Good picture!
That always helps so much.

How "enclosed" will they be?
The more they're enclosed the more potential for moisture/rot issues.

Faron

Thanks for commenting, Faron. At the least, I want to add kick boards to the back of each stair (like the top one) so that you cannot see under the stairs from the front of the house. On the left side, we could just add lattice, but I like the idea of being able to access that spot for some storage, so "a gate thingy" might be an addition there, which would close it off more. Typically our area is very dry, semi-desert, and the front of the house faces west and gets lots of wind. However, you see that our downspout and sump drain are right there at the left side of the porch. Our neighbourhood is built on top of an underground spring, I've learned, and there was a swamp in this area, so our sump runs all the time. That corner of the house can get very wet and I'm currently working on a plan to move the sump drain further away from the house and bury it in the lawn. That probably won't happen 'til June, though, because winter is coming here in Canada.

...Pam