What still puzzles me about this stair is that given a 9ft. ceiling height and 7 3/4"+ risers, the thickness of the second floor (ceiling to finish flooring) would be over 16" if there were 16 risers and it would be about 8" if there were 15 risers. For the smaller floor thickness the floor joists could not be larger than 2x8's and for the larger floor thickness the floor joists would be about 14" Since a typical floor thickness is about 12" I am greatly puzzled about your stair construction. Is there something unusual about the floor joists at the second floor? Is the ceiling height 9 ft. plus a tray or coffer? To accurately define the stair riser height you should give us the floor to floor height and the number of risers. To increase the distance from the front door to the stair by turning it, you must put one more riser at the lower run which would extend it farther into the lobby. If this doesn't make sense to you, you should ask your designer to draw the two conditions to scale before telling the builder to modify the stair. I could draw it if I knew all of the dimensions of the existing conditions but what you have posted doesn't seem to add up.

here is the proposed exterior. We don't love the big blank wall in the front to the right of the window. Also, it seems like a lot of zig zags across the roof line.

Holy cow, I had no idea stair railings were so pricey. Are you changing/ removing the carpet (and either replacing it with more carpet or a runner) because you don't like the current carpeting or is there something wrong with it? Also...niche..okay, so you're cool with quirk and it's a niche, which (to me) screams "I need to house an old, chipped up, vintage-y chalkware statue of an obscure religious figure or a circus animal". But that's just me. Like an infant of Prague would be so cool. Santos figures are great, but...chalkware is pretty darn cool. Chalkware (okay, maybe plaster...) advertising figurine. St. Therese. A really banged up version, verrrrrry neat. St. Therese...in a niche (err, a grotto...). If you don't buy this on Etsy, I will. Or you could put some removable wallpaper inside the niche and add a tuck a puck light up in the top arch of the niche so whatever you put in it is downlit. A soft/matte metallic or seagrass wallpaper would be really neat. or you could paint the back in a really moody version of whatever color your furniture is.

Rules have principles behind them. An entrance most likely should look welcoming. Erosion should be remedied. Plant shade tolerant plants in the shade. Etc. There are some principles that will make an entrance look welcoming, but they do not need to be so rigid as to require only one style or application. There are many ways to handle erosion. Within the principles are a gazillion ways to skin the cat and they involve personal taste along with ideas about style, etc. For example, I think limbed up trees look contrived and there is a whole school of thought in aesthetics that I could waste my time arguing for it, but there is no absolute right or wrong about it. It won't necessarily kill the tree to limb it up, depending on how you do it, so if you LIKE that look and don't find it contrived, more power to you. But don't claim it follows some kind of universal aesthetic that is so overriding that there isn't room for more quirky and natural looking ideas. It's like saying everyone must decorate in midcentury modern style because all the rest of design is "dated" which is laughable. Or that bauhaus esthetic is "better" than victorian or that one couldn't morph the two together and create something equally gorgeous and unique. I find an overdone desire to tidy everything up creates a dull and soul-less landscape and I'll trade a mismatched and out of proportion but loved set of trees for a perfectly balanced one any day. One looks like humans live there and the other looks robotic to me. On the other hand, someone else might look at same and think, "Ugh, cluttered!" My main advice to you Alexa would be to not get drawn up into the world of magazines and television and even on here where people make you feel dissatisfied with stuff that isn't really that important over the long haul. The perfect is the enemy of the good and much of that is just bupkes to motivate you to buy more stuff or services you don't necessarily need. To your question Alexa, you've got a real issue with overgrown shrubs around your house, so I'd start with a foundation planting overhaul. You have many options, and it doesn't hurt to peruse houzz sample photos or other web sites and books from the library, magazines, etc. to find some inspiration. You can begin to develop an idea of the kinds of styles and plants you like. The trees in your yard aren't going away, so they can sit for a year or two while you focus on the foundation. Then you may want to keep them, reshape them or remove. My friend inherited a similar property and she began developing beds around her trees and in a couple of places incorporated several trees into big islands. Her landscape was a mix of shrubs and perennials under the trees (planted properly so as to not interfere with the tree's growth) and it was stunning. Took her about ten years total to integrate all that she wanted done, both front and back. Start with what's closest to the house and work outwards as far as priorities. Does not mean you can't do something outside of that recommendation, but implement the things that will make the most difference first, (like a new walkway) along with things that take a long while to grow, (like shade trees, for example) and pick the low hanging fruit for greatest impact. Get an overall plan and if you want large drifts and beds, you can implement them one at a time or whatever, as time and money allows. That tree on the left in your photo of the front of your house looks like it is not long for this world. I wouldn't invest too much into fixing it/reshaping it, unless I am wrong from what I am seeing. Oh, and I'd start with the front, and let the back be more of an adventure for the kids for now. I inherited a similar property with a lot of overgrowth and "issues" to say the least. Carve out little islands of beauty and order for yourself and learn to squint at the stuff that you just don't have the time and money right now to fix. One step at a time, small victories!