Hope you get some good ideas as I will follow this thread. We are just about complete with renovating the interior of our LA home and now we will focus outside (both front and back), which is just dirt. I am okay at visualizing interiors, but not so much outdoor. I know pretty much nothing about plants, trees, etc. We are hiring someone to help with that.

Match the Trim to the vinyl color of the windows. It will streamline them and make them appear larger. Not a pro but here is my rough idea.

I think the house would look better repainted a version of taupe/grey ... something along the lines of the lower portion of the bark of the tree in your second picture. And if the trim was painted white. It's a cheerier look that what you can get from dark trim.

The illustration is about arrangement and form, not specific plants. Use plants according to what works for your climate and conditions.I would widen the step and landing portion of the walk to encompass the full opening between the posts. The existing walk connecting to the drive is too close to the house to allow for foundation plantings, so I'd relocate that much farther from the house wall.

Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate the responses and images!