(ugh, i am a mess. haha. I'm new here and my picture is tiny and upside down. Hopefully someone smarter than me can fix that?)

Pretty color! In your original photo it shows the door entry area heavily shadowed so you could get away with that shade or that shade slightly brighter. Really though, I'm not a paint expert so you will need to get some paint samples AND sample boards. Most people have to go through a few samples taped up in the entry area for viewing in different lighting before they decide. When I was remodeling my latest house I wanted a certain orange shade for my door but with a tic of red and a tic vibrant as the door was way back and under roof. I bought a zillion paint samples before getting fed up. Then one day I was in Homedepot and happened by the Glidden paint chits. I saw the exact color but thought as with the other brands the painted paint would look nothing like the chit. It ended up exactly like the chit! I will forever go to Glidden for my door shades ( mostly) as the color on the chit is the color you get. I have them mix it in Behr's best paint though. There is a paint expert here on this forum that shares her very detailed knowledge of the science of paint. I look forward to anything she posts. Keep ready on this forum and you will learn a lot .

@btydrvn thanks for your thoughts here - wrt the posts -- the dirt level will be higher than it is now --i.e. right now dirt slopes down to the house so there will be at least a little more dirt covering the posts. I hadn't though of covering the exposed cement at the base of the post though .. A raised deck is a possibility but I liked the idea of having a patio that was level and continuous with the rest of the yard.... in which case, I guess I live with having it look a bit unfinished with that cement showing? maybe some flower pots around? Other ideas?

I would keep the posts white. There are so many of them and yet they don't frame anything per se. I think a gray almost what you have but a bit less blue is a classic look for the porch deck. Paint the ceiling haint blue. This deck is a bit too light. I think the window trim would look good in a light beige. Lap siding in white.