If building again - what to do differently?

I have to ask something really stupid – what is even the idea behind closing the roller shutters when going to bed? I can still understand it in the bedroom, so it stays dark (if you like that), but in the living room? Energy saving? I think I missed something here, but we only use our roller shutters occasionally during the day when the sun blinds us.

So normally we close the roller shutters in the evening as soon as we turn on the light. For the night, I find it useful as a burglary protection. That's why my wife ultimately didn't want any venetian blinds.

For the night, I find it useful as burglary protection

Only that roller shutters do not help for burglary protection.

I have to ask a really stupid question – what is the idea behind closing the shutters when going to bed? In the bedroom, I can still understand it, to keep it dark (if you like that), but in the living room? Energy saving?
I think I must have missed something, but we only use our shutters occasionally during the day when the sun is glaring at us. O.o

Energy saving and burglary protection. Surely a shutter is not a cure-all against break-ins, but it creates extra effort and noise if someone tries to get past it.

We parted ways with the architect after a few months (total failure) and continued planning ourselves. Following the motto "luck is with the stupid," it actually all went well. If we were to embark on the adventure again, I would have the following points:

[*]the most important thing is the plot of land. I would always prefer an existing area over a new development
[*]the second most important thing is the positioning of the house on the plot (views, overlooking, use of the land and garden, possibly volume in reference to (or counterpoint to) existing buildings, sun path/shading, etc.)
[*]questioning the own wishes, demands, and habits. Allow time for the basic assessment. Be honest and consistent about it. There is a worthwhile blog called "das kannst Du doch nicht machen" at ungewohnlich punkt net
[*]less is more: if I am unsure whether I need something or not, I don’t need it
[*]keep it simple: plan/build with fault tolerance in mind, and avoid technical overkill through reason (e.g. prefer to avoid overheating through eaves, setbacks, sensible window arrangement rather than "smart" blinds or even air conditioning)
[*]invest in substance, not gimmicks
[*]plan garden and landscaping professionals from the start and, as far as possible, have them work alongside the construction
[*]if an architect, then choose very, very carefully
[*]local construction partners and craftsmen, preferably smaller companies
[*]build as sustainably and environmentally consciously as possible

As far as floor plans and room arrangement are concerned, I am rather a minimalist. It really happened to me once that I was asked, "nice apartment, when are you moving in?" You don’t have to take it that far, but I like a house to be clear and simple. Floor plans where guests still have to ask for the way to the bathroom on their third visit are a nightmare to me. I tend to proceed by thinking about room arrangement and equipment, and then spend weeks thinking about what can be left out. Accordingly, we have few doors and rather custom-built fitted furniture. Technical stuff and individual features are secondary to me (although window blind cords and thermostat knobs would of course bother me too :) ) A note about a weather-protected entrance is valuable... I probably took minimalism a bit too far there.

To put it simply: you need an "ignition key" for your roller shutters in the all-room. This can be a basic push button, because apparently you need the manual action and operation. Thinking further, this can also be automated by implementing person detection. No, not surveillance with facial recognition and fingerprints, but a relatively simple detection of people in a defined or diffuse area.

Of course, with all manual and automatic tools to override something, for example due to Christmas lights on window XY, which you then want to keep on longer.

But unfortunately, that still doesn't answer my question. How should it work in my case? Where should this person detection be located?

So our dishwasher is running right now. I find it very quiet. Often I have to check if it is still running. The girls are much louder even though they are playing normally.

Kathi goes through your house and analyzes what you like and what you don’t. That is the only thing that matters.
Listen around the property at different times. Look for distant streets. People have different sensitivities to noise.