juliann i am truly sorry to hear about your bad experience with building your home...that is a stressful enough time without adding something like what you have described to it. On a up note you have a beautiful home and a huge area that you have all the time in the world to make the way you want. I kind of get that the reason you have not checked with a landscape designer may be financial reasons...i mean after all you have sounds like you have alot of money tied up in your home and now seem to be on your own trying to amend things that your builder obviously done horribly. I think this is awful, people work hard for their money and they expect to get quality work when paying the kind of money it takes to build a house. Now on a brighter note you get to add your own touches to this already beautiful home in the way of landscaping. I think grass is a great starter...at least you will feel like your accomplishing something. I would like to see a picture from the edge of the yard up to your house...front pic, to each side and maybe your backyard. I suggest you ask on the tree forum what may be the best tree's for your area unless you have some in mind... you might ask about wide growing shade tree's, ornamentals and maybe ask for pics. You can also go on the arbor day foundation and put in your zone for ideas for tree's for your area...although i would use this only for idea's as i have read that alot of people do not have success with their tree's. But at least it gives you a good idea of what you might like. http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm by the way bradford pear tree's are beautiful but don't last long and stink very badly in spring when blooming...it smells like cat pee! here is a site for the fastest growing tree's for new york...although i would ask questions on the tree forum about each tree i like...for instance how far do they root, as a tree for you close to your septic system may pose a very big problem. http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/NewYorkT.htm tree placement site: http://www.garden-services.com/tree_placement.htm I personally think that staggering some tree's up your long drive may be very inviting...although some may not agree i like the look- to me it says come on in! I hope in someway this helps a little for now :).

What will the floors be? And countertops? Use it as the guide for what colors to use, making sure they go with the floors and woodwork. For someone reason, if a house is on the coast, people automatically think it MUST be "beachy" with seaglass and blues. Find some object that really "speaks" to you ... a painting, a fabric, a mug or bowl ... with colors you really, really like. Use that as your guide in selecting colors.

Congratulations on your new home - how exciting! I would not paint the walls grey/blue/green due to the orange/yellow wood. Those colors would look nice in your home but may feel a little old-fashioned to you. In my opinion, grey has been overdone and it's time for something fresher. I would paint both the walls and the wood trim the same soft white to give it a more modern feel. The trim is not very substantial so just paint it out altogether. Bring in color with your furniture or art. When you eventually replace the flooring you can think about changing the trim too. Look at Benjamin Moore OC-117 Simply White, or perhaps OC-118 Snowfall White or OC-149 Decorator's White.

Let me try to explain a little further: we have a midnight blue sectional with a chaise. It’s a small sectional that fits 3 people and the recliner is that same color. Both are in good condition only about 3 years old. We also have a dark gray shag rug that goes underneath the couch. I really like the farmhouse/rustic decor look And was hoping to go with that look in the new house. I was thinking that this furniture could go in our living room (first picture above) since it could go along with the palette wall. The living room is an open floor plan with the kitchen. We have A black/brown marble kitchen table with a brown/beige area rug. The living room is where we were planning on getting new couches but I wanted to hold off until we figured out the wall colors. i was thinking maybe brown or black color couches but I’m not sure? Like i Said, this will be our first home and we want to eventually paint and make upgrades once we get settled in. We are both young and new to the whole interior design concept so that’s why I posted to get feedback on what would look good. I appreciate the criticism and comments along the way.