any tasks due today, the assigned chore list for the kids (with a tap-to-complete button and reward points), tonight's dinner recipe, and the grocery list ready for Instacart. All of it updated automatically — no one has to manually update the screen.

The touchscreen means kids can interact directly with it — marking chores done, checking off tasks, seeing what's coming up after school. It works equally well propped on a kitchen counter, mounted on a wall, or sitting on a breakfast bar. Because it's running on Linux on hardware you own, there's no subscription for the display itself, no ads, and no proprietary lock-in.

Another 32-inch calendar display I built myself is now hanging on the wall in our entryway.

The installer handles most things automatically, but here are the three issues you're most likely to encounter and exactly how to fix them.

The 15.6-inch touchscreen is the sweet spot for a kitchen counter — compact enough to tuck beside the coffee maker, big enough to read across the room. But if you want something that commands a wall or anchors a home office, 27 inches is very doable with the same setup.

On AliExpress, a 27-inch touchscreen monitor runs around $241. By comparison, a purpose-built 27-inch smart calendar display — if you can even find one — typically sells for $400 or more. Same DIY principle applies: HDMI in, USB for touch, Raspberry Pi behind it, KinCals on screen.

Honestly, yes — but not just for the money. If saving $80 is your only motivation, the off-the-shelf route might be worth it to save the afternoon. But if you want a display that runs exactly the software you want, on hardware you own, with a screen size and stand setup you chose — DIY wins clearly.