Charming home, really, but you're right, the windows are too small. Your home begs for very tall windows, the 6' kind. It's interesting as you don't even have brickwork beneath the windows. It's almost as if there were taller windows that were removed and filled in with siding)

Another architectural change I envision is having a full covered porch, with hefty columns, over the door and over everything to the left until the end of the house.

I'm new to Houzz and haven't figured out how to attach photos... I'll try.

To get pics from Houzz, hit the paper clip icon by Houzz photos, and hit control C to copy the link to the photo. Then go back to the discussion, put your cursor in the comments section (not the attach photo box) and hit control V to paste.

http://houzz.com/photos/3586706

Not sure if this works.

http://houzz.com/photos/5913411

And something like this.

Nice!

Mcbriec, thanks for directions on how to post; I really appreciate it!

You're speaking English, I know you are because I recognize the words, but when you string the words together that way, I have no idea what you're talking about :)!

I figured out a way to do it that works for the technologically challenged. I keep having to remind myself that everyone's brain is wired differently; mine keeps short-circuiting when I have to do computer stuff. BUT I refuse to give up trying! (My father-in-law happily embraced a cell phone gift for his 80 th birthday! That was 11 years ago! I forge ahead in my efforts to rewire my brain)

Thanks again.

Ok, just one more... I think you can see how your beautiful home is begging for something logical and elegant like this.

http://houzz.com/photos/2536808

Good luck!

Forestdr--I don't know that I would tear into the roof line, unless you anticipate making a substantial investment. Reggie's idea of a porch or a pediment at the entry makes sense, and it wouldn't be too involved to lower the sill height and install larger windows in the back of the house, verifying that you have enough room to replace the existing ones with windows that meet egress requirements. Happy Houzzing.

It seems that you could change the windows in the dormers on the back of the house to be the same size as the larger window on the lower floor there.
I think that whoever built your house wanted to make it have at least a "French Country" flavor, but maybe didn't want to spend the money to do it right.

IMO, the thing that really stands out is the fact that the dormers are out of balance with the rest of the house. Going by your photos, the dormers on the back really are windows to a room-some dormers are just decorative. So, if your dormers on the front are also "real" windows, it does beg the question as to why the person who designed this didn't do a better job of making the bottom windows, the dormers, and the front door all have a better symmetry than they have in relation to each other.
Like the DMH DESIGN guy said, this would be a big expense, and-like many of us-perhaps you just have to bite the bullet and live with the imperfection. If you ever could afford it, though, it would be nice to-if possible-move the dormer on the right far enough over that it is in balance with everything else, and then you would, of course, have to do a new roof(not sure if its possible to just patch it.)
Here's a nice photo of a French Country house, with balanced dormers-as well as a porch that I think seems to be what reggiesmall was recommending.

Another one with a porch, and some heavy timber brackets.