Low triangular rock wall courtyard- up the rock steps and front door is back into the recessed area left of the small kitchen window. Dark, damp and buggy. We never use the front door but go through the garage instead

We would need a floor plan with all dimensions to even think of the moving aspect of the entry. How about a pic of the from the of the house from the street so we can see the entire home. But quick glance (as we cannot really see much) is the entry door itself is ok, the balance makes it look very uninviting. "Porch", sidewalk, landcaping all need to attention. You will get better advice with better pictures. Is this going to be DIY? Budget?

I need much betterpics on a sunny day.From further back se we can see the entry . You can start by cleaning up the yard and bringing guests to the front door with a nice walkway and landscaping . The interior needs to have no black door in such a narrow space no victorain front door and all one kind of floor there too.Some good outdoor lighting and please tell me that is not a real spider.

Shadow of a spider :). Tried going through all of my pics. We are on 1.5 acres so not really a street view. And you absolutely cannot see the front door until you go up the steps it is set so far back.

I am open to the smallest of changes to complete rework. To the right of the garage is a four seasons room which I contemplated making my front door.

Since the entry is so obscured as to be nonvisible I will suggest building a new structure at the intersection of the two wings. It could be a vestibule/foyer that would visually signify "entry". Will suggest off hand that it pop up above the adjacent roofs. Otherwise, it might just blend in with the two wings. Good luck!

That was along the lines I was thinking!

Stevetheridge has the right idea.

You can also start thinking of the triangular area as a private courtyard where you can display lots of flowers in big pots. Add seasonal display of pumpkins, holiday lighting, tulips and daffodils, summer petunias or impatiens.

I suggest having the rock trim and sidewalks professionally pressure washed with care to avoid damaging the blue siding. The rock may lighten up considerably.

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By the way, if you redo the triangular entry, the rocks can be saved for reuse elsewhere, perhaps in building additional low walls for planting areas.

Can you start a pathway to the front door from the driveway? That can direct people to it.

Pruning off the lower limbs of that tree might help with dark, damp and buggy.

What are your needs/desires for entry? You currently use the garage. You are open to reworking the front door or vamping up the screen porth. I assume you might not use the garage door year round and would like to use one of the other doors for entry. How do you utilize the interior of the house?

Would you use the front door entry if it was reworked? Looks like the hall leads into your kitchen. You likely could build in a screen porch there and improve the walkway. I'm guessing the door in the garage leads to the other side of the kitchen somewhere. In the entry hall itself, is it wide enough for coats/shoes? Is that door there a closet or leading to a basement?

Where does that screen porch lead to inside? Is it a room you are OK with being used year round, with snow and all? It too could see a walkway improvement.

The garage remains open year round which I don’t like at all. We go from garage to kitchen. Living room is past that. Sunroom is heat and cooled. It is an extra living/family room. Current front door has long dark exterior hall- with another long narrow hall on the inside going to the kitchen/living room by turning right. Probably too narrow for anything like a bench- etc. The door at the right coming in is a small coat closet. Potentially could make that hallway wall on the right a pony wall as there is an unnecessary built in desk and cabinets on the other side of it. The sunroom has double doors to the living room. So they are next to each other.

Now that I think about it just simply moving the front door forward to the edge of the steps/porch might be the least expensive albeit not as appealing as a vestibule

Why is the garage open all year? Need a new garage door?

That’s how everyone gets into the house. Closed at night

What rooms are on either side of the front door? Could you do away with one wall thus opening up the area?

yes, I think I could remove most of the wall on the right, so that you just take a few steps into the house, and then opens to living room. such a 70's house :)

Do you use the closet to the right of the door?

Not really

I like Doug’s idea!

You could create a narrow screened-in porch (with a screen door facing the street/ front) along the left side of the garage, with a low-pitched roof line that connects to the garage roof. If you do it well it could add some character to the front of your house, make it clear where the entry is, and solve your bug problem. This porch would connect to your existing front door area, but ultimately you’ll have to decide what you need from your entry hall and/or how much floor plan reconfiguring you are willing to do to make the interior more functional and welcoming, which you should decide before building other stuff. I’ve attached a very primitive ‘thumb-on-iPhone’ drawing to attempt to give an idea of the above, but not sure I succeeded with that 😂.

Also: I like Doug’s design- it really leans into the 70s vibe and improves the overall existing aesthetic.

And.....a good exterminator!

A simplistic solution in this photo, but point is connect the front door with a distinct walkway. Add some lighting.

My husband pointed out that the kitchen window is right in the place that I would move the front door forward....ugh....he doesn't want to lose the window...

Are you talking about that tiny window in the recessed porch area? If you did enclose that recessed porch (which I think is what you were proposing to do?), you could put a glass exterior door/ storm door combo with sidelights in the new exterior wall (that would be flush to your garage wall). Then, if you went with your idea of a half wall opening up to the kitchen area from this new entry area (if I’m understanding correctly), you could install bench storage on the entry side of the half wall. With the new windowed door area + half wall, am guessing you would bring WAY more light and ventilation into your kitchen area than that dingy window in a dark corner of the porch….

That is what I think!! and I think I might add the shutters to the little bedroom window up front as well...

Is there any way you can post a floor plan of your house (and if you don’t have a formal floor plan, a quick sketch of the layout, or more interior photos with descriptions of where things are in relation to each other)? Your house seems to have a somewhat unusual layout so is hard to envision/ give advice.

It would be useful to find out which are the load bearing walls from a structural engineer's consultation visit.

Solatubes can light up dark hallways and kitchens.