I would like to reduce maintenance further without making it look too barren.
The area is zone 8A with hot, dry summers and cool winters with, at most several days a year of frost.
This current layout looked good at first, but I'm tired of replacing wood mulch that loses color after a few months, weeding and trimming branches. Also, most of these plants other than the tall junipers go dormant in the winter and either look ugly, drops a lot of leaves that need to be picked up or both.
I would also like to add a little more usable space so I can add a small bbq grill and a large cantilever umbrella (instead of a permanent patio cover) without losing much of the already limited space.
I want to keep the tall junipers because they provide privacy and shade and don't go dormant in the winter, but I don't care about ripping out most of or all the other plants.
There is some Mexican landscaping pebbles that are already existing that maybe I could expand and take the place of all the mulch and add some zero or near-zero maintenance small, decorative plants in a few places to keep it from looking bare and uninviting.Maybe something like this house
Maybe I could add some large patio stones that could be used as a platform for a bbq in the area to the left of the a/c unit and maybe something similar in the corner by the fence to put the base of an umbrella.
I also want to really discourage weeds.

Any better ideas to reduce maintenance?
Is more rock the best idea or would I be better off with rubber bark or something else?

I would definitely steer clear of the rubber mulch. It's ugly stuff and if you ever change your mind and don't want it anymore, you'll have to shovel it up and throw it away because it will never break down.

As for the maintenance of gravel, I guess it depends. Weed seeds will find their way into the gravel and once they do it is tough to pull them - it's much more difficult that it is in bark mulch. But the gravel will not blow away and will certainly not lose its color.

There is a thread about using river stone on the landscape design forum that poses similar questions. Also if you are seeking specific ideas for your space, that is a good place to ask for advice and get ideas.