Front Yard Inspiration

I've been thinking--ruminating, really--about how to improve the curb appeal of this house, presuming that I'm willing to spend tens or hundred of thousands. A bunch of concepts compete:

• Paint the house--all light (it's north-facing) with no blue two-tone
• Re-roof (it's nearly time)--the existing blackish composition works, but the gutters need to be re-done. Also, the uphill neighbors are re-roofing in metal.
• A proper garage to replace the driveway canopy - de-emphasize the doors, if possible
• Repair the crumbling driveway and cracking, stained front walk
• Eliminate front door confusion
• Get the hardscape sorted so that we can actually landscape--front patio would be nice
• Hide the trash cans (least of my worries, but it's on the list)

The Douglas Fir in the NW corner of the property has always been an issue. I would hate to remove it, but it blocks the driveway from going straight in. Also, I want to minimize driveway impact to the roots. At the Home Show yesterday, I realized that pavers, being permeable, are better than asphalt or concrete over tree roots. Also, I saw that the drip line on the survey is exaggerated. 

I started sketching, hoping that I could move the driveway complete off the roots, but that's not going to happen. I know we can bury the drainage ditch, so the driveway-to-street intersection can be anywhere. In the end, though, I realized that it doesn't work.

Thumbnail design

For a fresh approach, I thought I'd doodle at a small scale, like 1"=40'. I kind of like the way this looks.

I'm visualizing the trash yard as a double gate, with the gate closest to the garage being used typically and the garbage bins lined up behind the other gate. For access, we can open both gates and wheel the bins out of the way, but each week, we just use the usual gate to wheel out each bin.

In the new garage, I'd like a storage loft, but maybe with a permanent or pull-down stair. The street view is important so that it doesn't hulk as this sketch predicts.

One wishlist item that this doesn't solve: It would be nice to have step-free access to the main house. In theory, this could be arranged at the breezeway, but it's awkward given the current grade.

It's funny doing little thumbnails of site plans when you haven't solved the floor plan--not even a little bit--but maybe it helps break the design logjam.

As for the crummy sketch--if only I had a multi-thousand dollar design tool that could make 3D renderings for me.