Start with an accent piece... fabric, a painting...something you love that you can build the room around. Never start with paint, there are so many choices and then you struggle to find pieces to go with it.

Next week? With only a week to go, I strongly disagree with those that say never start with paint.

First piece of advise: Do start with paint -- a single neutral color throughout. If you like blues, you could choose a pale neutral gray. If you prefer greens, a pale neutral tan -- making sure it doesn't have a pink or yellow hue.

You indicate you've already picked out a living room and family room set. Use that as your guide: will the sets you've already chosen go better with a pale gray or a pale tan.

If you have more than one color in your new home and only a week before moving in, you'll have a harder time choosing color scheme/style goes where. If, however, all your rooms are the same color, any item you purchase can go in any room ... and remember: Paint is something that you CAN redo later.

Second thing to do is put white vinyl miniblinds (within the window frame) of every window in the home -- unless it already has wood shutters. White vinyl miniblinds are relatively inexpensive (and they now come without the strings that have been a hazard to small children. They will give you immediate privacy and light control. You can then choose other window treatments -- drapes and/or curtains and/or swag valance over the blinds -- later … and keep the blinds in place -- no time or money wasted.

Third piece of advise: To begin with, ONLY purchase necessities you need -- purchase nothing for decoration. Live in the home a while before you start decorating it. Never rush to put something on or by an empty wall or in an empty corner simply because it's empty.

Fourth piece of advise: When you think of adding storage, taller items will provide more storage for the floor space they take up.

Five: Cabinets with doors and/or drawers will require a lot less dusting than open shelving. The less time you spend cleaning your new home, the more time you'll have to enjoy it.

Six: Increase your options whenever possible -- make one item be able to do two (or more) things:

Quality built two drawer wood filing cabinets -- or three if you get one with a shallow top drawer -- can do double duty as end tables and/or bedside tables, enabling you to have a place to store all those photographs and documents and tax records and paid bills every household accumulates … and you can buy the kind that LOCK, keeping what's inside away from prying eyes of snooping guests and/or keep personal items (or weapons or ammo) out of sight and reach of small children. File drawers are also deep enough to hold a purse or hat you don't want crushed or expensive camera equipment or even that computer (or those external drives) on which you have information you want to protect. Some of the wider ones that are designed to have files facing sideways can even hold a fireproof water resistant lock box out of sight, therefore, out of mind.

A well made storage ottoman with a reversible top can double as a coffee table or spare seat.

Lastly, now is the time to create habits that can last a lifetime and serve your entire family well: New home = new house rules. "If you drop it, pick it up; if you mess it up, clean it up; … etc." Otherwise, that feeling of being overwhelmed will last a long, long time.

Breathe : ) . This is a large house and you're moving very soon, but it's not a race or a competition, even if you do NOT have a budget to consider (do you?). Work on putting together a comfortable, pretty, well-functioning house for your family. You can do this in small chunks over time.

Is this a new build house, based on your comment about the half-bath space? If so, what are the builder finishes right now? I'm asking because if it were me, I'd sooner live with builder basic white or off-white than the wrong beige or gray paint color that might not work well with any of the new furniture.

I'd actually wait on the paint to see what the house looks like with all your things in it, and what the light looks like in each room; this will depend on where you live in (Florida vs. Toronto, for example) and also the exposure of each room. Even if you decide to go ahead and paint first, take the light conditions of each room into consideration.

Do you like color? Do you like a monochromatic look? From the two sofas you posted, I'm assuming you like brown and tan -- is this correct?

Do you really need all new furniture right away? Can you use some of your current things?

I would put together idea/mood boards for room, look at Pinterest and Houzz for ideas even if you're not planning to use a designer, just to give yourself a better idea of what you like. Can you find and post a picture of a living room and family room you like?

have picked sets for the living room and also the family room,

The idea of sets for living/family rooms, as well as bedrooms, has gone out of favor in recent years, with a preference for a more "collected over time" look than matchy-matchy. You can get a sofa and then two matching chairs. That would work. But not matching sofa AND chairs.

a 6x6 space destined for a half bath that we are thinking we will convert to a mudroom

Is there another bathroom on the main floor?

Thoughts on polypropylene? Thoughts on style? Want something that will last a long time.

Not crazy about the style, not crazy about not a full size sofa, unless you're tight for space. Are you able to try this out and sit in it? Is it comfortable?

Also not crazy about polypropylene, for comfort or for cleaning, since pp has a tendency to "hold on" to dirt, lint, hair. For a family with two small kids, I would choose a sofa with slipcovers; if you can find/afford slipcovers in indoor/outdoor fabric like Sunbrella or Crypton, even better.

power recliners

NO.

Before you buy the furniture for the living and family rooms, you might want to make sure the pieces don't overwhelm the room. You might want to make paper cutouts of the sizes of the pieces, keeping in mind that you want room for side tables and walkways.

And this is just a personal opinion on the family room pieces, but that's a heck of a lot of brown leather to put in a room. Maybe skip the loveseat in favor of two chairs? It will give you more options for rearranging.

Take it easy. Start out with the things you have. Move in and get a feel for the house and the rooms. Organize the new home. and see what works, especially since your family is young. The flow of each room will give you direction in room arrangement and what pieces you need for comfort, storage, and function. See how much daylight you have in each room. Think about colors and textures you like. I have also learned that concentrating on one room at a time is more effective for a feeling of having accomplished something. When I am scattered, I feel overwhelmed.

I put the furniture I was keeping in the rooms as I moved in. That helped me develop color schemes. I built my color palette around the main pieces in the room. Having a couch is a good place to start. Take a look at what you are keeping. Some obvious color palettes may already be there.

power recliners: please, no, not in that size and color.

"these pieces of large brown furniture are too small and too light in color for my room" said no dilemma EVER.

the brown leather power recliners are my husbands influence. This would be for our tv room and we were originally looking for a sectional.

Get something that will let you snuggle with the kids, and each other, while you watch TV together while you're all young enough to want to : ) .

There's time later in life for individual power recliners if he really still wants them then lol.

Definitely measure the various spaces first. You will save money, time, and headaches.

Start with neutral or solid furniture. This is your young family's home, not a designer showcase. So, sectionals are perfect for your family room. Buy a sectional that reclines. Young kids? Expect spilled milk and stains. You don't have to have The Perfect sectional now. Plan on getting an other sectional in 5 years or so. Splurge on a nice big TV - as big as your space will permit. I feel certain that he'll like that idea.

Yes, it's ideal to paint before your furniture is in place. Personally, I'd allow the builder to paint it a neutral shade of beige, greige, or white. (I'm not a person who gravitates to gray-gray.) Sherwin Williams paint shows Accessible Beige in many of their organized color palette brochures,as it is a neutral. Little kids might be more tempted to draw on a white wall, than a beige wall, as it looks like a blank canvas.

Little kids? You NEED a bathroom on the main living area. Also, you never know what could happen in the future. Think of yourself on crutches trying to rush to an upstairs bathroom, or your older visiting relatives. Do you really want to run up/down stairs to the bathroom EVERY time? No

MODEL HOMES!! Are there any model homes in your area? I'm referring to the ones built with all the upgrades and staged beautifully, not the builder grade homes. This link has over 50 model homes that allows you to take virtual tours. You can save pics to your Houzz idea boards. http://tours.stevenjamescollins.com

1) NEUTRAL BACKGROUND. Plant a neutral (beige, greige, gray, white background of larger furniture pieces and finishes. Then use accent color and all of its shades to create a cohesive scheme.

2) COLOR What are your (the homeowners) favorite colors? Choose your favorite colors, not the "new trendy color". Do this and you won't grow tired of your space. Since color palettes change each season, consider using shades and tints of your favorite colors and you won't have a problem finding what you need.

3) PLANTS! Plants are underestimated supporting players of home decor. Note the use of plants in the model homes above.

4) Start with an appetizer.....Think of your foyer or front room as an appetizer of your home. Select wall art that summarizes the main color scheme. This could be a framed print or enlarged poster-sized photo or a canvas. Your foyer might be the last room you finish.

5) UNIQUE INSPIRATION.....This is your home for the next 20 years. So, make it about you. Use a favorite photograph or location that you both remember fondly for your decor theme inspiration . For example, this Ho'okipa Beach photo was the inspiration for "island coastal" home -shades of blues/ greens (fav colors) and beige/brown neutrals

6) If a neutral & monochromatic scheme is what you want. Make it interesting and play with different textures

7) PATTERNS UNIFY Note the repeated shapes in these photos The pic below has "x" cross back shapes is chairs, lights, and glass cabinet

This chandelier echoes the shape of the chairs

10) WINDOWS. Make your windows look bigger by hanging drapes wider and taller than the actual window. It makes the ceilings feel taller, as well. See model home below.

11) TALL MIRRORS over nightstands make the ceiling feel higher.

12) White bedding. Create a luxurious hotel feeling by using white bedding with colored pillows & rug. Don't buy a patterned bed in a bag" bedding combo. If you do that, you limit the focus to just the bed. If you bounce color around the room, with accessories (rug, artwork, bench, chair, vase of flowers, it expands your visual field. Your room will feel larger.

The last home I redid I started with the master suite.... have to say it was wonderful to have that sanctuary done when the rest of the house was in various states of redo. The bedroom went together very quickly as I knew what style I wanted and found the bedding and art easily.

If you are unsure about a neutral color, choose a white wall primer. That's as neutral as it gets and worth the effort to put on your walls because it means that any colors you add later will be more likely to go on evenly.

Agree that I'd put the TV to one side of the fireplace. Might need to go above the ledge on the left in order to be out of accidental-kicking height. Then your sectional goes in an L that encompasses the whole corner. This room is long, so use the half by the stairs for something else -- could be a kid playspace, or a table for games or puzzles, or a craft zone, or anything that fits your family's needs. Ten years from now you can retrofit it with a fridge and counter for when the teens take over this level... ;)

Also, if you're painting, I'd take my cues from the permanent parts, such as the fireplace stone and the carpet. In an undergrount space, though, I think I'd want the walls a lot lighter than this, maybe a cream or taupe.

The brown leather pieces have a very dated look. Choose furniture with straight, classical lines, nothing bulky, overstuffed or clumsy looking. If you can, stay away from brown leather furniture altogether because it's become a cliche since it's so overdone and nothing else looks good with it. You want furniture in more medium colors that will all work together, and not have a piece stick out like a sore thumb. Look at lots of rooms on Houzz or online by googling living rooms and narrowing it down by traditional, transitional and modern, and decide what style really speaks to you.

Call an architect or Interior Designer for help.

Jamie, you might find a sofa and a couple of chairs, or two sofas, more versatile than a sectional.

I agree with RT Studio. Find a decorator to work with. I understand this is an additional expensive for a young family..... but making errors is far more expensive! Some will come to your home for a couple hours to give you a general starting point. Consequently, it does not end up costing too much! It will give you confidence and you will feel less overwhelmed.

Good luck and enjoy the process .... you will do great!!!