Concrete is still the best value for money. Needs limited if any maintenance. Add a coloured oxide if you all don't like the standard concrete colour.

Going through the photos these are my thoughts. - Personally I do not mind the contrast between the colours of the house but it is a strong contrast and might not be to everyone's taste. Do you dislike either of the colours? Changing either colour involves cost and possibly increased ongoing maintenance but if you hate the colour scheme you might feel it's worth it. - The change in driveway material is visually distracting. It looks like a tight turn into the driveway? As has been said, reducing the amount of gravel would help. I'm not sure what else you can do in the short term. - The PVC downpipe needs painting so that it doesn't stand out. - What is the tree on the corner of the house? I think when it gets bigger it will improve the kerb appeal. When it comes to landscaping sometimes what is needed is patience - Do you need the path to be so wide. If you don't need it for say trailer access or something like that I suggest extending the garden bed on the left further across towards the front door. - What is the upper lawn for? I lived in a rental property where I had to mow the lawn at the top of a sleeper retaining wall and if possible I would always design such things with a garden bed along the edge to avoid needing to mow right up to the wall. Bonus benefit, you can plant something to spill over the wall and soften it. - The plants in front of the garage look too large and random and distract from what is quite an interesting modern roofline. I see something like a larger garden bed with more variation in colour and texture, or perhaps more uniformity and one feature plant? And the house number on the brick wall in the same colour as the upper part of the house. - How's the drainage? I finally worked out what else was bothering me. Not strictly aesthetic. But it looks like you front door is not very high above the surrounding ground level? - I think the bush garden style with the rocks and strappy plants suits the house.

Jacey, nice to see you are still here, many aren't after this length of time. I'm having a little chuckle here as when I originally read your post, my first thought was "move house", but I didn't want to sound so rude as to say so. It reminded me of my first house which was at the flat end of the street but the other end was very much "mountain goat territory" and the driveways reminded me of yours. After living in the homes for years, some spent mega amounts removing rock and excavating to create a garage more at road level and from there the stairs started zig-zagging to the front entry, new front entries were even created at a lower level, but the stairs still continued inside the house, there was just no escaping the climb. I wondered how you even got your wheelie bins up and down the drive. Hope you are enjoying your new home, long term I think you made a very wise decision.

Anna, I hear what you're saying about the datedness of these designs however, they kind of are what they are! I'm not a designer and would suggest that you consult a good one for this project but here are my thoughts: the design makes a very 80s/90s statement so do you want to keep that and enhance or totally strip out that 'character'? the roof colour is of its era and contributes much to the overall 'dagginess' I am seeing a bunch of dark windows and doors that are exaggerated by the white walls - a monochrome but not in a good way! I feel that getting a good landscape architect in to address the entry would dramatically improve things yes those lights have got to go! Good luck with your project. I think you will have it looking amazing when you work it all out.