Do you plan to add hardscape? Tell us how you will use this space. Is lawn possible?

Where are you? It looks too dry to have a lawn without using an inordinate and expensive quantity of water.

What is to the right of your photos?

As it stands, your question is too open ended to be answered well without more info.

I would start by wandering around various neighborhoods to see what type of landscaping appeals to you. Look in Houzz photos in the landscaping area, doing a search for your city or state or even region such as desert southwest or New England. Get books out of the library on landscaping in your zone. What is typically used to cover yards in your area, such as grass or artificial turf or rock mulch or . . . ?

At the same time, make a list of the functions you need or want the yard to provide such as a play structure or soccer area for kids, a patio or deck, a spot to cook outside, shade, a structure to store toys and tools, fruit trees, a veggie garden, lots of flowers, a volleyball court, a place for pets, parking, etc. Do you like gardening and yard work or are you someone who prefers lower maintenance? Think about your budget and what you can realistically do. Set priorities as far as what is most important to you.

You most likely have a plot plan or can down load an image from your town tax map or from an online map to have an overview of your yard. Mark N, S, E, W on it and f you make larger copies of it, you can try out ideas on it to try to figure out where your various functions might go. You can also note where sun and shade from buildings and neighboring trees fall. That will help you consider where plants can best be placed.

General order of work is to do hardscape and utilities such as patios, paths, irrigation, etc.; next plant slow-growing plantsuch as trees,; and then smaller plants, but in this case you will want to do some type of groundcover for all that bare soil sooner rather than later so you don't have erosion problems.

some ideas....generic plantings used for CA or FLA

Nicole I think you should also post in the California Forum.