I would suggest a foundation planting bed in front of the house and a separate island around the palm. You can see in the sketch that I opted to leave only the single palm near the center front. It seems disturbing to me to have a collection of odds and ends palms in a group because they don't make a nice group. If they can't be like type palms, I'd rather see a single specimen. The architecture already carries a horizontal visual element as the base of the house. Rather than duplicate or cover that up with a hedge, use plants to temper it, and the easiest way is a mound shaped shrub below each window. It doesn't end up looking like you're trying to smother the house with shrubs. Where the windows are low to the ground, such as left of front door, instead of shrubs (that you will need to trim regularly in order to keep them low) use an 18" height groundcover -- such as Liriope -- that won't need to be height trimmed at all. It should be a FAT (double or triple) row -- not a skinny string. Consider variegated Liriope for a brighter look. Given your location, for the shrubs below windows I'd consider Thai crown of thorns. (Not the regular small-flowered one.) It would cheer up the front of your house considerably for much of the year. At the base of Robellini, consider an island of firecracker plant. Eventually, if it gets too tall, you can cut it to the ground and make it low again for a good length of time. For the moderately low groundcover used to link the separate elements together, consider tri-color oyster plant. It is at the same time soothing and cheerful and it's easy to start from pieces. You can split a gallon of it into about 15' pieces that will plant that many square feet. In one year's time it will appear grown together. (Of course, you would need to wait until February to plant it.) Near right of front door and at garage are two places you could use seasonal color. The groundcover around the single palm could be same as the foundation bed groundcover, or different. It could also be a little taller if you wanted, since it is a limited space. I can understand your wanting to get rid of the two lamp pedestals. But for sure, I would think about how you could retain the use of the electrical supply wire that they contain. Either could gain a new use: path lights ... uplights on trees ... post lamps ... downlighting from trees, etc. I would determine how you will reuse them before you demolish them. (BTW, you can make an underground splice if you use heat shrink tubing with sealant built in. I can't say that it will be in compliance with your local code since I don't know it ... just that it works and can be done.) Again, I remind that you need to work out all the proposed changes in plan view before you do any work.

My suggestions aren't based on ideals, but on practical attractive suggestions for a new homeowner with a limited budget. I wouldn't choose to barricade the entryway, hiding the walk and much of the door as in the image immediately above, which also uses some plants that aren't shade tolerant and are tightly pruned into unnatural shapes. If you have the time and the inclination, I would move the path out away from the house, take out the worst of the squiggles and make one long sweep of a curve if you don't want it straight as Laceyvail suggested. If not, plant larger plants in the areas of outward squiggles so at least they look like there is a reason for them being there. Certainly remove the ivy from the tree on a regular basis and keep it at ground level. As long as you are willing to manage the edges and keep it from climbing, it is an adequate groundcover as is pachysandra, and either will do better than grass on your shady slope. If there isn't money for a pro to do design, there isn't money for masonry walls which are expensive. For now, I would go to a good garden center with your photo along with some observations of how much sun (if any) the space gets and see what suggestions they have for plants that will stay below the level of your windows and will be narrower than the space between the path and the house by a foot or two so plants are not smooshed against the house. Depending on amount of sun, that might include some smaller azaleas, but I don't really know plants for your area. Then plant a shade tolerant evergreen flowering ground cover beneath it or some evergreen shade tolerant perennials (Veronica Georgia Blue and hellebores are two that come to mind). Hostas in various colors and sizes will provide large leaves for contrast to whatever else you plant as long as deer aren't a problem. If deer are a problem, be sure to tell the nursery where you go for plants. Since you seem to not have a lot of garden experience, spend a bit more to get plants from an independent nursery with qualified staff to help you with design suggestions and appropriate plant choices for your situation. At this time of year, they are more likely to have the time to assist you, and fall planting is often more successful since there is adequate rain and cooling temperatures. You most likely want to get a load of compost and turn it into the bed before planting since the shrubs there previously may have depleted organic matter and nutrients. This is a task you can do now while it is still too hot to plant, working a bit at a time in early morning before it gets hot. Regardless, after planting, mulch the whole bed. Right now, I am not sure you have room for a Japanese maple there unless you place it in the center of the yard away from the house. Perhaps removing the hedge to the left of the house and placing a J maple off that corner would work, but you would need to decide if losing the screening of the hedge would be a good exchange and also would need to choose a small enough cultivar that it wouldn't outgrow the space. Let us know what you end up doing.

Because it's so symmetrical I think garden layouts will be easier. It looks like, as Yardvark said, you could rip out the overgrown bushes flanking the doorway, replace with something smaller, and trim/shape the rest to see how it looks as a start. There are some healthy ilex or something in the middle which could be attractive. Do you know what is on the left? Oakleaf hydrangea? Your local garden center could suggest plants and shrubs that will do well in your climate. Is there room to add a larger tree as a focal point in the yard off the right corner? Either a full-sized shade tree or a 25-30 foot flowering tree? I know some people hate the idea of painted brick, but this seems like a good candidate for the white brick-black trim look. It's stylish now, but I think it will also stand the test of time. There are some new products for painting brick that don't peel. Here are some similar houses: https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/stately-southern-design-with-wrap-around-porch-59463nd https://www.theplancollection.com/house-plans/home-plan-18316 Here is some painted brick: https://www.studio-mcgee.com/studioblog/2019/9/24/how-to-determine-whether-or-not-to-paint-your-brick-house-xwlzh https://www.instagram.com/p/BYhoTcgB3yi/

I would remove the two at the entrance and probably the end one too. They make the house look short. I never like overpowering plants near an entrance.