Who told you that you do not need the center posts? IMO that is a long span to be handled with one beam the size you have now so pos the plans for the new beccause IMO that beam will need to be much larger and if you live where it snows that is another issue to deal with.IMO any drop off a porch without railing is asking for a lawsuit so if you plan to have the planting beds level with the porch floor okay but any drop IMO is dangerous . Post the plan here in jepg in a comment DO NOT start another post . When you say ceoing of the porch do you mean just the inside ceiling or the whole roof of the porch. Waht change are you making to the windows and siding. At the end this change has to be for the better and be safe

Seems to me that is a super long span too, requiring at least four support posts.

One thing that jumps out at me is color - your posts are dark, contrasting sharply with the white house siding background. Also, the downspouts are white which contrast sharply with your dark posts. These contrasts are not attractive.

Visually, it needs the four posts.

How wide is the porch, and do you intend to use it? Without a railing, if there is any drop off at all, people will be very relucant to get near the edge. If you don't plan on using the porch, it's OK. If the porch is relatively wide so you can lose a few feet, it's OK.

I think you need some landscaping and some shutters

The porch posts are probably structural.

Inspiration

You need the porch posts to visually support the roof. I think it would look better with railings too…

Who are you HU-18758210 not the OP apparently I think you are constantly hijacking posts for what reason exactly

Thanks everyone for the input so far. To answer some questions.

My husband has phD in Engineering and construction. The span tables for LVLs show 5 1/2 by 11 3/4 LVL beam can span 30 ft for the 8 ft width of the porch and are appropriately sized for roof load, so we are good to remove the posts if we want to. We are redoing the inside ceiling, siding, replacing windows, ECT. Colors of siding and porch columns are still being decided on, although we were leaning toward large wood beams for the posts, no matter how many we do...as it kind of goes with a rustic farmhouse look- which we live in a few acres/small farm. Gutters will be copper or high velocity rain chain. The raised beds will be redesigned in order to make a tiered effect that will start in line with the edge of the porch and move outward. Everything will be done to code and with safety at the forefront.

My biggest question is ...is having a nice big wide open front porch not as attractive as having a porch with four posts?

Do you have a drawing you can post? You mentioned new windows, would the middle posts be in front of the windows if you had four posts? I think the window placements are more important than the posts, and visually, no railing is better. As long as you are up to code, no need to make it more betterer.

Ah. Hubby ought to know, right?

But it would LOOK funny with only two, I think. Can somebody mock that up?

@patriciacolwellconsulting.

WHAT?
How dare you shut me down like that! I’m not hijacking anyone. I’m trying to help.
You really hurt me by saying that. 😢

So much drama, sigh.

If your only concern is visual, keep the posts and add railings on each side.

If I were visiting and you invited me to sit on the porch, I might be uncomfortable. Most porches have more than a post on either end and we feel “ safe” with what is common. I understand you don’t need four, but our brains have been trained to expect more than two.