Japanes Maples are beautiful and would look great in the front. Since your front faces NE, they should do well, since some don't like all day direct sun.

I like the compact hollies with the smaller leaves, they can get quite wide (not high) but still look delicate. I also like the traditional taller hollies (not sure of their name, but they have a christmas tree shape) for vertical interest. I would also check out some evergreen/fir trees there are some nice one that I see in new subdivisions all the time. It's worth going to a nursery to see what strikes you and finding out what may look good.

You may also want to get some camellias for fall/winter blooming.

Nandinas are so "yesterday". How about japanese plum yew (a dwarf one)? There are also some very nice dwarf evergreen azaleas that bloom later in the season.

Foster hollies have been used for years and can get quite big. In fact, often they get too big for the space they were given on the corners of the house. I have a matching pair myself, thanks to my builder and had the same arrangement at the house before that ....

Don't be lulled into wanting it all to look full right now; often that means overplanting and dealing with that later as they stuff gets too big/crowded.

I swear that we saw this same house plan on a post about 6-9 months ago. I think it was recommended to put a dwarf japanese maple in that area where your utility box is attached to the house.

There are plenty of dwarf crepe myrtles. Do go to the nursery and look at things, as buford suggests. Crepe myrtles that are not dwarf can get huge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata'

there is also a landscape design forum at gardenweb.
maybe you can post this question there, too.

Thanks for the help. You guys gave me some things to look up and I didn't even realize there was a landscape design forum....headed there too :-)