we spent our budget but really want to do a quick fix for our entryroom. Its fake wood panelling and darkish trim. There is nothing under the paneling either, no drywall etc. But totally removing paneling and putting up drywall would be too expensive this season (unless we removed paneling and out up new paneling like headboard and painted it). Everyone always says paint is cheap, but if you've just spent a bunch on your first house, "cheap" is a relative term. I'll be the odd person out here and suggest that you live with the entry room as is for a while, and save up your money so that you can fix it up properly -- drwyall etc. -- when you have the money in your budget. That way you can work on it once and have it done. It actually looks quite nice and Ralph Lauren-y to boot, and much nicer than most befores and even a number of afters in this forum : ) . Waiting also gives you the benefit of learning how you want to want to use the space, and time to gather some more ideas for what you want to do when you have the budget. Do/will you have kids? Do you have pets? Will you want this to be an area where you and/or the whole family can keep all your stuff -- jackets, coats, bags, shoes, boots? Associated pet stuff? Or is this an area where company enters and you want it to be more of a sitting room? Or a hybrid? Do you want/need it to be a laundry room or a pantry for the nearby kitchen? This would probably also be a good time to think about the kitchen -- are you keeping the red floor and ice blue backsplash? The answers to that will also affect what you do in the entry room, in the short term and long term. I'd suggest thinking about the house as a whole in terms of what you want to do, and then once you have the $$$ saved, break the projects down into manageable chunks.

Yes, replacing all windows but not the arched window. So you think it would be okay to do dark framed windows on the front of the house and white on the back?

Thanks for the feedback all, MB Custom especially. I’m going to try to sketch up those changes over the next couple days and get them to the builder. The only suggestion that I’m back and forth on is the doorway in the living room to the deck. I have it positioned there so that you go out under the covered portion of the deck. I know it will limit furniture position. To be honest, we aren’t really living room people. We spend our time between, kitchen, bedrooms and deck. Same with dining room. That table is more for collecting mail. It will be a small 4 person table. Regarding not making changes. I’m know I can still make changes but at the end of the day, I have 100’s of hours into this and looking at other layouts and this is the best I could do to meet our wants. My main goal with this design was to keep as much on the back of the house as I could. I’m sure I should have hired an architect but the builder seemed confident that the engineer could draw it up. I am going to try to incorporate suggestions and I’ll see what you guys think. Cheers.

Decide what your focal point is. It can be a piece of art or your view. Face your sectional towards your focal point. Regarding color, I would stick to a neutral and monochromatic scheme, multicolor, or go with a few bright colors to build on your bright blue (add possibly bright green and bright purple). You will probably have to "float" your seating arrangement in the middle of the living room. What I mean by that is get a piece of paper and draw a floor plan using measurements of your living space. Then cut out of paper your sectional and any other pieces of furniture you'll have. Place the paper furniture in your floor plan. You'll probably have to move the furniture in the floor plan several times until you find an arrangement you like. This is not set in stone. Put your sectional on furniture sliders so you can move them around easily once you get this plan onto your actual furniture. Regarding the entryway, you'll have to fit that into your plan as well. You could have a runner to define the entry. Also, (if it'll fit) you may want to have a very narrow table, lamp, and mirror for the entry. Don't forget about lighting. That's often an afterthought in peoples design plan. In my opinion, one can never have enough lighting (especially in the kitchen)! That being said, in a living room, here is what I think makes the best atmosphere: one table lamp or wall sconce in each corner at chest height. Can't wait to see the result!