Looking for landscaping ideas
 

I currently have river rock as the landscaping base around my house. The bad thing is, 97% of all the houses around me have the same thing.

What are some good ideas for changing this up? I'm not opposed to other types of rock, and the wife for some reason likes bark.

Would love to see some pictures of other ideas. I'm going to change it up with something this year, just not sure what yet.