I'm a big fan of some type of porch swing. We've had them in the past. Now we're headed toward a swing daybed, because there's is nothing like reading a book, lying down on a porch, or taking a short cat nap outdoors in the afternoon. I would set the area with an "easy to hose down" outdoor polypropylene rug, the swing, a coffee table & a couple of chairs. Place a white planter to the right of the front door and perhaps you're done.

Oh, boy. I like both of your suggestions, but am a little gun-shy about the light/white background. I agree that either of these options would brighten things up and I know that Sunbrella is supposed to be easy to clean, but I don’t know if such a light color would be the right choice for us. Besides kids and pets, we contend with a lot of pine needles and leaves and muddy shoes on the porch (some of us are not very good about removing shoes before putting our feet up for a nap on the sofa!) But I will definitely think about it since I do like both of your suggestions so much.

Haven't read all the comments - I see my egg chair idea was not a fav. What I was thinking was to use the space on the right side of the door - as we're looking at it - for any furniture. I think I said, or I was thinking, the space on the left would be plants or a garden vibe. I was thinking you could pull off whimsical chair on the far right side,but I may have been wrong. I deliberately chose a dark chair, fwiw and I did mean a tall chair. But anyway I agree, the wicker chair isn't right. Sorry to send you on a goose chase. I think an umbrella is indeed too casual for your house front, although I think the impulse for shade, behind my "maybe an egg chair" is correct. A shaded garden seems to be what we're all thinking right back to the water feature suggestion. I was thinking your house would be enhanced by landscaping and a sense of shade, as in a french house landscaping interweb search.

Paint it to match your trim. The stark white is not right for your porch, with the off white siding, and the charcoal bottom and roof. Prime the raw wood good, and paint it too. I do agree, that those overgrown bushes need a bit of attention. They appear to be way to close to the house, too.