Dutch homes, like most in northern Europe aren’t built to keep heat out but to keep heat in. As for most of the year it is colder than you’d like as inside temperature.
With the current heat wave I finally arranged a few things to keep things cooler. I ordered a few different types of ventilator, one silent enough to also be useful at night.
To keep the sun out we have screens in place on the east / south side of the house, already for some years. But on summer days the western side catches quite a lot of early evening heat too. And that means Y’s bedroom is warmest just as she goes to sleep, my office is not usable in the evening, and the kitchen catches a lot of sun right when I’m cooking dinner. On the lookout for a cheaper solution than remote controlled screens a colleague at a client suggested on window screens made to fit. So ordered those today, als of for the roof terrace door and window, on the east side.
Let’s see how that works out this summer.