I like your basic idea, but shift the cover to the other side ... from the door to the driveway. That does two things: allows more light in to the two downstairs windows, and lets a person walk from the driveway to the front door without getting their feet muddy, and be out of the rain for maximum time.

It's a nice house with simple lines; you're smart to keep the porch roof a simple shape as well.

I would do the porch bigger. Replace the door with something bigger too. Heavy chunky brown door. And Then a porch along the whole front. Meaning the roof should go over the garage door. ( match it to the front door) and then start the actual porch right after the garage. Add new outdoor lighting. Beautiful property must have so much potential! Love it

Make the porch deeper front to back as well--at least 8 ft.

I like your drawing.

I would start by dealing with that huge driveway that needs to go and just a nice one to the garage I like what you have in your drawing but

I would make it deeper so you can really use the spot and I would extend the roof over the garage maybe more like a pergola instead of solid. The landscaping will be a huge item to bring curb appeal. I would also do a wood garage door with windows and a front door with sidelights in the same wood . Right now that entry just does not say welcome . You do know English gardens take huge work to keep looking good . I actually think a wrap around porch might be a good idea on theat right side to lead guests to the back yard where I hope you have deck or patio

I would definitely deepen the porch...if you create a front garden you'll want to be able to enjoy it. If you add a bubbling fountain, there will be lots to take in.

Lucky to have the 5 acres! I would love a rambling English cottage garden but my 3/4 acre is taken up with a fruit and veggie garden, chickens and bees.

Is this the back of the house, or the front of the house???

If you plan to spend a lot of time on this porch maybe a pergola is a better solution. It will cut the sun rays, but not make the interior of the house so dark.

You can purchase a ready to assemble aluminum frame kit in a variety of sizes.

I agree with those saying, make the porch at least 8' deep. Mine is 6', and it really limits how you can arrange furniture. Once you have it, you'll probably use it all the time. Coffee in the morning, drinks when friends stop for a visit. Perfect.

Thank you all for your comments so far! We will definitely make it deeper in case we want to use it eventually. the other side of the house has a deck that is our main outdoor sitting area, but it doesn't hurt to have another space!

I think we will leave the porch on the side its shown since it works well for us. All of our main living areas are actually upstairs (its a really odd layout) so we aren't worried about the porch roof shading the downstairs windows as its only a rec room/future kids playroom, and cooling the downstairs would actually be nice.

Does anyone have any ideas for the porch columns? Would you go with wood wrapped or white? something with stone around the bottom? Fancy corbels on top?

@gdems It all depends on budget. Stone surrounds and corbels can get pricey. Stay true to the style of the home and accent with flowering trees and shrubs to bring more color to the space.

thanks so much for your input @Tipton Spires Design|Build. My husband loved your design with the additional gable and being able to see what it would look like. May I ask what program you used for your photo? Its much better looking than Sketchup! I like the idea of keeping the columns simple (and cheaper). Anyway, here's hoping that it will actually get built this summer!

@gdems This is Sketchup...forgive me it was done in haste and it's a bit crude. I ran this one through Enscape for the texturing. The cover is an 8' projection with 4x4 columns framed out to 8x8 or 10x10 (your preference on the "beefiness") wrapped in cedar boards. Very inexpensive for a nice solid look to the columns. If you would like more dimensions please feel free to message me and I can give you our design email.