House Photo (picture actually did not post, linked is the google image of the house)

We're currently starting plans on renovating our house and one of the things that have stumped me is how to adequately design a deck/porch around our "front door". We call it the front door even though there are two entrances to the house on the long sides of the house (no door facing the street, which is the "short" side of the house). We're picking the one in the photo with the larger deck (hopefully the photo shows up) because it opens into the living area while the other "back door" one opens up into the kitchen. The "front door" has a larger deck we use for entertaining family and friends and we would like to keep that function while creating an aesthetically pleasing "entry" to our home.

I like the idea of a traditional porch scheme (craftsman homes are my favorite), mainly straight angles for style, but I'm not sure that will be able to incorporate entertaining (we bbq with the family a lot). We want to also have the deck/porch wrap around to the backyard and go down to the ground level for a flow of entertaining. Another reason we are choosing the larger deck side is because there is more open space/yard space between us and any neighbors, an issue with the "back" of the house.

The "back door" is not an option for cookouts because the back side has very little yard space and is right next to the neighbor's house. I equate it to the "back alley" with how tight the space is and how it's literally right next to their driveway.

Another design issue is that the basement is a walk-out and the door is directly under the current deck and a bedroom is also located on that level with a standard size (not basement rectangle) window next to the current deck and we're concerned about putting the deck over it since the ground slopes up just under the window which would create a crawl space like area if we extend the deck out that way.