If you had paver/concrete steps at your driveway going up to a path that crossed to steps at your porch all in the same material it would be practical and attractive. Then you would have an area between your path and house for low maintenance, not to large growing shrubs.

Are you out in the country? I ask because usually Ilke a walkway to the front door from the street but it seems you are not on a street as I imagine. You will ned a step down from the entry for sure so a nice walkway from the driveway to the entry is a must .The slope will add another item to the paln so a good company that specializes in walkways is a must .I think the first thing is to address the issue with the entry both from the deck and the wak\lkways , That deck looks pretty rickety to me so that should have been addresses when the posts were done . You now have to raise the deck to be able to entrter that door to code then add the steps needed to go from the walkways to the deck . So deal with the deck then let us see what is left. Bad time of year for landscaping but certainly a good time to get all the plans ready for spring. Not sure how much gardening you are willing to do but you have a huge area so that needs to be planned for level of work you are comfortable with . I would do a low wall along the driveway to keep gravel from the actual yard it might even look nice to have it done in the same stone as the house . A retaining wall type would also help with a more level area by the entry and tie in the house stone .

Thank you both for your suggestions- much appreciated. Yes, I love the idea of paver/concrete steps and some type of retaining wall.

And yes- we are out in the country. I am doing the planning now in the hopes of having a company start in March/April.

Thanks again!

a lighter colored entrance would brighten it up.

Yes we are wanting to add more light to brighten up the space

Edge the driveway with the same pavers as the new steps. A couple of bushel basket size planters could hold seasonal flowers in spring, summer and fall.

Yes, I think very large planters might be more up my alley as far as the level of maintenance I'm willing to do!

When you figure out where in the planet you live, or what planet you live on, let us know. In most parts of this planet, planters are not low maintenance. They require regular watering, occasional replanting, and any other regular maintenance that in-ground plantings require.

It would also help if we knew which way the house faces.

Lots of ways to do this. These are “smoother” pavers.

These are “chunkier”. All have walkway landscaping.

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) Wow, you sure are angry at me for seemingly nothing. My comment about low maintenance is relative to what my landscaping looked like before. I realize there is no "before" photo included but maybe take that into consideration before you lash out about which "planet" I'm on. That's not even close to funny.

Have a great day!