Personally, since you have the option to do so, I would definitely go with the full porch.

You’re on the right track with a nice full porch. A great addition to a plain front.

I see everything is okay .... full porch supported

Full porch; no decking materials though, if that is what you're referencing when you say "deck."

What’s not to love about a porch? Everyone wants a porch on their home! i would also vote for a single level porch & stoop = bigger porch. Another post is practical & adds a nice detail feature

Thank you all for the advice. I should clarify that what I am concerned with is covering up the vents and concrete. Has anyone done this? The concern is about trapping moisture and that the wood will rot over the concrete and the vents. We already decided to put large grates over the vent holes to help the heat and moisture escape. Yes, we would use either wood or a composite deck material with a picture frame border. We wouldn't need a rail system but would consider it to add interest to the front of the house. I'll see if I can get a decent photo of the house and add it later.

Full front porch would be great, but why wood? I would not use decking material in the front of the house. Why not stone (which you could also tie into the walkway). In any case, you can always extend the venting by running it under the porch where it would blow out in the front of whatever porch material you use.

I would extend both ducts to the outside rim of you new deck. If one is for a gas fired water heater it vents too close to the windows right now. If you are in a cold climate, insulate both ducts and enclose each joist space to prevent rodent damage. Building the deck over the concrete stoop isn’t a problem if you use treated or rot resistant lumber and the stoop is protected from frost heave (as needed for your location).

The position of the holes for your WH direct vent and dryer vent (which are bored through the rim joist) looks like it would interfere with the top surface of the existing stoop. And raising it with decking or pavers still looks awfully close for the PVC and hood for the dryer. And then you would need to continue the vents below a deck to the front fascia, or through the base infill of a paver porch to poke through it's kneewall (I don't think you can just let them discharge through a grate on the surface of a new porch floor, whatever height and material that winds up at).

So I can't envision how anything can be raised there next to the stoop, it probably needs to remain at grade. Here is a snapshot of some direct vent clearances:

My concern with extending the vents is that we live in southern Wisconsin where it can get dang cold. I imagine them filling up with frost/ice - insulated or not.

I'm not understanding the dislike of a real wood porch. Ideally I would use concrete but can't. The pavers are my second choice due to the cost and excavation around the house.

My concern with extending the vents is that we live in southern Wisconsin where it can get dang cold. I imagine them filling up with frost/ice - insulated or not.

Yes

I was given an idea (from houzz) to purchase metal grates to put over the vented area - dryer vent, hot water heater and seldom used basement bathroom.

But you don't want to dump hot, moist air under a wood deck, even with grates.

I was also offered the idea of putting patio pavers there and going over the existing concrete with the pavers. All would be same level but the patio would have to come off of the house approximately three inches so it would appear to be "floating." This would prevent moisture and debris from being trapped which could cause the sill to rot.

Doesn't look like that would work--if you intend to raise the grade of the gravel portion. Because it would (partially) block the vents.

So, it looks like about the only option is a two level patio/ porch. Higher stoop and pavers at grade for the remainder.