I believe you are having trouble because you feel it does not belong there.

a. You don't want to be against the house, you and your guest will prefer having coffee and a chat on the outside of the walkway.

As for size and location, Mock it up, by the wall, with a shallow planter above, by the post light with the coffee pot plugged in. Place the furniture and a few large pots of colorful and fragrant seasonal plants in different areas, along with coffee and neighbors, until you get it right. What is the rush when you are seeking perfection.

b. In the tiny beds between the window wells, plant evergreen ground covers and bulbs of all seasons, and keep the beautiful lawn you have carefully developed by the house. The neighbor's dog will love to lay there while you have coffee.

c. Where the walk smacks into the front door, you could enlarge the pavement so a family does not have to stand in line at the door. Put a broadleaved evergreen at each side to soften where the brick meets the porch, something like rhododendron, mountain laurel, mahonia, - texture is what you want, and year-round interest to greet the visitor.

d. And how about some large pots of plants under your house numbers, perhaps some herbs right outside your kitchen door. Perhaps a small bench under the window so the kids can take of the boots and messy footwear before entering the kitchen.

e. Take a moment to consider the view when leaving your entry porch. Is it of your neighbor's yard? Why not filter that view with a few small trees. Keep any bed a distance from the drive, so that someone can exit the car on the right onto grass, not a bed of mulch.

Enjoy, your problems are solved. Shall we take a look out back now?

I I would add a nice little Pergola a white one take out your sidewalk and the area to your windows and put pavers there and have your pavers curve around to meet your driveway that will be your walkway. do your flower garden in front of your pergola curb to meet your driveway . that would be a beautiful curve appeal but make sure you put in the right flowers and then put in lights and have them curve around also with in your flower bed to your driveway .And also paint your front door nice little bright color.

as far as your flower garden that you have in front of your big window to the left of your house bring it right on around to your little brick wall Curve on around towards the light pole and driveway and make that all flower bed .and add rounded boxwoods to front of big window about 5-7 ( odd number ) or some hostess the very gated the light green with white trim from the wall on around to light pole and next to the walk add sweet alyssum's flowers purple and white. and add a Fountain grass ( dwarf fountain grass ) in front of your brick wall. out Buy your light pole put a (A purple clematis ) add spot light (Solar ) light that shines at night under your light pole so that it shines on your clematis ,then put lights around your walkway by the sweet alyssum in the fountain grass and then put one spotlight over to the left of your house over by that little tree I don't know what kind it is .So you have one spot on your tree ,little lights on your walkway that would look nice and also when you're sitting out on your porch you'll get that nice sweet smell of the sweet alyssum as you're out there setting or walk up to your porch.

You might opt for an arbor or flat roofed porch in that front corner at the door and add paving stones between the house and to that short wall and around to the other door, then find a comfortable free standing porch swing .

i need a plan of this house

Remove the concrete walk and place pavers from the house to the left side of the front door. Place a pot in the corner to the right of the door, on top of the low pony wall and at the corner adjacent to the driveway. Place a bench up against the two windows facing the street. The color of the pavers should blend with the house bricks not contrast.

I think it's a bad place for sitting, maybe even terribly hot in a protected brick-clad spot. Put in a nice little garden next to the house, and make your sitting area in the area to the left of the walkway/near or in front of the small half wall.

Terrific opportunity to enhance your home and make it look entirely new. Consider engaging an architect to help you look at "face lift" options that are quite affordable that would help you integrate the covered area you desire. You want it to integrate - work with both the canvas and the paint - consider evolving the house at the same time. Have images in my mind of several variations - just don't know your style preferences - more important that the solution is "yours".

I totally agree with medusa, not a good place to put seating--no one will ever sit there. You need that green space to soften the look of the concrete and the brick. Add shrubs to the mulch similar to what has been done on the left side of the house (in the front). What are those half circles?

I agree that the location does look uncomfortable for a patio. Front yard patios are an excellent idea when they are planned with a few principles in mind:

>Make the path to the front door clear. About 5' is needed for two people to walk together toward your home. Do something to define which door is the front door. (I'd be willing to bet that 5-10% of your visitors have some trouble figuring that out the first time they visit.)

>Use trees or shrubs to define your patio space. As it appears your yard is in the Eastern US I'd probably use deciduous trees and evergreen shrubs.

>Planting berms can subtly and effectively help to define that space, wherever you decide to place it. A local designer could probably help you to structure the space, or find an alternative with one consultation.

>While the material is very important, I'd pay as much or more attention to the shape of the space you want that patio to take.

budget is critical. Tear out the walkway. Extend the existing wall from the house almost to the driveway. Leave an opening for a new walkway that would curve to the driveway by the lamppost. Extend a paver wall from the double window side to the new wall. Do the area inside the walls in pavers.

You do not need to gate the opening, but you can put a raised cap on both sides to accentuate the opening. It would give a lot of interest to the front.

My thought is to take out the low wall if possible. You would then have enough room to put a sitting area against the house with perhaps a pergola over the ell. I would then incorporate one of the other suggestions and have a curving walkway come off the driveway and direct traffic closer to the front door. Right now the door next to the garage is the one that is seen from the curb. Maybe paint that door a lighter version of the brick to blend it out? Good luck, so many good options.

I would keep the low wall, and extend it in a semi-circle to expand the area around the sidewalk. This would set up some privacy and a boundary, to establish the area. Plant some small shrubs and perennials against the wall and the house, and put cement or brick, paving stones or smooth flagstone to enlarge the walkway area into a sitting area. Make room for a table with an umbrella, or bring an awning out from the house to the sidewalk. The planting area should be about 3' against the wall and the house. You do not want to abut the wall or house with hardscape due to the damage that can occur in winter with ice buildup between the surfaces. Be very careful to NOT plant shrubs or things that will out-grow the area. Put in a small tree, such as a hardy magnolia or a hornbeam near the wall, so that you will have some shade and some break between the wall and the road. This might be more than you planned, but it would really add to the curb appeal and the resale value, not to mention your enjoyment of the property.

I didn't have a lot of time or manpower to do a big patio, but needed one that was a big one. The system I came up with will work well for any size patio and look great. After I leveled the site, I used brick that matched the house to form manageable sized concrete forms. I did this by placing the bricks with the finished edge up (holes weren't showing on top) to create the pattern I wanted. I then hand prepped premixed concrete to fill in between the brick forms on my schedule. A little troweling and you have a patio that matches your home and is personalized with your design. (PS we all added our hand prints and the date as our personal touch).