Curb appeal

We are trying to figure out a way to get rid of the massive amount of grass we have in our front lawn for two reasons.  First, it is a pain to try to mow it all.  Second, to save on water.  I love the idea of ground cover, but we were trying to decide just how to transition between the ground cover area and the grass area.  I saw this yard in Portland and snapped a picture.  I love how they did the transition.  Also I had not thought of putting in low lying shrubs to break up the ground cover.  The only thing that I would change is maybe to use river rock instead of the rocks they used.  We are in the river city after all!