You're on the right track about the walk. Making it level or even sloping up slightly will reduce the number of steps. Brick would be fine for the walk since the house is already brick, or if that's too much brick maybe concrete with exposed aggregate. You will either need to regrade the yard in front or build a small retaining wall to change the slope of the walk.

As for other ideas, consider higher foundation planting on the left side under the window to hide more of the brick and balance out the front. And lose the wreaths and the star.

There's always the problem of trying to match the brick to the house. I wonder if perhaps it would be good to split the steps: one short flight connecting to a long landing, then another short flight up from there. Here's a rough (very rough!) mock-up. There's probably a prettier treatment than using busy lattice. Perhaps build it with the new composite decking materials on the market. They make some very nice handrails with lights built in the newel posts, which would be cool. Look at decking manufacturers' web sites for ideas.

Yeah, I came here to make the point that RappArchitecture alluded to -- in changing the "slope of your walk," you need to be careful that you aren't raising the ground relative to your foundation, and thus causing your yard to drain into rather than away from your house. The larger regrading and/or retaining wall are meant to counter that, but don't just throw more dirt in there to change the steps without checking with a pro about drainage.

Also, for what it's worth, while the stairs look high to climb on a regular basis, they in no way detract from the overall curb appeal of your house. Other than the homely lattice under your porch, I think that the front is very cute.

Wow- talk about getting new ideas! I wasn't thinking of two sets of steps, but that's an option!

We've since taken away the decorations (that was the most recent photo I had, LOL) so no worries there! I just think we're left with a lot of white. White on the risers, the (fascia?) under the porch, the garage... Ugh.
My head is stuck on brick. Better traction when it rains, better longevity, better looking...

Found it... With some others. The retaining wall would be awesome once I win the lottery.

With the mention of the lattice under the porch, I should say we added it once we bought the house. I didn't like the "holes" in between the brick columns. Would you suggest to fill them in with brick?

I would definitely do brick stairs and walkway (great idea to level out the walk). Lattice isn't that bad, but I would paint it darker to blend in with brick color. Some taller landscaping on left and right of steps would help hide the space.

Thanks everyone for the fantastic advice!

It is almost impossible to find images of front steps that turn, but I've found 2 examples. One that matches and one that does not. I wouldn't put stone since it obviously doesn't match, but it was the only front on image I could find (I used a free app to impose these images... Fun!!!).

The other has too many steps and puts the steps too close to the driveway, but the idea is there... Regardless, the sidewalk would be leveled out keeping in mind the drainage. :)

tytto, those look really nice.