I've read that the door should always be the focal point. After all, that's where you are going when you climb those steps, right?

IMO, it doesn't matter if the chimney is in the center. It's not your destination, so it shouldn't be the focal point.

Edited to add: in looking at the house again, the steps and chimney in the center give the house the look of a duplex. They divide it. Like the left side is a separate home and the right side is a separate home.

The chimney is a nice landmark, but I agree with Littlebug, it's not the destination.

The objective is complex, with lots of parts that involve alignment & elevation ... like 3-D chess. I don't think someone could begin to sort it out based on the picture that's been submitted, which is our only understanding of the site. Instead of seeing the site for the very first time at a sharp angle, the camera should be lined up with the central portion of the home .... with the steps actually. And the picture needs to be taken with good lighting and focus. Another picture needs to be taken from the far left side, showing a side view of the steps area from about 25' or 30' away ... so we can see how the grade approaches the steps. That would be a better start.

Interesting issue - I don't find that chimney attractive :-) It rather looks to me like it has measles or something.... :-) So my first thought was to paint it all white. Then make the whole upper level a terrace with the stairs on the left rising to the front door, with the door a bright color (e.g. red) to make it visible but compatible with the rest of the house. I am hopeless at the Paint or other photo modification and I don't have a stylus so I gave up on trying to keep the lines straight, but I think this very crude(!!!) drawing shows what I was thinking - to simplify and clarify the house entry area:

Thanks, all! What a great resource for getting fresh perspective on a design problem! I don't see a way to add responses to the individual comments above, so will try to address all here. First, to clarify: we will be excavating that entire front area down to street level (base of the existing stairs, or a couple feet below that, for utilities reasons), so will be starting from scratch, not working with the existing porch, stairs, railings or grade - it's a clean slate!

Good reminder about the door being the focal point. Maybe "feature" is a better word for the chimney. The reason that I pointed the chimney out is that I mentioned wanting to shelter the front door from rain, and we have been looking at designs that would extend the roof over the front door, and we did not like designs that effectively cut the chimney in half, like this:

As requested, here are some additional photos. It's tough to get a straight-on shot due to the trees.

Also, ignore the fact that the existing walk turns to the left at the bottom. We are planning to put in a circular drive that goes across the front, so the new walk/stairs will likely extend straight from drive to house.

Here's a straight-on view (I know the house is obscured in the first, but this was taken from street level, and I was trying to capture the fact that it is a gentle slope from street level to the base of the stairs. The new drive will probably be at about the same elevation as that left branch of the existing walk). The photo from the original post was taken from a bit to the left of these trees.

And here are shots from the left and right (the one from the left is as far over and as far back as I could get without being in or behind spruce trees, and the one from the right is as far back as I could get before the hill obscured the house.

Thanks again for taking the time to look! And please feel free to ask more questions if you have any. I truly appreciate the feedback.

I don't mean to frustrate you with the picture requests, but those are not quite what I was hoping for. They are mostly too far away to see the main details. Sorry if I didn't include enough information but looking for a connected series of pictures, all taken from a single spot where the camera pivots but doesn't change locations. From the left lot line, pan to the right lot line, taking slightly overlapping shots. (We need to see the space beyond the ends of your house, too ... not just what's in front of it.) Here's my best guess where the camera should be located for the shots. Since the ground is so low compared to the camera subject, it would be good if you could stand on a step ladder or in the bed of a pickup truck to take the pictures.

Now that we see your yard is full of trees, also go to the street or across the street and take another single picture that captures all or most of your front yard.

I think another improvement would be to remove the shutters. The larger windows on the left and right are much too large for them.

I added a small flat roof just over the front stoop.

Yes, we have been looking at designs for a roof like that. The fact that the top of the door is practically at the bottom of the eaves, and that this corner is already a complex junction of hip roof, makes the integration of the porch roof a challenge. We’ve also debated how additional structure would look, e.g. (not this particular roof line, but the general concept):

As requested by Yardvaark, here are some additional pictures panning from left to right, taken from the suggested point. The ground at this point is approx 4' above street/driveway level (a gentle grade), and the shots were taken at a height of 8' above the ground, i.e. total height approx 12' above street/driveway level, which places the camera roughly at the same elevation as the existing front porch. (They are blocked by the shrubs in front of the porch railing, but there are 2 steps up from the existing walk to the porch).

And as far as an across-the-road full yard shot - it's not the full lot width, but is the best I could get. Some of the intervening trees will be coming down as part of the driveway project...

The current route of the walk begins at the porch by being squeezed next to the house wall, a window and window well, where it takes a sharp turn and heads toward the camera viewpoint. Then, of all places for it to go, it heads straight for a gully-like depression in the yard so that instead of having to walk down fewer steps, the pedestrian gets to walk down more, to an slightly even lower level than what is available just right or left of this position. Of course, he gets to walk up the same bank of steps, too! To me this seems like a bad configuration. I'd be looking at bringing the steps off of the porch at a 45* angle such that they could be placed away from the house, window and window well, so as to avoid crowding & not giving enough space to grow a decent foundation planting. And they'd be oriented much more toward the destination right off the bat. A gentle curve could take them left of their current position to where the ground is higher, therefore eliminating steps. There's no reason that the steps themselves need to be steep and tight. They'd be much more comfortable to walk on if they were at least 16" tread depth... or even 36" for a luxurious and friendly feel. This would require extending them farther than their present beginning and ending positions but that is no problem to reconfigure the grade and beds that flank them. Adding cheekwalls would upgrade their class and appearance and lower the maintenance in the landscape around them. But many steps are built without cheekwalls today in order to save costs.

I like wider, curved steps. As it is, the steps look out of place, disconnected from the rest of the house and landscaping.

I'm doubtful that you are going to get a roof over that front door and maintain the lovely proportions of your house. I presume when it rains you go in through the garage? Is the water a problem for your porch? If so, maybe you should fix that problem.

If you don't have a garage (I get it, mine isn't attached, so I have to get out in the rain to get into my house), you could consider upgrading a basement door or other entry. Other alternatives are some kind of keyless entry you can do from the car, if you trust the technology.

Re: Yardvaark

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, it is completely about the hardscape at this point. One of the problem spots with the existing design is the 6'-plus drop from the porch to the lower window (where you show the purple shrub). It's just too steep to handle with slope alone, as we have now. The landscape tends to slide in that direction, like a glacier :-). The depression in the yard doesn't really lead to a lower spot - the steps are cut into the hill because they descend quicker than the surrounding slope, and to keep the lower part of the walk somewhat level (it's not actually level - there is still a slope there, as well, just not as steep as the slope either side). To end the steps at the higher level, would just mean additional steps further along - or a walk with more of a slope, which tends to be a problem because we are in snow country (it is another one of the problems with the current design - the slope you see in the walk from the chimney down to the stairs). Remember we're trying to come down a total of 10 to 12' to driveway level. That translates to 15 or more steps at a riser height of 8" - however maybe that wouldn't seem as drastic if the tread depth were stretched out as you suggest, or integrated into tiers and retaining walls as BeverlyFLADeziner proposed earlier.

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.