From the looks of the pic it seems that you live in a hot climate that could benefit from having a less water intensive yard. I could see the garage door a nice deep wood color with windows in it to match the black frame windows of the house.

I like it. do you know if they can re-color the tiles?

obviously you know all those shrubs need pruning.

I'm not a fan of any of the tall, fat ones on the front of the house and near the garage. I'd rather see something like this

The sago palm near the front door is large and could be transplanted off to the side somewhere. It just eats up your front area. (don't just rip it out. the cost for one that size could well be around $500) if you don't want it, sell it to a nursery.

I'd prob clear out the are to the left of the door and do something w/colorful pots, mexican pebbles, maybe a water feature.

is the front door a nice wood? can you refinish it? Or, you could always paint it a bold color like cobalt to go w/your black and white scheme.

a new garage door would also be a good idea

have you thought about contacting a landscape designer ?? I bet they could give you some beautiful ideas.

Bougainvillea (the bright plants suggested by Beth) do extremely well in the low desert, Barbara Karst is the variety shown. If you want the appearance of a lawn, local plant nurseries carry a type of Pittosporum that makes a nice green carpet. Pitto likes overhead watering (sprinkler system) but needs very little water. Pyracantha is the "desert Holly", deep green vining plant with bright red berries in winter. NOTE, a "hard-piped" irrigation system keeps everything looking good. Be sure to plan the placement of plants and the irrigation system at the same time...this allows for multiple valves, which, in turn, use the least amount of water needed by each plant.

The situation is leaning courtyard-ish. You'd need to decide early on if you want to go in that direction, or make it more open. if you go with a courtyard, it'd be good to keep the house entrance visible. To the degree it is concealed, the entrance to courtyard must be dolled up to become the invitation.

Because the current plants are overwhelming, it's not possible to see the house and give concrete suggestions, other than the fact that you'll probably need a whole new foundation planting, and some small trees strategically placed in order to have the house seem nestled into the landscape as opposed to being just stuck on top of the ground.