I'm in the same boat. Things are complicated by the fireplace and chimney being in the middle of the house.
I used an TP-Link Archer C-7 as the main router and an Apple Time Capsule as access point and backup connected via Powerline. Getting inconsistent throughput in the house. Tried moving the Time Capsule around but have knob-and-tube wiring in most of the house and GFCI circuits most of the rest.
Broke down and bought a Netgear Orbi because they have a dedicated 5GHz backhaul circuit. Now I have fast internet all over and the Time Capsule just does backup.
I tried Luma but they don't have the dedicated backhaul circuit and it was impossible to get the satellites set up and operating smoothly. I tried a smaller Orbi setup with the satellite that plugs into the wall but had problems with the satellite losing the connection to the router.
I used an TP-Link Archer C-7 as the main router and an Apple Time Capsule as access point and backup connected via Powerline. Getting inconsistent throughput in the house. Tried moving the Time Capsule around but have knob-and-tube wiring in most of the house and GFCI circuits most of the rest.
Broke down and bought a Netgear Orbi because they have a dedicated 5GHz backhaul circuit. Now I have fast internet all over and the Time Capsule just does backup.
I tried Luma but they don't have the dedicated backhaul circuit and it was impossible to get the satellites set up and operating smoothly. I tried a smaller Orbi setup with the satellite that plugs into the wall but had problems with the satellite losing the connection to the router.