The stairs are an issue. My daughter broke her leg, was in a cast from hip to toe and we lived in a house where you couldn't get in or out without stairs. She was an ace with the cast after a week or so, but the first few days were very difficult .

Those stairs are not covered, meaning the might be slippery in rain and positively lethal if there's ice.

That said, a combination of shrubs and climbers could hide the lattice. I'd go with flowering broadleaf evergreens (rhodos, mt laurel). But I don't know your zone.

IMO the house as the look of a tall mobile home. But underneath the woodwork hides a modern home. Remove the wood and shutters think a touch of MCM with more industrial looks. Incorporate ironwork, modern lighting and find a bolder scheme with black accents. Landscaping should be low maintenance with structured shrubbery.

They need to find out why it was built so high. Is it in a flood plain? Was it built on top of a garage from a larger property? They can check at city hall to see if there are any original building plans or remodelling plans on file.

It isn’t in a floodplain. It’s on the side of a hill with a deep crawl space, I believe. I’ll attach a picture of the side so you can see the elevation. We’re in Georgia, US. This type of construction is pretty common here.

Here’s the side view.

I’d make the high porch a feature by draping nasturtiums, bouganvillea or whatever grows for you there.

It certainly looks like a challenge but if that type of house is pretty common there, take a ride around looking for examples that have better curb appeal and copy their ideas.

My two cents.....

I think would stain the lattice the same color as the rest of the home. Either keep the bannister as is or stain the same color as the shutters.

No climbers, they just create more work, or loosen or weaken the lattice.

Add some great landscaping with color to distract from the lattice.

No suggestions … but those stairs would be a deal breaker for me unless there’s a more level back entrance.

I'd start by cleaning the cedar to see the new appearance of the house.

Then I would stain the cedar a gray stain.

The bottom of the lattice looks to be broken, maybe rotten. I would probably start by stripping it off to see how the house looks without, and then decide what to do. If you put something back, I would paint or stain to match the house. Wondering if that spot under the upper deck could become a screened in porch or something. But its hard to visualize with the lattice in the way.

Terrace the entry way by adding additional outdoor living space: at the level of the first landing add a deck that spans the front of the house and then relocate the stairs to the upper level to the far right of the house.

A deep crawl space? The crawl space looks deep enough for a finished walkout basement or a two car garage. The crawl space looks like the front door should be down stairs. The crawl space looks taller than the main house above. Seriously, that is a dirt floored crawl space under there?

The side view with the siding being lower than the floor level of the front porch only adds to the wacky.

So here is a wacky solution: lower the whole front porch deck 3 or 4 feet. Put steps up to the front door from the deck as needed. That will help balance the tiny house above with the giant crawl space below, reduce the amount lattice needed and the number of steps to get there.

I'd also consider moving the stairs to the left side of the house as a switchback staircase instead of a single long run across the front and swapping out the lattice for horizontal boards between the deck posts.

I'd want to take the lattice off and see what you have to work with behind it. Cleaning & painting the foundation that's behind it would be a first step. Then get a local nursery to help develop a new plan for landscaping. You may find that you want to change the stairs too once what's under there is exposed. If there is no parking, you might consider adding a carport or garage at the lower level.