I have some bare dirt, too. Much bigger area than you have. I decided to plant a cover crop, aka "green manure" that you plow under in spring to start a garden - or, in your case, a lawn. Here's how it is described:

"Cover Crop Mixture 5# Mix covers 1/2 acre. Plowdown, green manure, get your garden ready!
by The Dirty Gardener
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews) : Like (1)
Price: $19.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by The Dirty Gardener.

Grains and legumes combine for this perfect all purpose cover crop
Great Germination rates
Fast shipping from The Dirty Gardener
Complete cover crop mixture for your garden."

I ordered from Amazon, but I got the wrong mix. I must say that the Dirty Gardener people were terrific and promptly sent the right one. Now, I have not prepped the yard yet, haven't planted the seeds, so this is just a suggestion of something you might do.

Hmmm.... I gotta say, as much as I love the idea of green mulch, I wouldn't do it on anything that I didn't intend on planting as a vegetable garden. The problem with turning soil over (in this case, to incorporate the mulch into the soil) is that it will often disturb weed seeds that are below the surface. It's not quite as bad here in AZ, but you can still get some nasty crops going.

Two things I would suggest, rugburner.... a) decide first what, if anything, you want to add for "hardscape" - any structures, a shed, a wading pool, a walkway, drip irrigation, etc. - and have that done prior to planting anything. b) take some drives in some neighborhoods you like and take some pictures. Go to some parks, take some pictures. Go for hikes, take more pictures. Go to the Desert Botanical Gardens, look around, have lunch and take pictures.

I could definitely figure out your yard to my tastes, but to yours, well, it's a little difficult. You also should figure out ahead of time how much time, money and effort you want to put in to this project. You're right about lawns; turf is expensive to acquire, to water, to mow and to fertilize. There are other options, depending on your answers to the above questions. For instance, this link takes you to a photo of a very low maintenance yard - http://www.landscapinggallery.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/desert-landscaping-ideas2.jpg .... it's still lush, but very little work is needed to keep it that way. And this one, even less! http://blog-imgs-54.fc2.com/l/a/n/landscape240/Desert-Landscaping-Pictures-3.jpg Google images can bring up a lot of different ideas, too.

Congratulations on your new home! I hope it brings you many years of happiness.