Indian Hawthornes prefer a more acidic, rich, and well draining soil, so I’m not surprised they aren’t doing well. I’ve had them in my yard, and they survived, but never thrived (I’m west of D/FW). I ended up taking them out. I like the interesting scallop design — the rounded shapes are a nice contrast to the harsh West Texas terrain. Ornamental grasses/succulents/some softer cacti/various perennials (lantana, gaura, and so many others) would all do well there and once established would require little irrigation. The right mixtures planted together can have a lush, natural look, if you prefer that. Browse and ask at your local nurseries for specific plant ideas or google Tx Xeriscape plants. IMO, the key is just keeping things from encroaching upon the walkway (especially hard spiny plants, which I’d not plant there), but that can still look substantial enough to balance the hardscape ... plus, soften things up some. Someone mentioned “white pebbles” and cacti, I wouldn’t do that anywhere. Just some ideas I played with, to see what you’re thinking, in terms of scale, textures, colors, etc — Some nice visual ideas for tough, but beautiful, plants: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/288089707383196704/

Your first photo is typical of how one must arrange a narrow room. A chair could be placed on either side of the fireplace, but the center of the room needs to stay open. Put an etegere in the corner where the chair is sitting. If you want to use this room for dining, put ONLY a dining table and chairs here. Your second photo shows that a dining table with a sofa makes for a cramped space that is no longer easy to walk through. How wide is this room from window wall to fireplace wall—10, maybe 11 ft? Sofas and chairs are around 3 feet deep. Their width starts around 25 inches, but arms can add 6 to 12 inches extra to the 20 inch average cushion size. Always take a tape measure with you when furniture shopping to make sure the piece will fit where you want it. Your description makes me think this room is seldom used. Perhaps 2 chairs facing each other in front of the fireplace with a small coffee table or ottoman between them. Place a chaise in front of the window. This might cause the path to meander just enough to avoid a bowling alley feel. For more possibilities, draw a floor plan where 1 ft equals 1 inch on paper, and place doors, windows and fireplace as accurately as possible. On a separate sheet of paper draw the outlines of furniture you want to place in this room. Label each piece and cut them out. Set them on the floor plan and move them around until you are happy with the placement. HERE is a site that offers a printable room grid and furniture pieces.

Availability may have improved since our doors and windows were ordered in 2021, but we were unable to get the 42" doors specified for our front entry or the entrance from the garage. We needed wind/impact rated doors and all we could get were 3' X 6'8". We could not get a transom for the front door, either. Those were just some of many compromises we made in order to build during a pandemic. It will be okay, just not ideal or what was planned. As Mark said, a 36" door is sufficient for a wheelchair, as I also know from experience. If you want to build now then it will help to remain flexible. Good luck!

Yep. Just extend the roof out to the align with the garage roof. If the peak is to the right of the front door, just extending the roof to the left is a nice modern approach. if the peak doesnt relate to the front elevation in a logical way, extend the whole thing. edited: Im on my phone waiting for a childs knitting lesson, so please forgive the terrible drawing :-) This is what i mean. If yiu dont like MCM then this might not be yiur taste. i agree with removing the shutters. By covering the porch, nothing will grow well, so you could expand the front step between the front door and the garage wall with an elevated patio…