That is just about what I had in mind for the front porch! I feel like something is missing from the second story though, like there should be a third window or something. The roof's pitch is not steep enough for gables or anything of that nature...

I don't know the purpose of that arch. It was originally designed that way, and yet nothing goes there. There is an inset shower window but up under there, so maybe the thought was to hide it from the curb. But, I had not considered actually putting something there - a fountain or something sculptural would be quite lovely there. And, I am thinking about a single door with sidelights too. I was just looking a pictures of a house with a wood and glass door, and maybe doing wood on the garage to complement it, though not sure about adding wood to the facade.

Would remove shutters Would remove the current porch, specifically including two story front porch roof and columns as well as the brick pillars and posts in order to add a deeper (8') wrap around front porch beginning beside the bay window right of the front entry door and wrapping around the left side of the house ... adding porch to the side of the house at least to the first window ... and have steps on the side of the house aimed at the back yard ... using a hip corner on the shed roof there at the left front corner of the house. Since you have a second forward facing door (unless you want competing focal points for the front of your home ) you may want to de-emphasize the door by the garage -- having it visually disappear -- by painting that door and trim the same color as the siding Alternately, you might consider either ... Have that wrap around front porch roof extend all the way to the garage, including covering the bay window and second door beneath it, and then literally create another room -- a sun room -- enclosing the bay window within that sun room or changing it for French or sliding patio doors. Add skylights in that part of the porch roof over the sun room and second door to let in light that the bay window and window in the second door would have. Then you could have the exterior sun room door(s) exiting to the side(s): to the left onto the front porch by the entry and/or to the right ... Either toward and with a door directly into the garage, Or, if you extend the room forward beyond the front exterior wall of the garage and beyond the front of the wrap around front porch, you could have a door on the right exit toward the driveway and then you could create a forward facing gable over that front sun room. If you need the upstairs porch roof to shade that window, add it to set atop the shed roof front porch and even consider altering that window if it impedes adding the wrap around porch.

I would paint the courtyard wall the same as the body of the house. No stone. Cacti or other drought tolerant plants in front of the wall would look great.