If you’re going for a container/VM-first approach, you might be interested in Bluefin DX - it’s an immutable distro based on Fedora Atomic, and follows a workflow revolving around containers and VMs. Basically tuned exactly for homelab users and developers, who’re looking for a stable yet up-to-date base (unlike Debian, which tends to use outdated packages, unless you’re on Sid). The biggest advantages of using an immutable distro is that you never have to worry about a broken update again - so you can just focus on your work.