I am a programmer and I have never really dealt with the hardware of anything, only software. I want to start building things that I can control from my computer using programming. My question is are there such devices on the market that have a programmable interface or API?

For example, I want to build a automated window blinds opening/closing device, and I would like to be able to control it from my computer e.g. writing an app or some code to schedule them when to open and close. I would like to know if there are any devices that can be programmed to do that (the computer part)?

Thanks!