Hmmm, I see what you mean. There are two aspects I would focus on - the door surrounds and the garden pathway/approach. For the doorway itself (depending on how much you want to spend), you could put a small porch over the door for shelter (with a light for evening visitors). Maybe add a (wider than the doorway itself) glass or trellis surround on the RHS of the door, or add a small deck/steps (over the top of the current ones) that extends the doorway outwards and sideways and provides a sheltered platform for people to stand on while waiting for you to welcome them. The trick would be keeping it in the style of the (stucco?) house - maybe use the blue trim alongside the doorway to add visual width. The second aspect would be creating a pathway leading to the front door. I wouldn't take it in from the street but rather curve across from the driveway. Maybe large pavers spaced for walking, set into a gravel pathway, with some small outdoor lights alongside, and create a garden with small shrubs on the LHS of the door out to the edge of the path to define the pathway to the door. Or if you were going to concrete the driveway at some point, you could make some matching concrete pavers, with a rougher aggregate surface, with some extra concrete. And finally, the door... the door itself doesn't show in the picture, but after you've created the doorway, you could either get a new door (with some glass in it - more welcoming), or just repaint your current door to match your doorway - possibly in the same blue as your trim - lovely! Good luck

New decking with a boardwalk feature and generous platform stairs have transformed this narrow unused back garden into the highlight of the home. Specimen trees and perennial plantings in green and white complete the look. Amazing change - even in the middle of winter! BEFORE: AFTER:

A tired sideyard was given new life, with a new fence and wall colour - Resene Waterborn Woodsman in "Equilibrium" - and new plantings. The existing garden space was cluttered and my clients wanted to create more ease of access and flow to the side of the home. The new plants feature lots of burgundy foliage which will contrast nicely with the soft grey of the fence and wall. Before: After:

Update: after 3 days the water in the hole has still not drained. We don't have a boggy section though... so seems a little strange.