I would not change the builder's paint color. It's perfect. I think walls and colors of walls should not be the focal point of a room. Walls should fade into the background, so the builder's color is good. Get interested, instead, in art and wall arrangements. These will lend personality to your home. At the present time just concentrate on the focal points and leave the other walls 'bare". No one will notice, they'll be too busy looking at the focal points and it's best not to have more than one focal point in a room anyway.
n the family room the entertainment canter is the focal point; Think of having something on top. Maybe photos:

Maybe pottery, a plate and a box. Add your sea glass colors here in these pottery art works:

Maybe a potted plan off to the side:

Same advice goes for the stairs. The stairs and railing are the focal point. The stairs are beautiful. Clear the clutter up on the landing so people can appreciate the beautiful stairs, railing and landing.

That's a very pretty table and chair you have on the wall behind the sofa. That's a small focal point. So it can be enhanced with art or wall grouping. You said you liked sea glass colors and this is similar. I think it is best to enter colors you love into a room through art and not paint!. This is a perfect example. The stairs look like yours, too. You do not have to copy exactly this designers vision. Develop your own taste. You could buy a canvas and dab paint and come up with a similar painting and forget the ottoman (because you have a chair) and pick up similar pottery vases from a thrift shop:

Thanks. The walls have a flat finish and look a bit dirty but I see what you are saying. We haven't moved a lot into the house yet. We just brought up what we needed for the holidays as I thought I would be painting and didn't see the point in putting up decorations,curtains,etc. until we had it all done. I attached a pic of what we usually put on the entertainment center. All of our furniture/accessories are pretty neutral so we usually have color on the wall. Maybe we can switch it up and leave the walls neutral and just get new decorations and art. Any suggestions for curtain colors or design? Also, should we leave furniture how it is now? We wanted the tree in front of the window so we just stuck the rest of the furniture in there until Christmas was over. Thanks again!

This was a pic from a few years ago. The nativity set isn't always there. I had some white 4x5 and 5x7 pottery barn frames grouped there in the center.

Your entertainment center is GORGEOUS!. I love it. Especially the doors. But, maybe because of the holidays, it's cluttered. The gridwork on the doors make it "busy", so the more you add, the more you take away from the piece itself. As for colors? What colors make you happy? Mostly I choose the colors of autumn for my decor because these are my favorites. Burnt reds, golds, oranges, NOT bright but classy and timeless. Autumn is also my favorite season, but maybe you prefer the pastels of spring, or the brights of summer? I also like the starkness of winter - pure whites and blues. As for design, think again about what makes YOU happy, not your friends or neighbors, as you have to live with your choices! I love plaid, but not stripes; I like things that are neat and contained, my husband is all over the map, he's a free spirit. You have a lot of beige, how about adding some red? Terra Cotta, coral, peach? A paler blue is also nice, but a bit overdone. Hope this helps!

I would add a pair of wing walls - 24" wide - to either side of the opening to define this room from the Entry hall with moldings, etc.

Once you do that, your house will feel more gracious and it will be quite simple to paint this room a lovely color based on the draperies you'll select for the front window.

I do not like drapes unless you need for privacy or sun control. I like the furniture the way it is.
The entertainment center is very nice. It has an Asian feel with the grid work. I would push the Asian aesthetic and have the center clean and neat. Don't run out and buy stuff. I think you probably have many things already to choose from. What are the black and beige round things on top of the center? They're interesting and neutral. Maybe just those 4 on top of the center. The 2 large rounds in the middle and the 2 small rounds on each end. Or a more Asian feel might be the 2 large rounds on the left and the 2 small on the right with the pretty red vase slightly in front of the 2 small. You have to play with these things to get them "right". I do not know what the "seaweed" stuff is on top of the center, but everything you have can probably be used somewhere and look very interesting.
You already have pen and ink art work that is nicely black matted. I see 2 or 3. They might look nice over the small table in the hall. Maybe the 2 or 3 over to the left and the red vase to the right containing those seaweed items. You'll have to take your accessories from room to room and find a place for them.
If you insist on drapes, the Asian look is probably something like bamboo blinds and they might look nice:
Pretend you are a stranger and begin at the road and walk up to your house noticing what a stranger would notice. This will give you ideas for future projects. Open the front door and what is the first thing you see? Make it look nice, neat and uncluttered for the stranger. Do this through the whole house and you'll be fine.

If you're looking for more information, here's a great article … just Google ... Yahoo! The Color Perfect: Finding The Perfect Colors For Your Furniture, Flooring, Walls, And Accessories … It's an easy read with lots of tips you can use on the subject.

I think color would look nice on your walls and I believe that is what you originally inquired about so here are a few beach glass colors. Misted green 2138-40, Gray Cashmere 2138-60, and Silver Marlin 2139-50, these are all by Benjamin Moore. I also think curtains would look nice in the space, curtains always soften a space and add interest. Finally, I want to point out that you do not have any crown molding, I do see some trim work around your doors and up the stairs. I usually try to add interest with color when this is the case. Interior moldings add a lot of character and definition to a room, so when there is limited trim work I like to make up for that with color. Hope this helps. Charmean Neithart

Wow, Charmean, you're right on top of your colors. Good job! As a matter of fact, I love Benjamin Moore -- much more than Sherwin Williams.

I agree with Charmean, color and drapes would soften the contrast of your furniture. I'd use paint on the three walls that would present your room as a lovely "diorama" of sorts as you enter, just bleeding slightly out of the room as it finishes the wall where it says "believe." A lighter color on the ceiling is an option as well.

Sea glass colors would be beautiful, and remember that brown is a sea glass color, too.

I'd also consider, since your use of your entertaiment center shelving behind the glass is more utilitarian than decorative, perhaps a frosted sea-foam panel behind the glass to simplify and enhance the look.

Thank you for all of the suggestions! Now for more questions! :)

COLOR
I found a Benjamin Moore book and fell in love with the color smoke( http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/smoke). It looks great on the walls but now I'm not sure what colors to accent with. Aren't you supposed to go with a 60/30/10 ratio? I'm guessing the wall color is the 60. Do i use that color anywhere else? The couch and ent center are quite large so would the brown count as as second accent or can I choose another color? Finally, what about the 10? Should I go with a bright color like orange/coral or a subdued seaglass color? We will eventually paint the kitchen and would love a suggestion on color for in there. Maybe stick with a beige/sesame color? The cabinets are white and the appliances are ss. the counters are a beige/brown color.

STAIRS
+I'm still not sure what to do with the color/decoration on the wall going up the stairs(&landing) and the opposite wall at the top. I will probably do a collage of white/blue/green frames with a few other objects thrown in. Would you suggest putting anything on the opposite wall? The half wall opposite the top of the stairs?

WINDOW
+ I would prefer bamboo blinds but we are trying to use what we have to we will probably stick with the white ones we have up now.
I had the white panels already and considered painting small or large stripes or stenciling some sort of pattern. Any thoughts on that? It looks so plain and washed out. I really love the blues/whites/greens but I am seeing a lot of people accent with orange. would that be too much in here? I was considering it as an accent. stripes on the curtains,pillows..maybe some art.

The chair is from the baby's room and we do not need it in there anymore so it is just serving as extra seating. It is almost the same color as the wall and it a bit large but if we keep it in here I think I would need to re-upholster/slipcover. yes/no? get rid of it altogether? I would like a chair/side table here just not sure if it cramps the room up.

ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
+ I still plan to change up the entertainment center. I have the large shell vases from the earlier picture that I thought about painting a metallic color(s) and maybe some picture frames. I liked the suggestion about panels to mask the components but I'm not sure how to make those. We would need to be able to control the components w the remote so I'm not sure what kind of material it would need to be made of.

+Any thoughts on painting the entertainment center white?

COFFEE TABLE
We got a large rectangle coffee table for free and I'm in the process of painting it a metallic color that is blue/gray(my husbands suggestion) but if it doesn't look right I will probably paint it white and I am going to save up for a large sisal rug to go under it.

SOFA TABLE
the walkway behind the couch is pretty wide and I like the look of a sofa table there on the wall w the stairs but then I think it looks strange to just see the back of the couch. also, I love love having a sofa table with lamps behind a couch which is why I have it set up the way it is now. However, the bookshelf is not proportional to the couch and looks odd to me. I have another identical bookshelf but I haven't painted it and it is dark brown. I could paint it to match and put it beside the other. I believe they would run almost the length of the couch. If I do that, what goes on the opposite wall? those ugly switch plates are there and there is a small hole in the floor where the builder ran a line for cable.

Ok, this post is more like an essay. Thank you all sooo much for your help and taking the time to read/respond! Love this site!!

*looks like I can only attach a few pics at a time so Ill post the others directly below

more pics..

a few more

thats it!