Landscaping is probably going to yield you more than some window treatments or variances.

I understand why most folks want evergreen foundation plants, but I actually find them boring and drab. Houses in my area all come with a tutu of azaleas or boxwood, and they look the same all year round. How about hydrangeas? Personally, I find the winter shrub structure and dry flowerheads very decorative. You don't mention where you are located, so it's hard to come up with specific suggestions.

I actually feel the very same way. I was telling my husband I didn't want shrubs because I don't like the small leaves and I feel most look kind of dry to me, or boxwood because they are so boring! Weirdly enough I want hydrangeas. I Just wish they lasted longer than like three months-correct me if I'm wrong. Sorry I live in the panhandle of Texas so we definitely have all seasons and it gets rather windy. I believe I'm in zone 6b. I'm also extremely new to landscaping and gardening. I have a pretty decent green thumb as I have indoor plants and outdoor potted plants. But I don't know very many types of flowers/shrubs etc. so I need some help.

LOL!! A "tutu" of anything is not the intent of a good foundation planting plan!! Ideally, the beds should be deep enough to accommodate a mixture of plantings, both evergreen and deciduous, to provide year round interest and some color. All one of anything is boring and drab :-)

But what can be used and in what mixture does depend heavily on the location.

I also like the idea of a mixed planting which will give you some interest all year round. With your location, you could include roses even if they don't get a full day of sun (but then I always have roses on my mind). Try googling "mixed shrub border" as a start. And like Gardengal said, keep in mind the beds should be wide, so the plants don't end up right against the wall after a few years.

I love dwarf mugo pines for evergreen plantings. While some people like to shape them, I think they look most beautiful in their natural shape.

The rambler shown here actually doesn't have an exposed foundation requiring concealment by plantings. Plantings farther out in the lawn could make the whole more appealing without putting anything right up against the house. Esp. if curb appeal is what is being aimed for, as suggested by the placement of the camera at the time the photo was taken.

Instead of a bed around the tree I would have grass around the tree and a bed or two over by the house.

Foundations plantings are not limited in purpose to "concealment" or hiding of an exposed foundation. In fact, the primary definition is to frame the house and anchor it to its site by tying it to the surrounding landscape. That is most often accomplished by a generously sized planting bed(s) adjacent to and surrounding the residence. Bare lawn, mulch or hardscape right up to the base of the residence is neither welcoming or softening or productive to that end.

If you have a bed around a tree, it should be proportionate to the tree size, in which case it needs to be larger.

Thank you Yardvaark for giving me an actual design to look at as I'm new to this so its easier to understand what you mean when you show a picture. I love the way that looks. I will talk to the nursery shop and see what will work in my zone that is like that design.

I do have another evergreen in my front yard. the one on the left is close to the end of my property line by the neighbors yard. we just bought this house last year and they already put the flower ring around the one tree. Here is a picture further back.

A different idea. I erased your tree to show the garages. I am not recommending that you remove it.

The small tree off the left corner of the house that Yardvaark shows is crucial to landscaping your house effectively.

I would place a small tree off of the right house corner, too. By "small" I mean something in the Magnolia soulangiana or Redbud size. I would consider an even smaller tree off of the left corner of porch roof ... maybe Lilac size. (I'm not necessarily recommending those specific trees; they are examples of sizes.)

I would also match the street tree at the left with an island below the same as there is at the right tree. I notice you're using shrubs to create the island. It's not my favorite because of the trimming involved over time. I think it's better to use a perennial/groundcover type plant (with a finite height) so that there's only edging to be done (if that), as opposed to top trimming.

That looks very nice Yardvaark. We actually had to remove the tree stumps from the spot where your placing the peach color tree and one from the tree placed by the garage. There use to be trees there, however, they were hideous because they were another type of evergreen so I'm glad they removed them. Putting something else I believe will look much nicer, so thank you for showing that. In addition underneath that tree isn't shrubs there are three sedums which stay around maybe a foot high and round (had 4 one was dead when we bought the house) and all the others are spotted dead nettle which acts somewhat like a ground cover so there really isn't much maintenance under there. Last year I put flowers under there which is what you see in the picture but they were just annuals, this year I put the spotted dead nettle because it stays small, flowers a little and is a perennial.