These are additional pictures of the front of the house over the years.

Thanks for the comments Patricia. I also like this idea but I fear a deck will cover the water main (in case it bursts) and access to read the gas meter. My husband also doesn't like the idea of anyone able to walk in front of the living room window. A new gable entrance is a must so that a person is protected from the rain or the bright morning sun. The landing is 6 steps from the ground so maybe it could come down in levels. The house is in Vancouver so we have access to great stonework which is also a nice idea to incorporate into the steps. I've attached a couple of pictures . Thoughts anyone?

I love the cottage look of your home. Your ideas for the front door and stone steps are perfect.
I would replace your sidewalk with the same stone material you used near your curb. Teri

Here's a couple more.

I think most of the pics are too much for your small house it will start looking like you are trying to make it something it is not. I love the cottagey feel so I would play with that.

There are many issues with having photos of houses that are not the same style as your home. Among them, the challenge of imaging how things will look on your home - you are left wondering how to get the proportions right and so on. Also keep in mind that duplicating something from another house can appear stuck-on and out of place on your home.

The solution may be less involved than you think. Because your home has good bones already, several things can be done without adding lots of “stuff” . . . and the less you add will help keep costs down.

If you want advice from an experienced designer check us out. We have been designing homes over 22 years, and we don’t leave much to the imagination either. How is that, you might wonder? Well, we can show you just how your house could look by retouching photos of your actual house! See the links below to see what I mean.

Your project looks interesting. It is one I am interested in making suggestion for but I don’t want to waste time going a direction you may not like. I prefer to run through a short list of questions first. So, check us out, look at what we have done, and give me a call. I’d be happy to discuss it. The contact info is on the contact page of the Wyatt website.

http://www.wyatthouseplans.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/seeing-is-believing-article-published-remodeling-magazine-c.pdf
http://www.wyatthouseplans.com/how-wyatt-is-different/
http://www.wyatthouseplans.com/the-providence-so-07005/

By the way, there are THREE LINKS in my previous post. For some reason, they blended together.

It is a darling home. Love the transom windows. You may want to consider curved wood brackets to hold up your entry gable, paint the front door a charming color, and consider only curving the entry stairs into half round so everyone can just sit on the stairs themselves . . much more proportional than adding a lot . you can face them with slate or other stone . . .[houzz=] Love the green gray of your stucco / render but might suggest a paler tone of that on the shingles now that they have darkened up - i wouldn't prime out the grain but just wash them with paint so the grain still reads through. An eggplant front door would be fantastic.

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I agree that the entrance can not be too elaborate for the style and size of the house. The examples that I gave were on a much grandeur scale but I was hoping to scale them back for my home. This place has a lot of little projects - both inside and out. I need to budget wisely and figure out where to spend the money. I just built a studio and a garage in the back that needs new landscaping and patio designing. Those pics will be out in a separate post. A local company just quoted me $15,000 for new stone steps! Have prices gone up that much since I left the country?

You might be interested in another "design dilemma" we've recently posted on. To stay on top of what's happening, just Follow us by clicking the "Follow" link on our main Houzz Page.

Find the "FOLLOW" tab here: http://www.houzz.com/pro/wyatthouseplans/__public

And the recent "dilemma" here:
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/masterbath-closet-floor-plan-dsvw-vd~1045239