Fun to look at... thanks for posting There was an interior front door pic too and just today that thought crossed my mind for my foyer. That pic nailed it. I'm on it!!

Perhaps a shade just slightly darker than your putty colored siding? Or even your putty color it you want it to blend it. I think I would do it just a shade or two darker though to make it stand out but not compete with the front door.

All the same color because it's essentially one in the same element. In other words, you can have a door with no side lights but you can't have side lights without a door. That's why it doesn't make sense to paint the side lights a different color from the door.

Is that real brick? It almost looks like some kind of panel made to resemble brick. If it is real, often they just did a thin veneer of brick on only a portion of the house to save money (as if we'll never see the house from the sides? what were they thinking?) Either way they can be removed/ replaced with more harmonious / congruous siding.... whenever it comes time to paint, not right now. If you do a pergola or new porch, keep it simple and in harmony with modest post WW2 1950s style. Your house is not the early 1900s or craftsman-esque style pictured above, and houses start looking like frankenstein houses when they have too many styles from different eras cobbled together. You should find that a lot of contemporary style will mesh quite nicely with your house - since it draws so heavily from that era. The conventional wisdom is to live in the house for a year before doing anything irreversible, but I dont that applies to tacked-on temporary things like awnings and such. Have fun!