Help needed for front yard project

Hi everybody, hope I'm posting to the right forum as I didn't see a particular board for Sydney.

So, we moved to a new house in Sydney almost one year ago. The house itself is not that new actually - it's just our new place. We have a relatively large front yard that looks too empty to me. It's basically a boring lawn and a driveway on one side and I believe that space has the potential to be turned into an appealing and colourful garden. Could be a vintage, cottage-style landscape or something more modern and minimalist... I just want to make the place look better and more inviting than it is now. Here are a few things I could imagine:

- a small pergola attached to the front door
- some shrubs around it or maybe surrounding the whole house
- at least one tree or a composition of a few smaller trees to act as the focal point
- flowers, a lot of them
- plus any other features that would fit the above suggestions

I've read a few articles on front yard landscaping in some magazines but I'm no professional at all, so I might be completely wrong about some of the ideas I mentioned. Of course, I won't be able to do anything of these by myself, so I'm rather into hiring a landscaper or a maybe a team for the job and I wondered if you guys would come up with any suggestions. The only recommendation I have thus far is this company http://www.paulslandscapingsydney.com.au - do you know something about their work? Or maybe there is someone you know personally. Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

Jane