Have you considered a larger more sheltered entryway? Do seriously consider putting a roof between the left (garage) wing of the house and the right wing of the house for a larger covered portico, and adding porch/portico lighting in the ceiling of the new portico/porch. As you extend the roof, put your support posts literally against the inner sides of the two wings of the house (rather than crowding the entryway with posts closer together). ... One option would be to extend the roof on the right wing of the house: https://willophx.com/home-tour/ ... Another option would be to create a hip roof portico (preferably without the double bulky posts) : https://www.georgiafrontporch.com/portfolio_category/hip-roof/#prettyPhoto[gallery2935]/0/ ... Another option would be to create a rounded front for a flat roof of the portico, https://in.pinterest.com/pin/490610953134023345/ ... with the rounded part front of the flat (or nearly flat) portico roof extending in front of the front exterior wall of the house so it shelters the rounded front steps. By making the roof top of the portico deeper between its upper part (roof/balcony) and its lower part (ceiling), (with or without a railing), you could bridge the distance between the height of the two roof lines.

If you're wanting a more rustic or mountain cabin look, you could use cedar with a natural wood finish but most country porches ended up being painted white. The posts are not larger than 6"x6" and many end up being smaller and round and more ornate with white railing (though I prefer the plain 6"x6" myself). Like these posts: http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/our-front-steps-and-walkway.html You could extend the depth of your porch so that the overhang of the front of the porch roof extends to be even or nearly even with the two story left wing of the home and do consider a concrete porch floor-- it will last a lot longer. You create a block foundation/form, fill in with hard packed dirt and then pour a 6" floor that slightly overhangs the blocks ... which you can face with brick or stone. Then you can use the same brick or stone to enhance the curb appeal of your home and its new entry door. With the new door, showcase it with some great brick or stone steps at least as wide as the door. Since you need only a few steps and have a wall on the left side of the porch, consider starting the steps across from the front door so they are covered with the deeper porch roof and have the front of the bottom step even with the front of the front porch, adding a brick or stone wall between steps and the porch to the right of the steps that can be usable as a railing ... in lieu of adding an actual railing. On the right side of the porch consider adding a "gazebo" feature -- there are different kinds of roof designs you can use if you don't want to just use a hip roof corner -- and have the front porch wrap around that right front corner of the house at least enough to create the wider gazebo feature and add steps leading from the porch toward the back yard. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/112730796896550817/ If you're wanting rustic or mountain, you could use cedar with a natural wood finish but most country porches ended up being painted white. Know your local building codes. You may be required to have a railing or wall depending upon the height of the top of your porch floor. Depending upon the building codes and whether you have small children that actually need a rail ,,, since your porch is not that high off the ground, and especially if you add depth to the porch so there is less likely to be people bumping into each other knocking each other off the porch, you might consider just adding a hedge in front of the porch rather than replacing the railing. Alternately, if you do decide on a concrete floor with the front faced with brick or stone, you could create a brick or stone "railing" and even have it be able to double as seating or a wall usable for a plant stand for your favorite flower pots..

Your architect should take a holistic attitude towards the project and deal with the issue of the big blank garage in front of the house. This will not be a cheap project. Several hundred thousand. Be sure to verify that your architect is actually an architect. It’s a state regulated term, and most states have a professional lookup online for architects and contractors both. A software manipulator isn’t an architect.

That is a beautiful, classic house. I also like the current color but a more blue-ish green, a gray-ish blue, a buckskin tan, and even dark red are all traditional & classic colors for that style. The addition does need to match. Are you sure that you want a black roof? Black really does increase heat absorption in the summer but doesn't seem to help much in winter. I really noticed the difference after I changed from black to weathered wood, which would look nice on your house and goes with many siding colors ( a brownish gray version - other brands might be more grayish-brown).