Go with crushed rock, and put enough down that you a have decent walkway or whatever, but not so much that you sink into it--you'll know the right depth when you get to it. Use a large rake to rake it out. We have that around our trees in the front mostly because the grass didn't grow under them, and our dogs run back and forth barking at the kids playing in the street. We found it to be a very good solution to the problem. And we did put scalloped edging bricks around the whole area.

HI --- Why is the yard paved , it looks so barren ? The color "Willow " by Benjamin Moore Paints would work with what you have . I am not a fan of the roof color ... if you change that , you could go with a textured dark brown or go to a textured charcoal or a grey . Maybe make the front door stand out more with a color ... maybe a rich dark green or a Navy like "Polo". But this house would look wonderful with a veranda /deck/porch from the front door to the opening just in front of the last window on the right ,in the color like the windows and trim . For the landscaping .. if your keeping the paving I would say get some big planter boxes . I would remove some of that paving because the house could use some trees etc. If so then I would plant a cut leaf weeping birch just left front of the window but mature tree spread away -about 20 feet. Also see if that down spout can be moved to come off the side ,instead of on the front . And add some exterior lighting to accent the house .

The front door is around the other side by the way! The windows are aluminium so cannot be changed. It is all rather ugly at the moment.

Without knowing any more info , I'd say its near impossible for anyone but you to know what colour/s to choose -- do you want the house to blend in but have its own style , or do you want it to stand out ? What colours are your main furniture items and even kitchen etc ? For xxample , if keeping the beige walls , how about doing the eves and gutters and garage door in a tangy ( bright , but not glaring ) orange -- this would work with the existing colours and not require a complete repaint . BUT if your kitchen was mainly various shades of , say , green and teal , and your lounge suite and duvet covers were mainly blue hues , that may 'feel' funny , clashing with the exterior ? Of course , blue and beige exterior may not work with the brown aluminium , as youve recognised . Another option ( a bit hard to tell from the pictures ) is that a light grey ( repaint the beige ) with mid-charcoal base boards may work with the brown aluminium , then a bright colour on the gutters and front and rear doors to suit -- anything from sea blue to bright yellow , orange , red , even white or off-white would probably work .