Noob needs guidance on window, media room, etc. automation
I am new to home automation. The most I've ever done was some hue lights years ago.
Recently we bought a new home and we are considering turning our living room into an automated media room. We have 7 windows with roller shades and a few more windows covered with a couple sets of curtains. The goal is to use a single remote button or voice command to trigger all the shades/curtains to close, the projector screen to open, the projector and Xbox to turn on, etc.
We're thinking we'll retrofit the roller shades with SOMA Smart Shades 3, and use SwitchBot Curtain 3 for the blackout curtains to get the room dark. I'm looking at motorized drop-down or pop-up projector screens to work with a ceiling mounted projector, but the sea of information online is a bit overwhelming to figure out what works well within a reasonable budget.
We're leaning toward Zigbee and Home Assistant, but we have little idea how those work.
For reference, my wife and I are both loosely familiar with some types of coding (SQL, Java, Python, VBA, etc.) so we are trying to DIY this setup, but we're not otherwise overly tech savvy or too familiar with many IT-related concepts.
Can anyone lend some feedback and guidance to a complete beginner?
Any suggestions, resources, guidance, etc. is greatly appreciated!