@ woody, my main complaint about the wedge beds is not how they affect or don't affect maintenance, but that they look bad. To have the arrowhead shape bed greeting you as you arrive into its space is not friendly and welcoming. It's not attractive in ground hugging 2-d design. If it's a 3-d shape, it's attractiveness lessens with every inch of height it gains. The shape is in contradiction to the growth patterns of almost any plant. Usually these beds are planted in contradiction to their true shape which helps lessen the mistake of their existence. How about offering a picture of any pointed bed that proves me wrong? @ growsveges, overall, I like the shape of the beds/lawn in your last picture. It's remarkably similar to my first suggestion with a couple of detail differences. The only part of it with which I take exception is completely confining the walkway to the front entrance with a planting bed. If what was planted in the bed in front of the entrance was very low, I don't think it would be horrible. If it was very low, colorful flowers that added a lot of cheer, it could even be good. Other than that, it seems to some degree a contradiction to have an expanse of green velvet carpet that leads to the front entrance and then as visitors actually get there, tell them to go elsewhere and enter a different way. Even if people won't actually access the entrance via the front lawn, the appearance that they could completes a thought process that seems logical and sensible. Being confined by foliage along a walk is not necessarily a pleasant experience.

As Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "bouquet") would say: "Leave it, leave it, leave it..." If there is green tissue evident, let it be. There is the possiblity of dormant/adventitious/epicormic (pick one) buds breaking next spring. The half-live branches will hold leaves that will photosynthesize for the greater organism, and contribute for as long as they live. You can remove them when they are no longer contributing or you've chosen to "limb up" your little tree. If it is totally dead, cut it off. Short of providing habitat for decompositional organisms (or temporary bird perch), dead wood isn't providing you or the tree any value in particular.

Unfortunately a beekeeper or exterminator only can really remove or kill live bees. They can do no more than what you or a general contractor could do about the problem now. And unfortunately the only option I see is opening the wall up and removing them. Carefully cutting out sections of drywal will likely be much easier to repair than just ripping into the wall with a hammer.

It's not uncommon to have a powder room, that is, a bathroom, serving a downstairs living area. Sometimes they are too close for comfort to where other people are. Not uncommon at all. Get a noisy fan ;) While it is unusual to have a bathing unit included in lower level bathrooms, I think yours feels particularly off because it's dressed like a bedroom bath. I missed that you've already got a lower level apartment. If that would work for one-floor living at a time when you might be temporarily unable to do the stairs, then you don't really need to retain a full bath. Unless this is a house for a large family with four or more children or something. Lyfia has a good idea but how much further is the upstairs bath from the kitchen (which looks like it is still another level away)? Was this general area a separate apartment also?