Not a homeowner myself yet, but one nice thing could be to out down gravel that’s walkable barefoot. Idk about the rest of peeps, but I used to live in a house that had quite sharp gravel and it was almost obligatory to walk with shoes. If I were you I’d go with some light coloured shingle that’s nice for barefoots. Just my first thought :)

Please do keep us posted with updates of how this turns out!