If you have some furniture to start with, I would just use the basics for now and live in your home for at least 6 months - 12 is better - and get the feel of the house, the lighting, how the rooms are affected by heat and cold, decide how you are going to live in each room and what your needs will be. This will also help you determine traffic flow, which ultimately affects how your arrange your furniture. It is amazing how many times you can change your mind during this initial period. Most importantly, create your home for YOU, not to impress others, you are the one living in it and happiness comes from the peace and contentment you feel in your surroundings. In the meantime, look through photos on Houzz for ideas, save them in your ideas book for reference and use this to build your decorating.

Congratulations on your new home. I think you have been very sensible to live in it for a year before starting your decorating, it has given you time to consider the lighting and aspect of each room in all seasons as well as time to evaluate how you want to live in your home and exactly what you need. The lounge does look very big and bulky and will definitely dominate the room, so I would keep to the lighter colour. Don't worry about the kids and dirt - as Kookykaren said, leather cleans easily - sharp objects and textas are your bigger worry regardless of what colour you choose. Laying newspaper on the floor to the size of the lounge is another way of checking how it will look as it gives you a better indication of bulk than tape. I would keep your ottoman simple (one with storage is an excellent idea with the children), just a tone on tone fabric or a pattern using the colours in the rug on the floor of the photo of the lounge. I don't think you have room for too large an ottoman but I would have a square one made the same height as the lounge so when just you and DH are watching TV you can push it against the other end of the lounge and both have a chaise. You can then bring some colour with art work or some patterned cushions on the lounges.

metal posts can be bolted to the concrete floor with a metal bracket called a "stirrup" there's a brand called Uni-pier with multiple sizes available at the major hardware stores and then attach sections of plastic lattice (friendlier for attaching plants) ...make sure the posts are installed at standard distances to suit the size of the panels..eg four panels 1200 wide x 2400 tall installed between 5 posts would allow for a wide doorway at one end or two panels could be installed horizontally between three posts with gaps at the top and bottom with a line of big oblong shaped pots for climbing plants and wall hung pots could be attached to the lattice

bigreader has had some excellent tips. The rug you've chosen is lovely, but you definitely need a bigger size. A larger rectangle size might have more underneath the couch. You can check out online options. The blue is fantastic, once you have that repeated around both areas your room will have much better flow. One other thing to think about when you are ready to change your lounge is to get something with a lower back (same with dining chair), these help a more visual flow than high back chairs.