Simplifying with larger, bolder elements would help the landscape read from a distance. The beds around the trees seem to honor the ancient Chinese practice of foot binding, being too small for those large trees. Enlarge to be a more correlative proportion. Try to make the trees be more in the center, which means that the circle bed at the left side is a "D" shape, on account of the drive passing nearby. The lone circle bed at the center would be squeezed out, which is a good thing. Of the dated characteristics, it seems like a brooch pinned on the lawn. What the picture needs instead is a clearer path to the front entrance of the home. It should be visible from the street. Making the path too it more visible would be a big plus, too. Definitely, the shrubs flanking the walk should be done away with. They not only obscure the entrance but "say" it probably requires a special badge or password in order to enter. The jail bars say it's going to be hard to get in ... maybe hard to get out, too. I think they would be less visible if a darker color. Large patches of seasonal color flanking the entrance (not in front of it) would add some cheer and an inviting quality to the front entrance. With such low windows, beds of perennials or groundcover would be a better, low maintenance choice. The shrubs get too tall. They might be better flanking the windows instead of underscoring them. The house would look more well connected to the surroundings if it had small trees, with groundcover below, off of its front corners. Repair the lawn where it is scarred. It will make a big difference to the overall picture to get the grass in good condition. If it were ever a possibility, a porch roof would be a major upgrade to the whole house.

I agree with removing the rock. Replacing it with brick, stucco or a more organized stone would be a big improvement. You need a new landscape, too. The existing one looks busy and haphazard. If you need to keep the screening at the entrance, it would look a lot better if the mullions were dark instead of white, so they appear as if camouflaged. The entrance walk is much too narrow. The space there should feel more courtyard/plaza-like. Smothering it up with plants -- so that entering is like threading a needle -- is not appealing. Paving that projects outward, as if to receive, would be helpful. It can't be seen, but I'm sure that walk flanking the garage is too narrow to allow for a nice entrance experience and too close to the house to allow for a decent foundation planting.

You, as a first time home buyer, need to realize that all of the renovation TV shows have faked TV set poor quality renovations, and laughably faked unrealistic budgets. The real world is that you do not get your dream home on the first buy unless you are the luckiest person alive. You do not even remodel a first home into a dream home unless you come from a wealthy background, or worked summer construction in your dad’s company since you were 12. A significant amount of money or skilled sweat equity is involved in building a bathroom from scratch. That is money and effort that only has a limited return. The shows that show a ”10 K bathroom build” bringing in 50K of ”added value” are just renovationPORN. They have almost no basis in how things really happen or really cost.

Absolutely what they said 👆. Randomly plopped beds in the yard look just like what they are: randomly plopped. Watch those beds this season to see what’s there; after plants bloom is typically a great time to move them to a nice new bed adjoining/showcasing the house foundation. For example, irises would look great in front of the porch. And FYI - make sure the beds are big enough. A bed (measured from the foundation out to the yard) should be 3’ at the very minimum. Also FYI it’s usually a poor idea to plant next to a tree trunk. Scrap the “tree rings.” If you’re inexperienced, take it slow and plan your end goal.