Thanks Dar Eckert, The porch is 7 1/2 " thick (at least what shows from sides) and is sitting on top of 2 rows of cement blocks. The porch is not cracked anywhere, and was scored front to back in 2 places making 3 sections. It seems the porch to the right of the front door is settling
and causing some of the rows of bricks to separate from their mortar. Have been looking at a number of different colors. One being Sherwin Williams" Creamy" which is close to Benjamin Moore " Stoneware". I read somewhere online not to break up the front of a ranch house by using a different color on one section. ( like the porch?). The caulk I used on the bricks is flexible ( made for masonry) and was used to fill gaps in the brick in 2008. It stretches up to a point and is tearing loose in places now as the bricks gaps increase.

I would remove the brick. It should come down fairly easily. Consider a darker color for the gable -- same color as the body, just darker.

You might use a different siding where the brick was too. Maybe match the gable?

Thanks ppf.

Thanks, Jeffrey Brooks Interior Design, for your input. What about the 15" board under the roof overhang, and the gutters and boards behind them? Any other trim that you would paint that darker color? Also your thoughts on the brick?

We were thinking of these colors from Benjamin Moore Stoneware for main body, greenwich Gate for trim, and Burnt Ember for the door. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/stoneware#ce_s=stoneware

Here is a house from Benjamin Moore's website with those colors on it.
http://ds.benjaminmoore.com/RenderService.svc/BuildImage/342e6159-9c49-49b6-af49-c674e62baf42/1408/fit/594/438/168578-pa3292-168579-pa3280-168580-pa3270?v=1

I think darker is nicer if you're keeping the brick, to pull the parts together a bit...

Thanks acm, Leaning towards removing brick as it was a sloppy job done by a previous owner, or painting it maybe same color as the rest of the house. That would "pull the parts together" I guess. It definitely looks funky the way it is now with the light color and the orangish red brick stuck in the middle.

This reddish house is on our left and the pale gray blue & stone one is on our right. I know we need to consider that when choosing our paint colors.

I like that the brick provides a focal point for the entrance. However if it is painted to match the rest, you will loose that. Then you will need to bring interest to the front door with paint.

Dar Eckert, do you think painting the door will be enough, or will the house just be too blah without the natural brick?

Love this! Beachcomber Benny Moore

Our house.

Melissa, are you referring to the brown paint at left of the brick?

Yes

That style of house needs stonework or brick...it will be boring without something

Melissa, I see the color here at: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/beachcomber#ce_s=Beachcomber Maybe the second group of coordinating colors below it, using the light " Cottonball" as main color, the dark brown down sides of brick and porch posts, perhaps around window frames, and under eaves as suggested by Jeffrey Brooks. Then the 3rd color somewhere?

morning, am interested in buyin your house, which state and area are you

Sage?

house in mention, need to c the brick closer before comment

Wilson, I took a couple pics with my phone of the bricks but not showing up when I send it to my e-mail for some reason. Will keep trying. We live in S.W. Ohio.

Thanks, delyanks. Sage is a possibility. Not sure about green in between the neighbors houses , whose pics I posted above.

OK. Got the brick pictures here. On right side of front door. Notice the one large horizontal crack. There are other cracks at top of wall (left of the top left corner of the window, and to the left of the porch light) that were that big and I caulked them with masonry patching caulk in 2008. Those cracks are stretching the caulk thin and is getting holes in it so have to fix that again.

Here are pics of brick on left side of front door. Notice the wide variation in quality of the job.
Not bad in places, (see top of closeup) then really bad (bottom of closeup). If you don't pay attention to it., some people would not notice. But once you do, it drives you nuts. Me anyway. But like I said, we will be selling soon, so maybe just patch the cracks again, paint it with a color that goes well with it, and let the next owner do what he wants with it?

ok much better, brick work was not done properly remove brick and have it re-brick by a pro. and then you don't need to paint the brick area.

let me know when you are selling the house ok.

This is why I thought maybe painting the brick and mortar one solid color it would make the sloppy brickwork less noticeable without the contrast between brick and mortar colors.

Yes, Wilson, the brickwork must have been done by a previous homeowner who thought it would be fun to see if he could build a brick wall. But like I said, perhaps whoever buys the house when we sell will want something different, so why spend the money to have it re-bricked? I don't know.

when do u plan to sell

Sometime in next 6 months. Not for sure. But why would you be interested in buying a house in Ohio if you live in Jamaica?

Anyway, back to the paint. The house does need painting. Besides just not looking good in it's current colors ( with or without the brick) the paint is going bad, peeling, etc. So needs painted before putting up for sale. I've looked at colors until I'm "blue in the face". Going crazy.............

Thanks to all for suggestions so far. Will be thinking about them along with any more ideas that come along from you all.

ok I will be migrating there soon.

I love a yellow house with white trim and the brick will go perfectly!

Yes, Vickie, I think some yellow houses look very nice. This is one of the color visualizer houses I did using yellow. (not our house). I copied a photo of our front door and brick, and cut it out and taped it to the computer screen so it lined up perfectly between the 2 center
porch posts on this house. Then I had multiple houses in different colors and I could just scroll through the different ones and see them with our brick. Didn't think our orange brick looked very good with this particular color of yellow. But as I said above, the brick has structural issues and is a very sloppy job done probably by a previous owner, so may tear it off or paint both brick and mortar a solid color to help conceal the unevennness of the bricks.
I could replace the board and batten wood siding under the bricks which has been removed.
I know because I can shine a light back in one of the big cracks and see and measure back in behind the brick. But then, some thought that the house would be too blah and plain without brick or stone or something different under the porch. If we do replace with stone or brick it will have to be fabricated material that can be attached to the house and not supported by the porch, so we don't have more settling issues damaging the new stuff.

I think a dark gray will look nice with all white trim and and a brown color taken from the brick and leave the brick alone unless you can afford to have it redone by a professional. .

I would suggest a cool grey. It looks great next to brick, picks up some complimentary colors yet does not contrast too much to the brick, keeping it from standing out any more than necessary. I would have the brick inspected to make sure you don't have a liability on your hands when selling. If it is fine the way it is, just a bit sloppy, try to keep it so your costs stay down. Fresh paint can make the house look clean and new but "rustic". Paint the trim a contrasting light color. The crisp, sharp contrast is really eye catching from the street. Sandy Hook, Kendall Charcoal, Weimaraner, Silhouette, Dragons Breath, Ashley Grey...for example.

Ha! Joan McGregor and I must have ESP :-)

I will third on the grey after seeing the roof color online. I'd let the next homeowners fix the brick - give them a little discount if you need to. From what you say the brick is cosmetic, not structural. If you go with gray, I might paint the brick a light color to brighten the entrance and emphasize it. Two other things if you are trying to increase curb appeal and price, see what it would cost to get rid of the center light above the garage door and instead run wiring to either side of the garage door for some carriage house lantern lights. Adding some decorative touches to the garage door, like carriage door straps would also dress it up a bit since it is such a prominent feature on the front of your house. I'd even consider replacing it if it is in your budget and if your realtor thinks it would improve the exterior sufficiently to justify the expense.

Here's my 2 cents. I love the color scheme from the Benjamin Moore - render service that leemarm posted at the beginning of this feed. On your house, I'd keep the main part of the house a bright white as well as the dormer above the porch. Paint the brick the stoneware color as well as the 4 post and all the trim work (make sure you repair your brick again so that there is no sagging/cracking caulk. Add inexpensive shutters on both sides of the house (where it's currently painted white) and paint them the stoneware color. I'm thinking the front door should be painted the next shade deeper than the stoneware to make it stand out a bit. Alternatively, instead of white paint use a crisp pale yellow. Gray and yellow complement each other and are very popular but not too trendy. Lastly, I'd remove that taller bush to the left of the front door as it seems to be throwing the balance off in the landscaping and post the numerical address on one of the front center post. Good luck!

Hmmm... fun project :) . I would get a piece of your roof shingles and find colours from it... Let's go with a modern Cape Cod look. With driftwood there is usually a browny gray...so look for that colour for the body of your siding including your brick. I wouldn't bother filling in the brick... just paint it since the brick will give your house some texture and character. Your garage door looks large and I wouldn't emphasize it for I might go for a slightly lighter version of the body colour. Now that your shutters are down, your windows could use some beefing up and that you could do by framing them with inexpensive lumber...in maybe a 4 or 5 inch width then paint in the same colour as the garage door. You could take yet a lighter version and paint any other trim including your porch ceiling and pillars. I would put a simple wood railing on your porch between the 1st and second pillar as well as 3rd and 4th ones. As well, put in larger decorative lights on either side of your door which could get painted in red to make it pop. Don't forget to put your street number up so people can find your place. Add pops of colour with fall potted plants or branches in urns if it is already too cold. Make sure your lawn and garden is neat and trim. Best of luck....P.S. I Googled Cape Cod house plans images and found lots of looks that would work. This image was similar to what I was thinking... https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRjSnYx8vXWyAQIaIZxZsw1_AhZOWc0KFD6d3B5VAEOnylHAfre

Wow! Didn't check for a few days. What a surprise. Thanks Joan McG., MKB Design, jh77, emjfla, & editorial, for taking the time to give us your ideas. Much appreciated! Just reading these now at 6pm Thursday. Lots to think about here!

MKB Design, what brand of paint are the colors you suggested?

The paint colours listed by MKB Design look like Benjamin Moore paint colours.

Yes they are all Benjamin Moore. Good luck!

Paint the brick to bring a cohesiveness to the house and cover up the bad quality masonry. I have used a pale grey, white trim and robin's egg blue door on three houses now and it always looks great and I get many positive comments on it. Spring for new door hardware, mailbox, light and doormat. Always go bigger on the front porch light. Wishing you the best.

I saw this house plan photo and thought of you. http://www.houseplans.com/plan/2500-square-feet-4-bedrooms-2-5-bathroom-craftsman-home-plans-2-garage-10735?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Blogpost+of+the+Week+for+Saturday+October+11+2014&utm_content=Blogpost+of+the+Week+for+Saturday+October+11+2014+CID_5a842badf436a873dfff76ee5116e83b&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor

If the porch has a settling issue, I would have it checked by an expert and have it corrected as necessary. If the brick otherwise is in good shape and can be repaired easily, I would keep it and paint it the same color as the siding. I notice there is a different panel with some siding on the end of the house, and I would recommend making the siding on the end the same. Then, I would suggest you add shutters that match the roof color on all the windows. When you are finished, the house will have a uniform design and will be neutral enough for the prospective buyers.

Try a color one shade lighter, or darker then the roof .