Just wanted to post a little update! We have had the entryway fixed! We used Matt Nelson with Nelson Builders and my husband worked alongside Matt. We decided to bump the entire entry out 3 1/2 feet. We saved a lot of money having my husband do a lot of the work and it ended up not being too expensive. It has made a HUGE difference! Even from the front of the house, you can actually see the front door now (before it went way in). Our original builder never got back with me (Miller Construction) and actually when I wrote a review of our experience with them, he threatened me with a lawyer, said he was asking Houzz to remove the review, and when they wouldn't, he deleted his entire Houzz profile and put up a new one. For the record, my review (2 stars) was actually fair and there was nothing derogatory or offensive. It just wasn't a super positive experience. But, thankfully we got the entry fixed and it looks great now :) Pics are attached (we will be adding a coat rack above the bench!)

Beautiful rooms and paint color, minuscule. I will have a look at BM Silver Mist. I like the Accessible Beige but Dear Husband does not. He says it looks dirty. It exactly matches some of the tones in the flooring and is nearly identical to the fireplace surround, and extremely close to the couch color, which would make the couches sort of disappear and an accent wall color for the fireplace wall necessary. SW Accessible Beige on top, SW Creamy on the bottom. SW Creamy is really yellow. Too yellow. Such a tall wall. Was thinking about adding some trim like this (not in Georgian style because mine is not a Georgian style house) to break up the blankness a bit. I will look at BM Silver Mist and for something slightly lighter than Healing Aloe. Dear Husband liked the look of BM Constellation

@Rai Kai … I did learn so much!! Thanks for your contributions! @Beckysharp haha. I will be doing more research with the lawyer. I think overall my realtor was good—but I am not sure if overall we were the right fit. We will see if we stick with her. I know she put a lot of work and time into it --- so I do feel bad about us not going through with it. I will be doing more research and googling, and reading and using all my resources! Promise! @PitrateFoxy – I’ll probably be doing some research on a lawyer to have “on call” when we are at that point. You all were so right about all the other things – and I’m sure a few extra hundred bux (what like 500? ) will put me more at ease as I don’t like surprises unless they flowers, chocolate, or kisses :D @bellburgmaggie – isn’t that the truth. Alos.. Houzz app isn’t going anywhere! I love your story about finidng the right place! Man.. 3.5x your investment!! AWESOME!!! Were you ever concerned about over improving? That’s my biggest fear, especially if we buy very low… You know I always imagined buying the house with the crappy wall paper, shag carpet and pink or green tile in the bathrooms a horrible kitchen and then putting in my DREAM kitchen (or as im learning from houzzers, my 99% dream kitchen!). I think that’s something I was struggling with buying new. Even though I got to make a few selections… it wasn’t tailored to me really. So asking my husband in 3 years to redo the layout of the kitchen wasn’t going to fly :D Location location location is so hard for us. We are transplants – with family in the area, but are having a hard time finding the “right” home town. Everywhere we look is “safe” but I really want that neighborhood feel. I moved to Texas because I love saying yes sir, no ma’am, and I want to raise my kids like that. Sweet tea on the porch and waving to your neighbors. I want to make meals for new moms, or help out my grandparents when they need it. I may not have the Texas accent, and as the saying goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could!” @jannicone – I’m not deleting Houzz!! Just Realtor, Trulia and Zillow :D It may only last a week, but I need some distance! But I will use it as a resorce to keep an eye on the market and see what really happens during “selling” season. Happy to be sorta liked! @Denita , I should know better. I’m a firm believer that EVERYTHING is negotiable and if you aren’t willing to make any changes (they may not have lost me if they let me go to the design center and let me have 2 extra days – would have cost them nothing) I’m not inclined to play ball. Especially in an industry where negotiation is nearly expected. Looks like I have some more homework and research to do! I may need to find a new realtor. Not that she wasn’t good. I felt like she was doing a good job – but I’ll never know if she asked the builder for things. She did make us feel like her only clients, and she was very attentive and listened to my concerns. But I did get a slight feeling that she was “building” up the home a little more than she should have. We signed a contract for 6 months with her. She led with “if at any time you are done with me, I’ll just rip it up.” Who knows if that will come back to bite me in the butt. But, also thought we were going to end up with the first house and it would all be over. Again, lack of experience on my part. I've done some research on how you should select a buyers agent... and I did kind of do it all wrong.

Thank you all for your great ideas. Diana, the living room is the 1st room you enter after passing through a small enclosed entry on our large front porch we also have the deck 9x25 along the side of our house. We live in a New England seaside community so we live and entertain on the 2 areas all summer, so removing that door wouldn’t work. We have a family room off the other end of the deck with a slider. We use the living room for holidays and when company is here I bring in some chairs but there just is no room. I would love to seat 6 comfortably and have a TV tucked in somewhere for the times when grandkids are here or my husband and I don’t want to watch same thing. Other than that, it is the main road through my house! Ugh. Deco, I have attempted to break up this long room by centering love seat opposite fireplace which also allows tv viewing. Put the desk area and storage of grandkids arts and crafts stuff there. Maybe less bulky furniture would free up some space. I did have the tv on a lovely cedar chest but last year put it in that stand in order to confine the chachkis to one space. Lol. Any other spot for TV? We just converted from oil to gas, FP, so plan on converting the fireplace too. Do use it sometimes in winter. Took out the wall between dining and kitchen years ago and it is right next to fam room so not sure how that would work. And you hit the nail on the head with the wall space. Would be happy losing or gaining any furniture if it helps. Only room in my house I hate and it’s the 1st anyone sees. Thanks for replying and all ideas. I really appreciate