Based on the leaves on the ground and a guess about your climate: yes, I'd install a storm door. :) They help with heat loss, of course, but they also protect the door and hardware from the elements. My grandparents' home does *not* have a storm door because they didn't want to cover a beautiful new paint job, with the result that we've had to repaint it every five years or so. :( In climates with sleet/hail/snow (which usually also have some intense spring storms!), storm doors usually don't detract from the appearance of a house because everyone expects them to be there! In my neighborhood, house numbers are spray-painted on walkways: definitely not the best look ever, but very important for emergency services, and let's face it, most of us spend very little time staring at the front of our house. Is there room to put some decorative numbers on the flat portion of the overhang? They might not be large enough for emergency response, but they would be very visible from the street for guests/UPS/etc., but leave clean lines around your doorway. The front of your house looks beautiful, BTW: wonderful work!

Thanks for remembering me, Marilyn. Frankly, I'm going through the deepest struggle of my life right now. My husband came home for lunch 18 months ago and put a Glock in his mouth. Today is a bad day. Many days are bad days. Suicide doesn't end pain - it just transfers it to other people. People say that "second-year grief" is the very worst. I think they're right. And the fact that the love of my life did this to me is devastating.

Thanks to one and all; I appreciate all the ideas. We are going with a retractable screen, which ever door we choose. I really like, and need, the PetScreen option, especially for the screens for the front two casement side windows. Lukkiirish - Can you tell me why your are only "fairly happy" with your retractable screen storm door? I'm hoping for "ecstatically happy!" LOL VicsGirl, You too sweet with your comments on my Little House of Horrors on the Prairie. The gardens are still "in progress, and the right-hand part won't be planted this year. DH just dumped a trailer load of horse stable compost and freshly cut grass all over it. I'm smoothing it out, watering, and letting it settle before putting some of my perennials in this fall. PammyFay, the glass in this door has five (or seven?) different textures and patterns of 'clear' glass. The metal is a dark grey, and the three "tulip blossoms" are the most beautiful, dark red with a wavy, watery texture. If the sections of glass under the tulips had been dark green it would be beyond perfect! The glass is 90-95% opaque, but the sunlight coming through it is so fractured and intense it's nearly impossible to photograph. The window is very sparkly! The siding is steel, and bomb proof. Ugly, but strong. It's too sturdy to consider replacing with something that wouldn't be as tough. We have toyed with the idea of painting it. IF we do paint, or re-side, the house would be a pale sage green, or a rich tan. We picked the roof and door to go with either color if we stay here long enough to change it. DH built the deck when we needed to replace the front steps. He chose everything and especially wanted the floor boards set at the 45-degree angles and the black railings. I wanted it 8' wide. These photos makes the door and red glass look darker than they are, but you get the idea of the glass textures. This particular glass style has been discontinued. Garden in progress, the borders are subject to rearrangement, again, maybe. The raised garden on the south (left) side of the house is 8' wide and 23" long.

With lots of expensive prepwork, and undercutting all the casings and doors, and losing height of the baseboards, yes, you can halfass the project and lay plastic over tile. It won’t be any cheaper than doing the project correctly and removing the tile. It’s likely to be more expensive, actually.