Plants for shade include but are not limited to: ferns, epimediums, Solomon seals, big root geranium (G. macrorhizum), Acteas, brunneras, pulmonaria, primroses, hellebores, Hakonechloa macra aureola. There are many, many more. Some of the above bloom, mostly early in the season, some don't. the above include a range of leaf shapes and colors. (For example, the Hakonechloa is a yellow leafed, low grass that weeps towards the sun--very handsome but needs some moisture.) Some do well in dry shade, others not so much. Actually, there is nearly as much choice for plants for shade as there is for plants in sun.

Congrats. Like those wood doors. Like the gray much better than the pale blue with black. Consider adding a pair of corner cabinets in the dining area to add extra storage space for your dishes without taking up space needed for your table and chairs. Solid doors on the bottom and glass doors over the top shelves is best. If you can match the wood finish of the wood doors, all the better. If not, white would do. http://foter.com/explore/small-corner-cabinets-dining-room If you rip off the country charm scalloped trim over the sink between the overhead cabinets, then the top of the blinds would show. If you don't like that style, it might be better to replace it with a straight edge board rather than leave it off. Blinds or shades of some kind are good for privacy and light control on any kitchen window -- in any dining room window, too. Would not remove them unless and until you find something for privacy and light control that you like better. Not a fan of fabric window treatments in or very near the kitchen ... absorbs cooking odors.

If you want a forward facing gable over your entry: remove the existing roof of your front porch. It can be replaced with a shed/half roof sloping away from the right exterior side of the house after you create your front porch with a forward facing gable. Enlarge and enclose the walls and flooring of your existing porch so the exterior wall on the side closest to the road is made even with the rest of the front exterior wall of the home. Beginning halfway between the downstairs right front window and the right front corner of the house, create a forward facing gable with a ridge point halfway between that beginning point and a point on the right that is as far right as needed to be even with the far right edge of the existing front porch. Your new front exterior wall of your new wall will be a continuation of your existing front exterior wall and the forward facing gable you create will cover your new 6' deep front porch. Your new entry door will be on the right half of that new front porch. Alternately, remove only the half of your existing porch roof that slopes away from the road and enlarge the walls of your existing porch as before -- to have the wall closest to the road be even with the exterior wall of the home now closest to the road. Then extend it the roof slope on the back upward to a new ridge point that will enable the slope that is on the road side of the house (of even length) to extend over your new front porch -- that will have a shed roof toward the road. Again, put your front entry door in the right side of the new front exterior wall of your new entry and create your gable roof facing the right side of your home. Then create your new sidewalk leading to your new front door. If there is room for a 4' - 6' front stoop between the front exterior wall of your home and the tree w/o harming the tree roots, the tree needn't be cut. Toward that end, you might use a treated deck board floor for your porch rather than dig a footing. As an alternative, you could use a flat roof for your new entry and create a deck that wraps a few feet around your right front corner. Edited to address tree issue and deck issue.

Decorative fence with an open gate -will direct visitors to the side entrance. This video shows three model homes. Two of the three (1 & 3) have side entrances. When I toured these homes, the first home had a long water feature fountain - the noise of water enticed you to the door. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J87jNI9AAsI