I guess when it comes to describing places I tend to go with the two or three things that encapsulate the spirit of the place, and fill in the details by way of nods towards them contained in the actions of characters. Your character's in front of a large, old house, full of shadows. "He walked up the path, the gravel crunching beneath his feet" tells you there's a stony path and gives the reader that scrunchy sound in their ears to help them fill the rest of the details in themselves. If that makes sense?