Removal would be best at this point - the tiny bed corner planting sites are much too small for them anyway. Which probably has a lot to do with your attempt to shrink them.

Time to root prune them. Their shearing days are over. From what I see in the background, a lot more of your bushes are soon to follow.

Unless you are real fond of the sheared meatball landscape style, it may be time to rethink the entire landscape.

Remove and replace with something lower to provide better visibility and something more attractive. The bush is old and has outgrown its appeal as a landscape feature.

They are too big for the space no matter what they look like. Time to remove and rethink that area.

i agree ... way past there prime .. time to go ...

perhaps if you start a new post.. and add a pic of the whole front of the house ... we could give you some new ideas ...

it is very common.... that the side facing the house.. lacks light.. so they get real ugly on that side .. and .. the lack of light reduces much of the odds that they can regenerate with any vigor ...

bet a shiny penny.. they were planted when the house was built.. with no real concept of future potential ... they were just cute.. cheap little babes.. and who knew.. the owner would have to shear the beegeebees out of them.. because they were going to grow like the trees they are ...

yes.. they might recover.. in 3 to 5 to 7 years ... but this is the front of your castle.. do you really want to waste a lot of time.. wondering if they will ... it would be one thing if they were outback ... but you will have to look at them every day ... and that usually reduces the owners patience to ... i got to put them out of my misery ....

just be done with them ...

ken