If your going to use a herbiced I would spot spray only. (read the label carefully) Proper management practices that encourage a dense, thriving turf are the best method of weed control. Healthy turf shades the soil so sunlight can't reach weed seeds ready to germinate. A thick turf also minimizes the physical space available for weeds to become established. There are several management practices that will promote a healthy, dense grass. If turf is over-or under-watered, over-or under-fertilized, or mowed too low or too infrequently, the turf is weakened and cannot compete with weeds. Damaged areas resulting from using unsharpened mowers increase time needed for turf recovery, allowing for weed invasion. It is very important to understand that weeds don't create a void, they fill a void. Mulch Mow High 4+" with a sharp, balanced blade Water deeply and infrequently with 3/4-1" water. (no more than once a week in summer) What variety of grass do you have? When was the last time you fertilized?

I'd suggest sorting out what will do well in the winter shade right against the building first. Kangaroo Paws will grow just fine there, but really bloom best with full sun. Most of the Kniphofia/Poker Plant cultivars will also bloom best with full sun. You also have an Angel's Trumpet/Brugmansia at the left side of the unit, and this can get quite big over time, but can easily be trained to be a multi-trunk tree, and will be bloom well in these light conditions. The cultivar 'Charles Grimaldi' is my personal favorite, and has a warm orange shade of bloom. I'd also suggest that some really big ceramic pots at the walls flanking the steps, with a colorful foliage plant such as Phormium 'Yellow Wave' or 'Cream Delight' could give you year round color, as well as foliage texture. Alternatively, you could also use specimens of Strelitzia reginae or Euphorbia cotinifolia in pots, perhaps with trailing Euphorbia myrsinites, or succulents such as the lavender tinged Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' or Echeveria imbricata. If you wanted another larger growing shrub with nearly year round bloom that could be kept relatively narrow, the Princess Flower/Tibouchina urvilleana does really well in southern California, but does need regular watering to bloom well. The Mexican Lobelia is also nearly year round blooming and grows well in shade and with little water, and can be sheared into a hedge and treated like boxwood. You might also consider using a bold foliage plant like Giant Walking Iris/Neomarica caerulea, having a similar form to a Phormium, but with waves of deep purple blue flowers on 5 foot tall stems all summer into fall. Another really cool shrub with purplish tinged foliage and blue flowers in late winter/spring is the uncommon Ageratum corymbosa, which also does well in light shade. Kalanchoe carnea modoc is another sculptural succulent that is winter blooming, takes shade, and would do well at the front of your building. With the formality of the building facade, I would suggest that treating it as a formal symmetrical planting and massing foliage plants with some color would give it a more integrated look in the front. You might also consider Reed Stem Orchids, Epidendrons, for a narrow yet tall and everblooming airy plant. Some narrow growing palms such as Chamaedorea tepelejote or C. plumosa could also look cool in front of the building, and will do well in shade, without getting too big. If you want to do the Gingers, they typically do want more regular summer water to do well, but things like H. greenei, H. gardnerianum, Alpinia zerumbet variegata could combine well with the Brugmansia and Tibouchina water wise. I wouldn't recommend planting the Horsetail/Equisetum unless it is contained at the roots, as this is a rampant spreader and will choke other plants out over time. You could plant the similar appearing South African restio, Elegia capensis for a similar look, which is very lacey and ferny foliage. Asparagus retrofractus is another tall ferny/lacey looking plant that would like these conditions. Good luck with the project, and post some photos of what you decide to do!

I would say there is hope. In Raleigh, I can think of a couple of houses that were slated for demo and got bought at the last minute. One was a lovely victorian, literally falling apart that got saved at the VERY last minute. One became a very posh restaurant that I can't afford to eat at but at least the place no longer has barbed wire around it. Another I atually got to look at with lovely inlaid wood floors and the original (imperfect) glass in most of the windows. That one was still in nice shape but encroached by businesses, and probably not in much danger of demo. Smaller houses are always in more danger, but you never know. I doubt a tee house type thing would have the cash to renovate the place, but maybe somebody will. There might be some local historic society you could contact to ask. -Ais.

Ixnay on the allpaper-way. And don't put up new wallpaper either. It's just not versatile enough. If you want to change around your artwork, you are left with holes in your wallpaper, or huge fade marks. I just can't image why one wall is missing wainscoting. Was this a DIY job and someone ran out of steam or money? Accent walls are ridiculous. Period. When you can afford to put up the matching wainscoting on the remaining wall, please do so. Meanwhile please strip that awful wall paper and please be careful to not damage the wall underneath. Old wallpaper is not at all easy to remove, I've done it, and you want to be very slow and careful or you will have to do a ton of work repairing damage to the walls. If you paint the walls grey, please do a very light grey. Wood floors is a lovely idea, but not grey wood. That's too trendy and will be out of fashion in the blink of an eye. Pick wood that is warm in color that looks like wood with a warm color stain that goes with the wood in the rest of the house.