I believe you MUST have a railing on a porch of that height. Building codes require railings, and you will be liable for injuries your insurance won't cover if you are out of code requirements. If you want it to feel open, without danger, you can put in narrow wrought iron or even glass panel railing... safety glass, of course.

Maybe all the window trim should have been left natural like on the bay? Or paint the trim black like the window itself to give it more weight. That's a big dropoff for no railing.

Cedar shutters might look nice. Why not tack one up and see what you think?

I love your house. The colors are amazing.

Nice house. Cedar is beautiful and a fantastic natural element for pleasant smell and against bugs. Next owner is probably gonna paint it SMH.