Dig Doug Designs ....that is gorgeous! I almost didn't recognize that was our house! Those are wonderful ideas I will definitely take to heart. I love how you kept the sight lines to the doorway and incorporated the stone into the stairway. Now THAT is an entrance for this little house. Thank you!!

Unless you are going to be sitting out in front of the house, that is an overwhelmingly large and correspondingly expensive entrance deck. I would aim for something midway in size, larger than your current pinched looking entry, but small than Doug’s sketch. I would be most likely make it square to the house rather than following the door’s angle, and have it come out a little beyond the left side of the house and then continue across the front about 2/3 of the way to break up the long wall. I like his ideas of a more generous landing and wider walkway, but would size down a bit on those as well. The lighter, airier rails in Doug’s drawing are a big plus, and having some plantings to help create a transition from the stark front yard to the forest edge in back also really helps.

If you add some type of overhang, roof or arbor, consider making it functional in keeping rain and snow off of visitors. Using a translucent cover over an ornamental arbor (such as the translucent Onduline) will keep your front entry from becoming a dark hole while still sheltering visitors from inclement weather while they wait for entry.

I quite like the look of your home, seems very cute to me. Agree that the current deck looks "pinched" as mentioned above. Doug's design can certainly be implemented on a smaller scale.

You mention an arbor/pergola but keep in mind that any obstruction like that can markedly darken an interior space which is GENERALLY, not ALWAYS, undesirable in a home. A pergola may be helpful in a very strong southern exposure but not in a northern one.

You say "add a window" and pergola "there." Where? By the windows? If a pergola over the window, see the paragraph above in this comment. I don't think you need a window for decoration unless it will also serve a function in the home. If you feel you need something between the windows, you can place a simple arbor that will not obscure the windows and plant a native climber such as honeysuckle (hummingbirds love them). Though I don't think you need anything there.

I initially thought a portico may be nice but if this entrance isn't used by anyone, then even a portico may be useless and anyway, it doesn't look like you have room.

A pale green or light blue would look lovely as a new color though I like what you have. I completely understand wanting a new color, so have fun with it. If you end up using some sort of stone, brick or paint for the new entrance, just make sure the new house color complements it.

If you're looking for a fun "pop" then you can consider painting your front door or just placing a couple of planters with fun plants.

@Anna & @NHBabs- I was trying to say add an above window pergola...not add a window =) We definitely don't have the room for that inside. I think with Dougs design a pergola would be too much though. We can definitely do a smaller, more affordable version of that gorgeous front deck. We are experienced DIYers and can do much or all of the work ourselves and with a few changes its completely affordable. I actually have more of the pavers from our walkway that can be added to the front area to widen that landing out some, though we won't go as wide on the left side as is shown because our yard gets narrower there against the neighbors yard. We can do stone that matches our existing stone out back on the steps and instead of stone columns we can do thick wood posts with black metal caps, and the affordable black aluminum railings that we had planned anyway, which would match our new back deck perfectly. We have considered stone in the chimney at some point in the future, though it won't be next year. It won't be quite as grand as Dougs design but gives a very similar look for alot less $$. I think to the left of the door we can add a long, covered, decorative bench box for wood storage in that space. That way we have wood for a week in the winter without trudging to the fire wood shelters out back every day or so. (We have 2 wood stoves that get used alot in the winters here.)

We never use our entrance unless we are going out the front door for mail, and all our friends use the back entrance as there is ample parking out there. I can see us sitting out there on the deck with a glass of wine in the shade though. Since the only visitors we get out front are deliveries and people selling stuff, we probably don't need to add anything for sheltering them lol.

Still struggling with house color. Currently its a pale yellowish color my husband hates (ditto for me) and it clashes with our new stone. We were thinking maybe something more earthy in a brown/gray...meaning not just brown or gray, something with a mix of both. Or maybe a darker beige. We'd like to darken it up a bit. The shingles are a dark gray but do have a little brown/tan in them along with the black and gray. Its called Canadian Driftwood.

You could avoid the pinched section by bringing the porch deck off of the wall at 90* instead of at an angle.I would keep the walk edge 6' away from the wall so you had a bed large enough to hold plants. Have a nice sized landing at the base of the steps even if you shrink the walk width. I wouldn't make it any narrower than 4'. Wider is OK. You'd probably need to make is S-shaped in order to bring it to where it currently goes.

I sketched a quick concept but you'd need to work out dimensions and details in a to-scale plan so they would be right when built.