I’ve heard that it’s possible to replace just the laminate and keep the plywood underneath resulting in a much less expensive project than a complete tear out and replacement. Is there any way to know whether that would be possible short of having a countertop person come out to look? I know a person I plan to ask about it, but I don’t have access to the house right now to have them look and am curious about the difference in costs. And thanks for all the interest in the project! I would love to keep you all updated on it, and would also love feedback about other rooms. The living room is kind of a blank slate and I don’t want to use my current living room furniture, so I would especially love help with that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that room except the one above of my kids laying on a carpeted floor. But I will be back asking for more help soon, I am sure!

Congratulations on your new house! Expanding the garage is an expensive proposition. Do you have the budget for something like that? The first thing I would do is remove the shutters-they're too small and not suited to the style of the windows. Then I would add risers to the steps of the porch and stain the whole thing in a color that compliments the house. Add a tall planter on either side of the door for some color and interest. You could add small evergreen trees in them for the winter that can then be planted in the yard next spring. I don't see any house numbers so I would add some vertically to the left of the door. If there's electricity available, I would also add a light to the the left of the door. For a few hundred dollars, you can have the stump ground out. Adding a flagstone walkway from the garage to the front door is a nice idea. There are crack fillers that you can use to fill the cracks in the driveway, then you can power wash it and use a concrete stain to freshen it up. I would also paint the shakes on the garage gable in a color that matches the house. Don't forget to paint the downspouts in a color that matches the house as well! With winter coming, it's a great time to sit down and spend some time online learning about what plants you could add to your landscaping next spring and summer to enhance the curb appeal of the house. In the meantime, fall is a perfect time to throw some tulip and daffodil bulbs into the garden beds to provide some pretty spring color. Hope this helps!

You should paint the gutter downspouts to match the brick. With white window trim, it seems unnecessary to paint the white fascia and white horizontal gutter. If the well and septic tank are NOT being used, they'll only be a potential impediment to your digging not a prohibition of it. If you run into an unused well or septic tank pipe, you can simply cut through it. Electrical wires would be a different issue. Rather than a "patio" against the house, you might well be better served to create a front porch all across that "area under question" between the two front wings of the home -- a porch that you can use by exiting via the front door rather than adding a new forward facing door. Even if you stay with the patio idea rather than creating a wide front porch, resist the temptation to add a second forward facing front door to your home. If you create a patio beside your front porch, make it larger than the "area" of loose dirt and don't limit it to a rectangle against the home. A larger window in the dining room might, however, be worthwhile -- perhaps even a different kind of window if you want to create a pass thru to your porch or patio. Remove the loose soil -- what appears to be rich planting soil -- from that "area" (to be repurposed for either filling in a low place or to be used in a raised flower bed elsewhere). You want to have hard ground and stable rock beneath your new porch or patio. For a porch, if you choose a treated deck board floor, you'll need to have the ground beneath it sloped away from the house. If you choose a concrete porch floor -- which which will last longer, be easier to maintain (and, therefore, be more economical long term -- that removed soil will most likely be replaced with gravel before any concrete floor is poured (rather than pouring a thicker slab of concrete). A concrete floor porch will require a footing and foundation across the front and, if it extends beyond the two wings of the house, on the sides as well. Any removed loose topsoil will likely be replaced with gravel before the concrete is (rather than pouring an unnecessarily thicker concrete pad). You'll want any porch or deck or patio to be not less than six feet deep. That depth surface will enable you to set chairs on it and still walk by them the full length of it. For a porch roof, you could raise the front half of your roof between the two front wings of the home to cover the area of the new porch. https://rgbconstructionservices.com/hip-roof-vs-gable-roof-best-home/  Another option would be to create a concrete porch floor between the two front wings of the home that extends to a point even with the front edge of the front wall of the home -- but ONE step down from your existing stoop floor -- to use as a part of an uncovered patio now but that might be covered for use as a porch later. You could then create a third patio level with a sidewalk (that is at or closer to existing sidewalk level) to be used as your permanent patio, with that sidewalk leading lead away from the front entrance toward the left side of the yard (away from the driveway side of the yard). You could face the front edge and sides of both the existing front stoop and the new future front porch with stone (or brick) https://www.google.com/search?q=Front+yard+patio+by+porch&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkkPaJkovlAhVBSN8KHeQNAQwQ_AUIESgB&biw=1328&bih=617#imgrc=EZ5cIofdfse1pM:&spf=1570485418994 and then use that same material to begin to create your actual FRONT YARD patio. https://www.houselogic.com/photos/yard-patio/front-yard-patio-ideas/slide/patio-as-focal-point/

Curious as to what you ended up doing if you happen to see this comment. I am in the same situation except my door is in front and I’m not on a lake. I also have 1/2 of my house front entrance to huge garage that wont be moved. Thanks for answering if you see this and have time.