Anyone have good ideas? Pleeaase :)

I can’t tell if this is a good idea, but rather than building a tunnel to the cellar door in the middle of a porch, is it possible to move the kitchen and addition to a different part of the house? Sounds like a lot of money either way, but imho creating something that may always look odd is not worth it. Floor plan may help others provide better info. Good luck!

As someone with a home that was built in Virginia in 1906, I feel your pain! Is that a full height basement? It's hard to tell from the pic if that's a standard (80 inch) door.

I would worry that, as low as the ceiling would be (your ledger is right above the door) that hallway would feel really claustrophobic. It's also worth exploring what your city or county mandates for access. With the addition, where are the electric meter and weatherhead getting moved to?

Also is that the only basement access? Is that a window behind the satellite dish? If it were my house, the idea of blocking up that door opening and creating the basement access somewhere else would be very much in play.

I have the same set up at the back of my house too. I agree the tunnel idea isn’t that functional and would feel creepy claustrophobic too. I like Susie’s idea of moving the basement access door to the foundation of the addition. This might be more that you planned to spend though. Can the screened in porch come off the kitchen addition vs the house? That way the current basement access is not affected.

What about the basement window around the corner of the house (by the satellite dish)? Could this be converted to a basement entry?

Yes, I would just abandon using this basement doorway and figure out some other way. This isn't the only entrance to the basement is it? You have a stairway into it from inside the house?

If you have access in the house I would just close this up i. If not then you will need to either change the opening or redo the design for the kitchen somewhere else

Wow thanks all! To answer some questions; The basement is 7ft ceiling and is going to be partially finished. We can’t add the porch off the kitchen (end to end). The door to the basement is the only outdoor access. There are two windows, one visible next to door and one where the (former) satellite dish was located. We did discuss moving the door around the corner as a possible option. Based on the convo here, it sounds like that might be best. I didn’t even think of extending the basement under the porch Great idea! More $ but if we’re already tackling new foundation for the kitchen, that would be the time to do it.