Perfectly said Livewire. In NJ custom homes come at a very large premium. Not only in cost but taxes since NJ has the highest property taxes in the nation. We live in a cookie cutter 2300 sq. ft. TH that we bought new 4 yrs old. Let's talk about the builder options and costs. We were sent to a design studio to pick our options. They were overpriced junk. The builder wanted $12,000 for hardwoods just on the first floor. The kitchen cab upgrades were $2500 and $4500 and not worth it. The master bath upgrade (tile) started at $2500. This one we could not figure out. There is not enough tile nor was the guality good enough to justify the cost. Recessed ceiling lights were $200 ea. We put in our own upgrades and started after settlement with very high quality kitchen cabs, my great Franke Orka sink and faucet,and HW throughout most of the house which includes most of the second floor and closets and upgraded much more with better quality and less money than the builders stuff would have cost. Our cookie cutter has the same floor plans but our home is our own.

Upgrades without context, which is often how they are applied. is not necessarily the right thing to do. And many buyers will respond to it because they are attracted to shiny new objects. A house I made an offer in in 2011 recently came on the market. One of the previous owners had owned it from 1810 until the 1920s. One from 1931 until 2011. Unchanged floorplan, many original details, changes that were made tread lightly on the original house. Yes, the bathroom and kitchen which had been added on to the original house at the back were awkward. But the most recent owners essentially gutted it, and aside from some original floors and a mantlepiece, it is chock full of 5 inch crown molding, chair rail, marble in the bathrooms, and all sorts of things it never ever had. Ruined, completely ruined. It could have been much worse, yes. Buyers will love it because it looks just like Houzz and Pinterest inside.

What do you mean by edging design? The overview photo is helpful, but a series of photos taken from part way up the lawn and in line with the front door would be helpful. Stand in one place and rotate your body so we have a series of photos that pan across the front of the house. Right now there aren't any details visible, and we need detail along with the overview to be most helpful. Couple of thoughts for now - you might want to choose a door color that contrasts some with the rest of the house. As the front tree grows, remove a few of the lowest branches every year while they are still small in diameter. The goal would be to continue this until the branches are above the height of the door by the time the tree has achieved a large size so that they don't block sight lines to the door. I would also enlarge the grassless, mulched space around the tree since you are in a relatively dry part of the country and the tree will be healthier if it doesn't need to compete with grass for moisture. Keep an eye on moisture for the tree and all new plantings this year by sticking your finger down into the soil to be sure water is soaking in.

L Baker: " Skil—turn recessed lighting to pendant/ceiling lights? I’m considering adding extra pendant lights for fun as recessed lights are purely functional. " Google "recessed can conversion kit" or just go to a local electrical supply company. Basically, they're brackets that let you mount any sort of light (within reason, they won't support a fifty pound chandelier). To me, the main issue is to illuminate the ceiling so that it isn't so dark and shadowy. Some surface-mount fixtures light up the ceiling, some don't. Some pendants light up the ceiling, some don't.