Here is another pic

Love your house! First I would Install shutters on each side of the lower windows, I would also add a gable over the front door to match the three above, and maybe enclose it and use it as a foyer entryway. Remove the two trees and transplant them, so your new windows can be seen. Add new bushes and flowering shrubs to cover up the cement base of the house. Cement squares can be used as a walkway. I hope this is helpful. Great house!

Thanks Patricia, I was afraid that was going to be the answer. The inside is small and the (possible) porch space is committed to laundry and sitting area. With the weather down here it was most likely enclosed some time ago.

Thanks craftlady. That was what I was thinking. What about door style?

I would add a wood or steel inside door, and a storm door that would have removable window / screen insert. There are many styles. craftlady

You could still add a covered porch in front something like the one pictured here.
http://houzz.com/photos/2948375

This home looks somewhat similar (except that yours appears to at one time have had a front porch which was later enclosed). The gabled porch and stairs are wider than your front stoop and stairs currently are, so the entry feels more generous, but does not extend the full width of the house.

Your dormers appear to be unevenly spaced. It looks like the center one might have been added later than the other two and for some reason placed off-center. That's a little distracting. It might be worth consulting an architect for a limited project to plan the entry (and perhaps even the placement of a tree in the front yard) in such a way that it serves to deemphasize the uneven spacing.

HI -- Hello fellow Canadian from Calgary . Your new house is charming . This house probably had a covered veranda back in the day . I think you could add something the same but more suited for your use today . Suncoastenclosures.com has lots of options . A three season room I think would be great for you .

No shutters, please. The windows are too large for them to be properly sized.

You could do a new and fairly narrow front porch all the way across.

I stole you a porch. Don't worry; I haven't been caught yet. You can keep it if you like.

Any open porch is going to be drifted in with snow in a Nova Scotia winter, and an upper deck would also be exposed to significant snow load and weight, so not a real practical option for this area. (congrats for surviving last winter BTW!) I would be inclined to follow the angle and extend the existing roofline from the former closed in porch and create a new sunporch with removable storm windows (with screens for the summer)

Extend across the entire front of the house or if any of those front windows re in a living area, you might want to stop the porch at that point to allow for more light in the living space. With a covered, enclosed porch you have a place for the dogs, boots, sleds, snow shovels etc that tend to pile up and don't really need to be inside. It won't be as expensive to build as interior space and the interior can be finished over time. It will also help to conserve heat and minimize drafts as people go in and out of the house.

Dianeinwa - thanks for your comments. An architect is out of the question as budget will not allow, but thanks for your suggestion of the little porch - I think that's where I'm headed.

MarleneM - It's a beautiful solution, but cost will be prohibitive.

Thanks everyone for your feedback - there are some great ideas! My feeling is there was some sort of porch here originally, but it was enclosed in to buffet the snow and storms off the coast. I noticed that when I bought the house, but decided to have my outdoor living space at the rear of the house where it's sheltered.
My contractor is asking me to select a new door/entry, so will keep all your recommendations in mind!