Cover the opening between the support posts of the deck with lath. The lath can be vertical, horizontal or criss-cross trellis-like. There should be space left between boards for ventilation. The trellis lath is easiest as you can buy it in 4 x 8 sections. Cut it to fit the slope and attach it to the posts. Cover where two sections meet on a post with a 1 x 4 board.

Plant a tall bush or small tree at the corner of your house and put some bushes that will have a mature height of 4 to 5 ft below the windows, and pay attention to their mature widths. If they are expected to be 5 ft wide at maturity plant them 2 & 1/2 ft from the foundation. Since I do not know if you have a septic drain field in your yard I won't recommend any other plantings.

In the back cover the riser openings on your stairs for a more finished look. Use low growing shrubs or perennials along the back of your house. You don't have to add a porch to the back of the house. A detached building can provide covered outdoor social space.

Put the deck in the back of the house. Get stairs with a railing and carve a landscaped path to the front door!

Agree with Wayne, the front looks like it's the back of the house with that awkward deck.

Remove or move it, then build porch/steps and I would add some fill dirt and try to re-grade the front yard. Then landscape.

Make a ten-year-plan to figure out which of the wonderful ideas posted above match your taste and budget... and allow for both tree-branch spread and tree-root spread.

Possible short-term fixes:

- Paint the foundation a deeper color to connect the house to the ground, and paint the deck support posts and front joist to match.

- Replace the colossal railings that overwhelm the house with something lighter like metal railings from your local Big Box store, so the house is visible. It's a sweet house; you should be able to see it when you come home.

Neither deck is helping relieve the way it looks. You need a big useful patio out back and a real portico/porch on the front.

if the deck isnt going to be relocated any time soon, i like horizontal boards more than lattice to fill between the posts. and then put bushes in front.

I agree move deck to back and when you, clean, stain and re-seal so it looks fresh.
You can purchase concrete steps so you don't have to build and pour steps. Some potted plants in broght colors and a new, larger light by the front door will do wonders

Concrete steps a poster just mentioned.

Landscape will make a big difference. If you want a deck out front because the view is better, you could do a two tiered deck. That would lower the number of steps as well as keep it from overwhelming the front of the house. Painting it in white would definitely help change the feel of it as well.