I'd look for images of colonial revival houses from the first part of the 20th century (or I suppose the real thing) for inspiration. Your house is sort of a take on colonial, just with less symmetry. You'd have to do something like putting columns that match the things flanking the door out a few feet and tack on a roof...something like this, but take it down a few notches. This is a little grandiose. Here is a link that might be useful:

Honestly? I think the gable adds nothing to the look of the house. In fact it doesn't go with the style of house. I would do as you have in the second plan but have the overhang just go straight across the front. Here's an idea of what I mean.

Iesp, to truly work out all the issues in front of you .... you must have a base plan. We've been dealing with aspects of the problem not knowing EXACTLY where the parking, driveway and obstructions along the way, are, if any. We don't know the exact elevation difference (to the inch) from the front porch deck to a fixed, relevant point near the parking destination. One could make estimated guesses about what could be done, but they could be wrong because, at this point, the base information is vague. I feel quite certain, though, that the solution to a pleasant walk from the parking area to house is going to involve regrading with some specific goals in mind. Presently, the steps are concentrated at two areas: the porch and at the bank. The steps at the porch seem reasonably acceptable. But the steps at the bank are too many to create a pleasant experience. Ideally, you'd want to have banks of few steps (usually 2-4) separated by runs of a few feet. The runs, instead of being perfectly level, would be "slopes" so that they're also instrumental in lowering the elevation as the walk travels on toward the lower destination. It is the combination of steps and sloped walk that allows one to have the overall best walk experience ... not too far ... not too steep ... no wasted energy. (I put "slopes" in quote marks because they cannot be perceived as slopes. They must be subtle enough that they pose no danger or difficulty. Yet they must be doing some grade change work.) We haven't seen the porch yet. For the sake of argument I'm going to guess there are 4 steps there. At the bank there are six legitimate steps. With a total of ten steps and a total drop of 11' (averaging the estimate) .... it's a hugely unpleasant walk!! I would consider seeing if the parking area can be raised a bit. Every amount that the overall 11' elevation difference can be shrunk helps a lot. It's a lot easier to step on a gas pedal and get the car to do the work, than it is to get out and hoof up a bigger hill. It wouldn't make sense to lower the elevation near the house/porch/steps. But it would make sense to begin reducing it earlier than it presently begins (at the bank). I don't think there is a reason you must keep all of the plateau that the house rests on. If you walked a few feet from the porch and then stepped down 18" and kept repeating this scenario, the overall walk would be much friendlier. You could pull this off with an elevation drop of, for example, 2.5' for 10' or so of run. Since the overall run looks to be easily greater than 40', it should be no problem to get from the porch to the parking in a very pleasant way. BTW, an 8" step riser is HUGE. You'd want it to be more like 6". Bouncing back to a covering-over-the-porch issue, without a MAJOR architectural remodel I don't see a permanent porch roof as a possibility. But it might be possible to have an independent awning, not attached to the roof in any way, that covered the porch as an independent "roof." Two forms I could see exploring are the pyramid and shed roof shape. It would be something one would have custom made by an awning manufacturer. Since they may have already dealt with your exact problem, I would contact a local outfit and inquire if they have solutions already in mind that would work for you. It won't be seen from the back side so the fact that it wouldn't be architecturally kosher from that view wouldn't matter.

I would not build something to outline the patio. You have a garden to do that. Most gardens don't look at their best in early spring, when plants haven't leafed out yet. You could put something like artemesia to edge your planting beds. That would be an outline. I'm not sure the yellow really goes. I'd be inclined to paint the bench and the table on the porch a blue that goes with your shutters and punch up some color with a pink that matches the tulips (or whatever color your roses? are they roses? will be). Like with pillows on the bench. You have a lot of items in your entryway. My observation is that elegant entries have a few bold, coordinated items. You have 4 stools/tables, 2 of them with empty urns on them. The table is above the window sill. It looks random, not designed. The urns go well will your house color, the yellow table doesn't. It's hard to judge what you should keep, because maybe you use that table often. And, of course, a lot of the great pics you see on Houzz are staged and professionally photographed. It you removed the yellow table and whatever table is in the corner by the door, bought big bouquets of flowers in colors that go with the house (a lot of tulip pink, a dab of blue) for the urns and placed them carefully, got the bow on your wreath to match, and took a pic from the right angle on a sunny day, you'd have a pretty impressive picture.