FinJ, personally I prefer two things with a blank slate. 1st is the view from the street, namely the main direction you drive in and see every day. 2nd is the view from the windows of the house, or areas outdoors you would use the most. If you use your garage a lot, I would add windbreaking things like arborviate or any plant choice shrub with mid level evergreen trees behind on the driveway length, rather than have a single row, you could have yews, dwarf pines, juniper, spruce, arborviatae etc. I have never done a house that needed a windbreak from north winds "being from the south", but thats the NW facing section and should get the most winds unless you have a lake or something flat on the NN side. A very, very distant 3rd is how the areas in the outside interact with each other and the view from them. Needing shade from Sun exposure is my thing. All zones are a broad thing, is it zn 6 costal, mtn, etc? You want fast growing trees and those with a large canopy. In the south we use magnolias, live oaks, pecans, gums, and maples often. I do think with your zone decidious trees would be better on the far back of the lot allowing more sun in winter, and with the lower sun having 10-15 ft evergreens behind would allow for year round green while blocking the glaring view of the sun from parts of your home. Your house design on the back to me looks like it could easily entertain a pergola with climing rose, wisteria, grapes, etc. that would make an enteresting area to entertain, you could then make plans for a jacuzzi just off of it with a fire pit. It is an enterly blank slate, what do you like? I think you need to look at homes in the area plant wise, look at some things you like online, get an idea of a budget on what you want to spend, get it on paper, then do it again on paper after waiting a couple of weeks, then piece it together if your going the DIY route. If thats your house in the picture, I would echo the white in the landscape some. I would use real apples and white blooming cherries, honey crisp and rainier. I would also look at yoshinio cherries and white dogwood/white redbud for the front yard. That would pull the focus off your white siding and draw the inside out and the outside in.

I agree with Jamie about the rug -- something with softer contrasts would be better. If you pull the loveseat out from behind the sofa, does that obstruct the traffic too much? It looks like this room also serves as the main passageway through the house. If so, it would be wiser to go with a chair instead of a loveseat, with a second smaller chair to tuck in at an angle on the opposite side of the sofa, or even next to the fireplace. The proportions of the room are a little hard to tell from the photos. Do you have space at the far end of the room, opposite the chairs, to add a small desk or side table? Look through magazines or Houzz or other websites for pictures of rooms you like, then use them as a starting point for your decorating.

Here's what I might try: Obtain a L-shaped desk with a right-hand return. Position the return along the window wall to the right of the window. The desk extends away from the window wall towards the closet (when sitting at the desk you look to your right to look out the window). Allow some space between the return and the adjacent walls to eliminate the impression that the furniture is jammed into the corner of the room. Check if the "cable box" can be mounted vertically. If so, attach a piece of painted wood to the window wall and hang the cable box on it. You don't want to set the cable box on the desk. Unless the computer is enormous, obtain a bracket and hang the computer underneath the return. Position the computer so you will not bump with your knees it when sitting at the return or desk, or switching between them. Attach cable guides to the underside of the desk and return to keep wires off the floor. Optionally attach a keyboard tray underneath the return. Obtain a table for the printer and position it under the window to avoid putting the printer on the desk. If the printer must go on the desk, put it in the corner near the window. If there's space, put some shelves along the wall between the window and the closet. If not, hang some shelves or cabinets over the return to the right of the window. Optionally change the closet door to a folding door so it doesn't project so much into the room. If there's space above the safe, attach some shelves or cabinets there. -- amateur

Hey Everyone, Need suggestions on what kind of furniture to buy for living room and dining room as we dont intend to use dining area for formal dining but create another seating area. Please suggest what type of sofa would look good in the living room. Thanks