How about something like the plan below (with stairs flipped?). Two changes to the exterior - I brought out the front by the game room to create an entryway, and I pushed out the little hallway to outside by the dining room to create space to enter the master bedroom from there. The entry to MBed is no longer as private, though, I did like it better when you got to the Mbed from the front of the house. Your stairs are no longer the decorative focal point in this plan, which I am guessing your architect was trying to emphasise before. So for such a big and light filled stairwell, the plan I have here is kind of wasting that. That said a grand, two story entry with expansive stairwell isn't casual Florida beachy cottage....I'd be picturing more something like this: This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 8:54

I think that there are better folks for advice than me but I thought I'd tell you about my experience with an eastern exposure porch. First off, I have had trouble with impatiens. It must be the arid conditions during the summer here but the flowers often did not fully open - dropped off. The porch was at a previous home and Salpiglossis grew about the best there in a little flower bed. I had Mimulus there once and they were okay. My begonias did fine in containers. Steve

Re: painting, just remember this is not a room it is your exterior. Whatever color you paint it should go on your other exterior (non brick not trim) surfaces unless you close it in and screen/wall it. Just for fun, I really love this where steps go all the way around instead of railings. My deck is like this, I love it. It would look great in brick like this, with the brick pillar as well. Also like these, although any work like this seems like a great opportunity to face the stairs to the street as has been mentioned : ^^ no double columns for you (too fancy) but I love the brick walls and stair railings ^^Forget the style of the beams but the brick pillars at base of stair with white/cream railing returning to simple white posts would be nice What not to do: bulky pillars are all wrong for the house^^ ^^awesome with simple railing

Really nice house. Yard already has the beginnings of curb appeal with the bricked path. If you don't use a front yard patio, don't keep one. Consider adding a row of plants on both sides of your bricked path to outline it -- perhaps liriope https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88101736443381440/ -- or another plant to line your bricked path that is suitable to your planting zone. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Plants+to+Line+a+Walkway&FORM=RESTAB and then focus on finding a good shade friendly grass or other ground cover easily maintained by mowing -- perhaps clover or something else that is suitable for your planting zone -- for the rest of the yard. While having a door open toward the side of the house doesn't seem ideal, the reasons this was done are obvious: -- the door is facing the driveway on that side of the house and, more importantly, -- it enables the house to have (not just the one) two large forward facing window groupings. Unless you're willing to give up all the natural light the second window grouping brings into the home, the door would need to stay where it is. If you're considering changing the front windows on the left side of the house anyway, you could enclose what is now the porch to create a new, one with the door forward facing in the new front exterior wall. You could then add a new porch by extending the roof of the forward facing gable another 8' or so.