A full porch would eliminate light in your lower windows, which look fairly small. I would just widen the steps, add a portico over the front door to give dimension and provide protection from the weather, and improve your landscaping. You might also consider adding back the shutters that the home probably had originally.

Chester County Farmhouse · More Info

Would you actually sit on this porch? Something is screwy about your entrance. The steps look poorly proportioned, the dark outline around the opening is strange for this style of house, and the stamped steel door looks cheap in what is a very lovely front of a house. Do visitors actually come to the front door? A portico over a bluestone or similar entry would help a lot.

How about adding a portico to the front door, then just filling in the foundation landscaping on either side? Not sure a porch really fits with the facade of this house:

Architecture Walk: Exterior Styles and Palettes · More Info

Painted Room Exteriors · More Info

Not sure a porch really fits with the facade of this house

I had the same thought.

I love your house - oh my gosh, what a beauty. New landscaping, new steps ( that don't get narrower - !!!) and walk, a wooden front door, maybe with a simple roof over it. I'd consult with an architect who understands old houses.

I say that about the architect in regards to the type/dimensions of the roof and the scale of the steps. You could remuddle a perfectly elegant old house. P S. Please move the hose off the front.

To my eye there is something not quite right about about the black window headers and window sills. Maybe add black shutters?

To those of you questioning the black trim-the house is a classic brick with limestone lintels and window sills. The red brick has been painted white and the stone has been painted black. That’s what makes it look off. Years ago our kitchen addition of native red brick was painted white and there is nothing I can do to restore the brick, so I just grin and bear it.

It would depend, porch vs steps, if the view from the porch and the road that is out front is something you would want to sit out front and enjoy. Is this $ for exterior better applied to rear yard porch(s).

Good landscaping desperately needed.

It is amazing what a porch addition can do for curb appeal!! Looking at your home I envision a portico over the door but not a full porch. There are fabulous programs to create mock ups of your own home out there, perhaps someone here will come along so we can "see" before you buy! I wish EVERYONE contemplating paint on brick would hear you!! DON'T DO IT!!!

It's so good to hear of old homes being maintained and lived in and loved. Are you working with an architect, do you have historical pictures of your home? We tend to forget that people have been adding, deleting, changing their homes for many years.

Your home is simple and classic, so I think you could easily add a simple, classic porch or portico and it would work okay. Be very careful to not "remuddle"!

Here is a link to a historic home that looks a bit like yours. The current (not original) porch is flat topped and actually cut off the top of the doorway arch. But it's been like that so many decades, people are used to it. The new owners are working to restore the house, inside and out. Jacob Lincoln homestead

edited to add: the link above has an option to take you to their facebook page. Looking at the fb just now, they have videos of them restoring the back porch to its original height. It might be of interest to you :-)

What a beautiful house. Another vote for a portico -- white, not black -- with remodelled stairs. And have fun with the landscaping.

Tree should be inspected by certified arborist to see if it needs to be cabled.

Thanks to everyone for your input! It is truly appreciated and helps our direction. You have confirmed my 'gut' feeling that a porch is not the right way to go. Our most used entrance is actually a side entrance (porch and portico already constructed). Most of our guests use the side entrance as well so providing shelter from the elements isn't really necessary.

Shutter Discussion: Did this home ever had shutters? I don't know...it's hard to tell since the brick was painted (and likely patched) many years before we bought the house. It is not a true Colonial in the sense of being symmetrical. Should we paint the sills and lintels white to match house paint? It is likely 200 years old in the SW part of Ohio. The walls of the oldest parts of the house are literally three bricks thick. It has had several additions to the back of the house (not pictured).

@Remodeling1840: Thanks for the tip! We will continue to look for similar old houses for inspiration. You are also correct about the paint. The brick is painted (not by us, but I actually like painted brick) and the black trim is on stone sills and lintels. The sills/lintels were a colonial blue color when we purchased the house. I never thought about painting them white to match brick....would that be more appropriate? On the stone door lintel as well? Opinion on shutters?

@Nickel_kg: Thanks for the link! We checked with our historical society, but they only have old maps of the area. We obtained some photos from older people who were children when their grandparents lived here...The house was simple and classic even then.

@Seabornman: Agreed! The door is changing. We have a pic of the original and will try to get a close match for door, sidelights, and transom.

That's wonderful to have old pictures of your house -- and great to feel connected to it. About the colors. I'd keep some contrast between the lintels and the brick, so that you don't loose the impact of that feature. Think of the amount of contrast between red brick and limestone lintels, so a medium gray instead of black or blue? I'll await remodeling1840's response too, out of curiousity :-)

Your house is beautiful and I love its historic charm! I agree that it seems like it "needs something". I have seen some homes of that era add fresh shutters and window boxes with flowers, and it elevates the whole property. That may be a simple way that you can jazz up the front your beautiful home. I think a portico would also be a good addition.

Here’s an update on this discussion. Thank you all for your input – it was helpful!
After visiting with our historical center, talking to the expert there, looking at old drawings/photos of homes in the area, I realized the original owners/builders simply built their homes to make them function as they needed. This wiped out my hesitation about a front porch.
We kept leaning towards the front porch, but we couldn’t decide on a roof line that would fit our house. In 2023, one trunk of that large tree came crashing down on the driveway. Once we had the entire tree removed, all the possibilities opened up. My husband found a house very similar to ours about 20 minutes away - with a covered front porch that had a flat roof. We knocked on the door and talked to the owner. He allowed us to take photos and told us some of the history. Based on those photos, we had plans drawn up by an architect friend, and passed those along to our construction team.
We absolutely love the end result and have no reservations about going this route. We also painted the seals and lentils of the windows to match the house paint color.
In spring of 2024, I met with a designer to landscape the front and sides of the house. The front beds are filled with a variety of hydrangeas, lavender, German Iris, creeping red thyme, sea thrift, and a variety of other plants on the sides of the house.
This pic is from 2025 as the plants were still getting established, they are growing in bigger and fuller this year (2026), and produce color in spring summer, and fall. We absolutely love it!

Here’s an update on this discussion. Thank you all for your input – it was helpful!
After visiting with our historical center, talking to the expert there, looking at old drawings/photos of homes in the area, I realized the original owners/builders simply built their homes to make them function as they needed. This wiped out my hesitation about a front porch.
We kept leaning towards the front porch, but we couldn’t decide on a roof line that would fit our house. In 2023, one trunk of that large tree came crashing down on the driveway. Once we had the entire tree removed, all the possibilities opened up. My husband found a house very similar to ours about 20 minutes away - with a covered front porch that had a flat roof. We knocked on the door and talked to the owner. He allowed us to take photos and told us some of the history. Based on those photos, we had plans drawn up by an architect friend, and passed those along to our construction team.
We absolutely love the end result and have no reservations about going this route. We also painted the seals and lentils of the windows to match the house paint color.
In spring of 2024, I met with a designer to landscape the front and sides of the house. The front beds are filled with a variety of hydrangeas, lavender, German Iris, creeping red thyme, sea thrift, and a variety of other plants on the sides of the house.
This pic is from 2025 as the plants were still getting established, they are growing in bigger and fuller this year (2026), and produce color in spring summer, and fall. We absolutely love it!
We also had a ProVia door designed based off the photographs that depicted the original door. ❤️

Thank you for the update. Your renovated home looks fabulous!!!

I just read through your thread. What a beautiful, well designed and perfectly proportioned addition your new front porch is! The new front door and landscaping only serves to enhance it. Well done!

Beautiful. Like I said it's amazing what a front porch does to a home!!!

Masterful job! And I would be so relieved that double trunk tree is gone.

It looks beautiful -- well done!

Thank you for sharing your story all the way through to the lovely ending. Porch looks like it was meant to be there.

HTS, that looks perfect-as if it were always there. I hope you have many many years of enjoyment sitting on your porch. The new door is wonderful, too.