I would not paint the brick but find a complimentary paint color to your existing brick. If you paint your brick, I understand from reading what experts say that you will have to repaint it about every 4 years. You could also try and find a paint that matches your brick as much as possible since you love the look of a house being painted all one color, except the trim.

Your Colonial Garrison home would benefit from a portico, but the door not being centered with a set of upstairs windows to flank it, makes it tricky. One of these styles could work. For a new look to the brick, consider German Schmear (or smear) technique.

German Schmear before and after

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Entry Walkway and Portico · More Info

Do not paint the brick it will give you an eternity of grief. I would beeff up the entry with a portico and paint the house a nice gray/ green remove the shutters and add molding around all the windows to match the trim around the window on the right . And a pagoda red door with black planters filled with bright flowers and maybe a new finish on the floor of the entry like black slate

I love these Houzz home photos for their color choices to enhance the brick. The garage doors take a back seat too.

Oh, change the downspout/gutter that runs down to your garden to a darker shade to blend in with the brick.

Photo 1, Benjamin Moore Sparrow for the siding and White Dove for the trim.

The 2nd photo is Benjamin Moore Copley Gray and Elephant Tusk for the trim. Notice their brown roof, no brick, but love the look.

3rd photo, Sherwin Williams Virtual Taupe and SW Patience for the trim. Love how subtle the shutters look, the house has a lot of detail, I think this works.

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Silver OBIE Award Winner: Buckhead Custom Home · More Info

Is the entire ground floor brick...or just the front facade? If the brick is only on the front, you have choices.

You can whitewash (straight up or add tint, cost is minimal but will need several coats DIY), OR you can paint it (cost is minimal, might require occasional repainting), OR german schmear (cost is high moderate and must be applied by experienced mason).

If it's brick all around, don't paint it.

Really nice home.

Paint brick? Definitely not -- you'd likely very much regret it -- unless you want to need repaint every several years to keep it looking acceptable..

A front porch or at least a front stoop the width and depth of that concrete pad you already have (1st pic) would increase curb appeal and, as a shield against the rain as you unlock the door, would be a practical and worthwhile expense if you ever use that door.

http://c0263062.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/content/images/sized/front-yard-patio-ideas-visual-sameness_086e0058d8297bf2ae78c70aebe1197f_3x2_jpg_570x380_q85.jpg

I don't know about the maintenance, but I would definitely paint the brick. I love painted brick and I think the variety of colors on the front of the house breaks it up. We have just bought a house that is white shingles and white painted brick. I love it. Haven't lived in it yet, though, to know about how often we will have to paint. I love your inspiration pics. I think your instinct is spot on. Make it all one gorgeous color.

I think with ANY paint job, proper prep makes the difference. Make sure you buy the correct paint for the project and clean the surface first. I think that I would have to paint it.

You have a great house with a lot of potential! A portico would be fabulous! I would remove the shutters. Your front door is perplexing. I don't think that I have ever seen one like it. Is it a double door with a storm door on each half?

In any event, could your door be replaced with a single door with sidelights? The current setup looks awkward to me.

I would not paint the brick. I would paint the siding and trim a khaki color and then do the door in either dark red or dark sage.

I used to be in the school of leaving brick alone, especially because by painting it, you're signing up for maintenance. However, many houses just look far better painted. There have been some recent episodes of " Fixer Upper" on HGTV where Joanna Gaines has panted brick homes with stunning success. She has a great eye. Unless you have a stately Georgian home, brick can look tired and dated. It's bossy and you should be in charge, not your house.

There is a method for brick called a smear. This may be a better idea. There are too many colors going on. Can bricks be stained as opposed to painted? If either of these options doesn't sound good, I would paint the upper portion of your house in more of a color to accent the below brick. We looked at a home with similar brick lower/paint upper. It ends up looking as if someone deposited a different type of home on top of the brick, doesn't it. You may want to tie in your front door area (currently blue) with the shutters, trim, etc. to make the overall look less choppy. Good luck!

I say paint it. Paints adhere so much better these days, and it won't need as much maintenance as people claim. I tried the brick staining, and it was a waste of time and money.

Cottage Red! Makes my heart go pitter patter in a good way! If you are going to paint the brick after all, do it Cottage Red!

I love the red too! Love it. I think it's super classy. Your neighbors will settle. After their initial shock. ;)

Hi, I don't know if you've resolved your brick issue yet. We use a limewash product which is not like paint and does not give the problems that painting brick has (chipping, peeling, flaking, molding and discoloring) If you're in the DFW area we'd be happy to talk to you about it. Attached is a house we did a few months ago. You can see the difference in brick and limewashed area.

imani1, your brick is fine...please don't paint it.

Hi Rebecca,

We use RomaBio. It's a great and easy to use product.

Feel free to email me at dan@servicefirstpainting.com for any info you need.

Really nice house.

You might consider a porch with a gable roof between the three windows on the right and the corner/gutter left of that.

Would not paint the brick. Remember that anything painted will, inevitably, need painting and can begin to look awful as it gets that way. One of the greatest benefits of brick is it being "low maintenance".

Instead of different colors, consider different shades of the same color, while keeping the window trim white..

If the roof is going to stay brown, you could use a lighter brown -- a tan without the pink or yellow hue -- for the siding and a very dark brown for the shutters.

Painting the fascia and gutter dark brown is also worth considering.