Which direction does your house face? If the sun comes from the right (in your photo) you could plant a shading shrub to the right of the porch. There is something about the symmetry of your home that suggests a seating area, or birdbath or waterfeature would look charming on the left side under the small tree. The right side with the drop off would be perfectly OK left as is and not look off balance. Or you could plant the right side with small airy light trees like japanese maples to provide some wind break. Heavier plantings on the right will give your home a more confined look. That isnt bad if you want it to look solid and substantial. Redbuds would be pretty on the far right in the drop off, but you will be watering them for years to keep them alive in the sun until they establish. It would be nice to get some color near the porch. I like the idea of something tall in the pots - like ornamental grass, and something low and colorful near the pots. Perhaps small colorful collection of pots on the front edge of the porch filled with trailing colorful annuals or geraniums, which of course you will be watering every day in summer to keep alive. A windbreak solution I am considering for my back porch is to put a trellis, or woven screen on each side of the porch. They could be supported by a simple arbor frame of a vertical post on the right and left front corners of the porch, a cross piece on top connecting them like an arbor, and some simple framing going from the front, to the wall of the house to support them. A roof isnt needed, but abviously makes the whole thing easier to put up. You wouldnt change the front appearance of the house much, but you would have an enclosed feeling when standing on the porch. White painted wood framing with white wood trellis or black wrought iron trellis would be compatible with your home. Your house is really nice. The good thing about sun are the brilliant flowers you can show off, once you get the whole thing set up right. Shade just doesnt produce the cheerful colors like sun.

I would definitely not do shutters because in my opinion, shutters that aren't (at least feasibly) functional look tacked-on. Also, shutters will only make your windows look wider and more horizontal. I think a full-width/wraparound front porch would be fantastic! How old is the house? Is it possible it had a front porch at some point? Attached is a photo that might help you visualize how a big porch would look on a house somewhat similar to yours... Here is a link that might be useful:

What a fantastic space you have. Great windows and your fireplace is such a cool unique feature. I think the idea of using your fireplace ledge for you TV is genius. Every seat in the place could view the TV better if it was there also. Do you like that idea? But you MUST be able to hide your cords! You would then have the space available where the other TV stand was for an end table and another lamp. Not quite sure of your style so I'm fishing. Simple drapes to match the ones in your reading room which, by the way, looks really nice. The rug and sofa couldn't be more perfect together. I'd say move your floor lamp closer to the sofa so you could actually read......add a couple larger plants. Tree size.

Yes Bette! I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at Romabio bc of the one step application and time after to be able to washoff/modify. I believe right now my plan is to lime wash the brick soon which is something I've been looking at doing since I bought the house. I've researched mortar smears, painting, whitewashing, and lime wash enough to drive someone crazy. I just can't seem to come to a decision on colors for this difficult brick. I have also decided to go with a metal roof later possibly instead of shingles. I grew up in the south and love them during those southern storms and it's not too much more than shingles. I'm rebuilding my shutters today and I have no idea what color to paint them, I suppose I'll leave them off the house for now. Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it and I'll try to update with progress photos. I'm also power washing the brick this weekend to see if that makes it any "brighter".