I like what you have there. It fits the house and the gray color is perfect. It's the landscaping that needs attention.

The bottom of the tree needs to be pruned IMO. It would be nice to see under the tree from your porch.

The front areas need some deciduous bushes to compete with the scale of the house. I don't think the light stone was the right ground cover.

By addressing the landscaping, the focus will not be on your porch area.

Thank you Beverly. When I've been out there on the bench in the evening I like the tree that low for shade as the west sun is Hot here and you sit and sweat if you don't have shade. and we are on a circle so I also like the privacy it gives. We trim all of our bushes way down in the Fall here in South Dakota and everything grows up in the summer - but not as tall as you've shown so I may consider that. Love hearing other people's ideas.

My thought is Yes! Keep the railing! I really like the bench painted black but I’d keep the front door the color that it is or even a shade or two brighter to tie in with brick. It looks like it was wood & you’ve painted it the red brick color on your paint chip.. I think if door is black it might look like a dark hole because of shade deep in the porch. Your Porch looks like a lovely place to sit & the railing adds to the private space ambiance. What would make me want to sit on the porch are a couple of comfortable chairs with a table to set my drink & book on! Looks like you have the room for 2 chairs if you slide the bench over so it’s under your wall art & closer to the railing. The chairs could also be black since the color does look great against the color of deck.

The door is metal with a grain and back in the day they stained them but I was tired of all the oak color looks. Yes the deacon bench was made by my husband grandpa and was also stained in an oak color but I caved and had to sand and paint it. I have had the bench out there in the corner as well as a side table on the left and an antique metal bin under the windows with a lid I had painted bronze but gave it to my daughter. When we redo the two decks we will be getting all new furniture and probably wicker with cushion in the back and may have a couple up front if I can get them in the right shade. Yes I painted the front door as a color out of the brick for a pop and Love it and love fall colors. Seeing the designs I though black went with gray but don't think I can give up the color. Also I had two different colors as on the pics below but chose the brighter one. Thank you for the Fun ideas KW!

Brenda, your comment to @BeverlyFLADeziner made me think of my front porch which also faces West so I know what you mean about the heat! My suggestion is to install an external roll up solar shade. We got ours at Lowe’s for @ $100 a few years ago & it’s added so much value & flexibility to our use of front porch for such a small amount of $$ as house item purchases go. It is mounted behind the eve trim board & happened to be available in the same color so it is invisible when rolled up. Shade comes in multiple colors so one is sure to be good match to most houses. Our porch is ground level - poured with sidewalk so we don’t have a railing to attach it to. We drove spikes into ground & attached bungee cords to stakes - the hook at other end of cord attached to shade when rolled down - shade is @10’ long I think. You could roll part way down & attach to railing with hooks that come with shade or all the way & attached to deck. If breeze or wind not an issue then it can free hang. Again, this shade really expanded our use of our front porch! You can see through the shade a bit & it’s surprising how much cooler the porch is.

If you want a porch look, I think you'll have to replace the deck railing with something more porch-like. I would definitely remove the rock mulch (took me two years to do that so I could plant a bed of day lilies - rocks SINK!) In addition, they hold heat; you want something that looks and feels cooler; maybe even a water feature. I love to sit out by my pond with the splashing fountain.Look for a way to close up the opening under the deck. You could also consider planting some heat-tolerant ground cover under there. I like KW's idea of a pull down shade for the porch, especially if it could tuck away when not in use.

That is Stella D'Oro Daylilies :) I think a water feature is a good idea ..... I will look what is out there. You can't see anything under the deck But..........it would keep the bunnies out! Thank You for your help :)

I have the pull down screens to keep the sun from shining directly into our many picture windows and heating up the house...... it doesn’t look like you need them for that.. and they are not as pretty to look through as the tree ... I sort of like the railings as they add a little element of privacy and enclosure... and are more substantial if anyone wants to lean on them...I would add a ice big outdoor rug and a few more things on the walls to make it feel more cozy and inviting.. I agree that extending a garden area and removing the gravel would make the porch area more inviting ... some evergreens ... a water feature ... and some big pots ...interspersed ...to drop colorful annuals into in the summer...every spring we go to Walmart for the hanging plants.. for “ instant” flowers and color.. no fuss or upkeep of perennials in the ground

Before long the pots at over flowing

Just installed Oneweek ago