Practigal - We are in San Diego. Water is at a premium and I have a ton of grass. I'm ok with the water bill but it is tough to keep green watering 2 days a week. BTW - I really like the covered entry also. Most examples in the neighborhood no longer exist because they either removed it to pop out the corner or they hit the brace with their car and had to remove it. Justerrilynn - I did mean the front door. Our neighborhood has quite a few examples of our similar home. One neighbor has the door right where you have it. Here are a few examples. Hope they don't mind me posting streetview photos. These are all homes built by the same designer in the 50's. The above home was the same as ours, flipped. I love the huge porch but, in person, the thing that really makes it look nice is the roof - heavy tile. Above are my across the street neighbors. House on the left is exactly like ours, just flipped. Both houses had the inset door and popped them out many years ago.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and ideas. We have two systems, one for each floor. The upstairs has two returns and the downstairs has just this one. I assume for the purposes of your question that means that this is the only return, since the systems operate separately. We will definitely account for being able to check/change the filter without having to move the furniture every time - with the furniture only ~1" higher than the top of the grille, I only need a few inches behind the furniture to be able to open the hinged grille and pull out the filter. Do you think a perforated back (wood or metal) would be a reasonable compromise? For example, if we need 5"-6" clearance behind the bookcase if the furniture has a solid back, would we be able to get away with 3"-4" if the back allows for some airflow? We'll need at least 3" to be able to change the filter as I described. Thanks again!

When you have time please post an image showing the changes you've made so far. Seeing your roof may change my opinion. I'd look at a taupe to try to tie your brown roof in with your brick. My mock-up came out a little more brown than intended, but something like this: I agree with phun, a wood garage could look great and maybe amp up that column in the same wood tone as the garage. Maybe a subdued, but fun color on your door and then some urns in the same color as your door.

I'm disappointed that what had at first seemed a very balanced comment was followed by what seems to be misinformation and misdirection. People buy ground source heat pump equipment because they want to and can afford it. Or decide they need to in their locations. They're hugely more expensive than alternatives, which is why they're still not very common. "When’s the payback on a Tesla? People still choose to buy them for reasons other than the ‘bottom line’." Not a comparable. A false analogy. "I would not choose natural gas or propane for reasons relating to the environment, safety, IAQ & paying for yet another utility hookup for an energy source that might not even be used for months on end during the year." What effect having a gas furnace has on indoor air quality. Another hookup? Most people prefer gas cooking appliances and besides, the OP is talking about an existing home, he either has gas service or he doesn't. "Rather than spending perhaps tens of thousands of dollars on a Solar Array, I would sooner invest that same money, hopefully less, in a ground loop for a Geothermal system." Sure you would, that's the business you're in. The ground source heat pump market is not growing as expected by those in the industry, which suggests that your opinion isn't widely held or easily sellable. In many parts of the country, solar panels can have a quick payback. Not so ground source heat pumps. "I often hear about Solar Panels when geothermal is mentioned, as an alternative way to save money by creating energy." In a place like Texas, where electricity is cheap (other than during cold weather crises as they just experienced) there's likely no payback from a solar panel installation. People do it as a personal statement, call it for environmental or other personal reasons. Like buying the Tesla, not a financial decision. An HVAC system blows warm air when it's cold, cool air when it's hot. It's one of those things people don't care about - either it works or it doesn't work. Spending extra money for an exotic system doesn't equate to extra payback when the home is sold. Neither owners, nor visitors, nor people passing by, nor anyone else, concern themselves with what's doing the work. It's equipment that doesn't produce an experience for someone in the house if it's working. In the US, there are vast areas where electricity is cheap. It will remain so for some time. People don't spend money today to potentially save money 10 years out when market conditions may or may be different. I suspect you could build a house with mahogany or teak framing. Or you could paint the framing bright colors. Why bother, you can spend less money and effort and get something else that will do the same job. "We almost never use setbacks at our home - even when going on vacation for weeks on end with no one home, our geothermal just runs." You're combining two different things to produce confusion. Thermostats that have a setback feature ALL are set up to provide lower overnight temperatures to have more comfortable sleeping conditions and then a recovery in the morning before wakeup time. As sleep specialists recommend. That in demand comfort features isn't possible with ground source heat pumps because the warm up period from a setback is too slow to be convenient to use, absent triggering a secondary heating source (like a furnace) to help. THAT'S why you don't "believe" in setbacks with a heat pump - they don't work. Turning down a thermostat during heating season when the home will be unoccupied is not a "setback" as that word is most commonly used. It's done to save money, why heat a vacant house? No setback thermostat is needed, even a dumb 50 year old analog thermostat can be turned down.