Would you consider pruning the remaining shrubs?

What direction does the bed face that is the first thing we need. How much gardeneing are you willing to do? I do not like walkways to front doors from driveways a nice more welcoming look is from the stree unless your familt always uses the front door. Take a pic from further back so we can see the whole yard. IMO no shutters and a darked color for the siding would be abig improvement too.I assume you ripped out those two overgrown bushes , maybe post that new pic showing what the space looks like now.

Congrats on your new home! I am a former Michigander and do miss the foilage options in the north. Some ideas to consider - remove the shrub on the left and trim the ones each side of porch so they are window sill height. The flower bed on the right consider working toward making that whole side like a courtyard with flowers, a bench and the like along the garage wall. So there would be no grass there. A star magnolia would be pretty if you have room to include on the right corner of garage side. Good luck!

If this were mine or a property I was working on for a design client, my first concern would be to remove and reconfigure the walkway. Like most builder/developer sidewalks, it is far too narrow, has a very unnatural/artificial looking 90 degree bend and at the very least, the walkway should match the width of the stoop where they connect. Working with a gradual arc from where the walkway originates to the right, widen to at least 4.5 feet (5' is even better) and then get rid of any grass on the righthand side. The curve of the walkway will reduce the size of that area but I would devote all of it to plantings. No lawn.

I would remove the large shrubs flanking the entry and obscuring the windows. I'd replace with something evergreen and low growing that will not require constant pruning to keep height in check - dwarf conifers or boxwood or whatever else evergreen that survives your climate. There will also likely be enough room to include a small tree on the right, like a dwarf crabapple, a tree-form hydrangea, possibly even a Japanese maple if the zone fits. You can add whatever other lower growing flowering shrubs that suit your fancy - spiraea, Deuztia 'Nikko', Drift roses, potentilla. Add whatever perennials compliment your shrub choices and done!

Visit a local garden center (not box store) to see what's on offer and make choices from their stock. Larger plants, cheaper than mail order and properly suited to your climate and location.

The two bushes are still there and will be trimmed. They just turned green the past week, so we didnt want to trim them until they bloomed. We live on a court, so you look towards the empty wall when driving towards our house so I would like to add something visually to not have it look so bare. The house faces South.

Besides plantings, I’d incorporate a seating area. I think this style of bed is such a great place for one — looks-wise, function, and so welcoming.

I had a front seating area at a former home and loved having neighbors come over to sit (we’d watch the kids playing, riding their bikes, etc).

Not all of these are your exact set-up, just posting for possible hardscaping inspiration:

If you aren’t interested in a seating area, I’d still break-up the expanse with things like a pretty birdbath, obelisk with vine, fountain, boulder, large decorative pots … something along those lines.