We have redesigned how we would be entering the house; instead of walking up several steps to enter, the door would now be at "street" level. Once inside you'd walk a few steps up to the living/dining space, or down a few steps to the basement. This would allow for a mud-room of sorts downstairs (which would only be a few steps away), plus remove the need to climb outside stairs, which are sometimes icy, often wet, before entering the house.
When envisioning how we would utilize our new entrance, we quickly realized we'd need space to sit and remove boots, unload groceries from the bike or car, and sufficient space for a guest to remove a wet raincoat without walking through the drippings.
Mike, our guy at
a+LiNK architecture inc., worked with us through various iterations until we landed on a modification which by adding only a couple of feet to the length of the new space, would beautifully satisfy our needs.