That is definitely a start over project. There is no value in covering those.

Any ideas would be appreciated for new steps here....what material, design, etc.?

You could buy some deck cleaner you can purchase at home depot. and brings the boards back to life, and then you could seal them with a thompsons water seal. I find staining would .. in a few years you would have to strip and re stain which is lots of work. after you bring the wood back to life. i would add interest by making a little garden going around the steps and plant some nice stuff. im not sure whats on the landing near the house ? maybe you could also create a garden there as well. if you want to start over you could do a small landig from the door and do large rock steps going down.. depends how much you want to spend. hope this helps !

You could tear it all out and install some nice stone steps. However, if you are looking for something more cost effective, but still very nice, I would suggest that you remove the boards and see how the stringers, etc. look below. If they are in good condition, then you could consider installing a nice composite decking material to replace your tired old boards.

If you are looking for an even lower cost options, then purchase a deck board cleaner (conditioner I believe it's called) and clean off the old wood. Once that's done, then you can stain the boards whatever color you like. [Click here to see an example similar to the last idea.[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/architects-residence-traditional-patio-cleveland-phvw-vp~3795249)

Here's the picture that I linked to. It didn't show with the last post. That deck has since been stained in a darker cherry color. It's pretty simple to change the color down the road, but it does require more maintenance that the composite solution.

Given that I see signs of rot on the current structure I see no point in deck brighteners or stains as a solution. I also highly doubt that if you start taking off the boards of the steps you are going to find a structure that is worth keeping. It's a fairly odd assembly to begin with, and should be thought out a little differently to avoid the wood boxes against the house. I would seriously consider rebuilding with a precast concrete wall system. This would be a sizeable project and will not be inexpensive. Also, I would highly recommend having someone experienced tackle the project because of the complexity of meshing together retaining wall sections with new stairs.

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My vote is to go with Michelle on the step issue.

But tear out corner construction of walls and planters. If all that is hiding utilities, just use some simple lattice to hide them, lighten up.

You also need a railing on at least one side, probably the grass side, but both sides on the landing above. Protect the kids and the dog, if you are not worried about you and your mate.

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