A few year ago, there was a house for sale that was similar to yours but painted a dark olive green with rusty red trim. Gorgeous colors. I loved it so much, but it already had an accepted offer. I drove by it a few months later and the new owners had painted it beige. With beige trim. And they cut down the entire 3/4 acre of mature pines and build a 4 bay garage, also beige. I wanted to cry a little.

Personally...I have always loved houses your style, and I also love the color that is on it...I like earthy tones, and this just looks great to me as is. I would possibly paint the front door only...but in a very calm coordinating color...please no yellows, reds, blues etc etc...The main thing I would do if that was my home, (I wish), would be to totally redo the landscaping...removing everything that is currently there, except the big tree in center...I would use an assortment of unusual and unique plantings, such as flowering trees and shrubs that bloom at all different times in the season. Also using some scattered burning bush plants for winter interest as well..Grasses, so many cool varieties to choose from , in short, med. and tall...even some that are very low growing that look like a ground cover...when the "bloom" with there late summer/fall plumes, they look great...and can stay all winter for that added interest as well...I mentioned ground covers...I am a big fan of all varieties here also...definitely around the large front tree, and I would myself extend or create a new garden from the tree over and fronting forward to the light post and even possibly to the mailbox....Using ground covers, perennials, low grasses, and some seasonal annuals for a bit of pop in color...I would also invest in new things like hardware...such as...house numbers, lighting at the doors, main entrance as well as side lights on either side of garage doors...I love brushed steel or stainless against the brown...adds a fresh contemporary look...also either painting or installing a new lamp post in matching brushed steel, or some accenting color finish as to what is currently available...
That's what I would do to maintain the look of the home as is...w the traditional brown, and doing all the rest to highlight and accessorize it's features...I'd love to come and do the whole thing for you , as shopping w you as we selected everything and made sure you were completely involved in the whole process, I would simply love doing all the actual labor involved and seeing it being transformed as I currently see the whole process in my minds eye right here and now toady...3/5/14...Cool..Ron

Love the redwood and grey suggestion and leaving the brick will give you a third element of design. I think once you paint around the windows another color it will change the appearance alot. Pop the door with color and with new landscaping it will be awesome.

A light gray is a neutral which can be either sophisticated or playful & modern depending on landscaping and what color you paint the door. A Royal blue door would be a bit more conservative, with a burnt orange door and a rock garden a bit more modern/contemporary. It would not be too expensive to change the look by changing the color of the door and a color potted garden to compliment the door as your preference changes. I even spray paint my potted garden to compliment my outdoor carpets when I have to change the carpets every 5-6 years because weather has destroyed them. It's easier to buy 3 cans of spray paint than buy 6 new garden containers.

What is your redwood like under that paint? I bought a 50's california modern which had a painted redwood exterior. It needed help and I rehabbed and added onto it. The exterior was clear redwood and so I had it removed, run through a sander to knock off the bulk of the paint and then planed. Before installing I finished it with australian timber oil. The results were amazing! I am so glad that I put in the effort rather than just repainting, or tearing off and replacing as both my architect and and my contractor wanted. I Love the liberated wood!

I agree with drawshoot- sand and stain with Australian timber wood oil and you will have a beautiful warm tone that will work well with your brick. We owned a unique California bungalow with straight grain redwood - unique and beautiful.

Love the purple fire hydrant. Fun and quirky. Don't have any ideas for paint color, but it does need to be lighter. It's way too dark and depressing as it is.

Love the style of your home, and I agree with the masses, it is not ugly, just needs a bit of love and a lighter base color. I suggest leave the trim color around roof and door, paint the window trim a warm blue and the base of the house burlap color, leave the brick alone, it will tie in the roof trim color. And then a pop of color for the front door. As with a purple hydrant I'm guessing you aren't afraid of color!

If you want to keep it safe and low cost------Sherwin Williams has an exterior solid stain called Rock Rose (SW 3016), sort of a tan, which looks really good with the redwood color. I'd suggest the Rock Rose for the siding and keep the redwood color for the trim and door, keep the brick natural. Update the landscaping a bit, adding some purple, yellow and orange flowers. I like the suggestion for updating the hardware and lights, if that fits in the budget.

I would not paint a home with a big green lawn green and eggplant. Lighter neutral with a colorful door.

I like your color options. If you want to add a pop of color, I will paint the front door.
I would not paint the brick. Good luck!

I think the perfect color would be a muted sage green, with gray undertones. It will read as a neutral but will not be the 'bland' beige. Personally, I love the idea of eggplant trim and front door, but if that's a bit too bold for you, I would paint the trim a linen white and still have the pop of color on the front door. This is my absolute favorite color on a home; every time I see a neutral (non pastel) green home, I slow down to take a look.

I wouldn't contemplate painting the brick. A bit of contrast is much more interesting!

First, what color do you want your front door to be? Do you want it to be a noticeable attraction of welcome or would you rather that folks have to look twice to see where it is? Once you have decided that then you will have the base line from which to work from. For example, we recently looked at several house in our search for the one house we will be staying at, hopefully, for the rest of our lives. From all of the houses we toured I choose the one in the image I've attached. I named it the 'gray house'. My husband never understood why it had that name because to him it is white. So it took a bit of introspection for me to determine why it was the gray house and it was the door. To me, the door's color states : 'Private but approachable'. Had it not have had the design on the front and the frosted windows it would have said, 'Not interested don't bother knocking'. Once this thought-connection began I realized I have a lot of preconceived notions based on the door color.
Lacquer Red = Active people who keep a tight schedule, not messy but not ultra-organized either.
Lacquer Black = Ultra-organized, able to keep a secret, appears friendly enough but it takes time to become a friend. Oh, and really very clean!
Yellow = Loves the family life and and has a talent for eclectic decorating.
Orange = Likes to party!!! They either already have a pool or are planning a pool.
Sky Blue = Likes summer and they will either never be home when the temperature is short-sleeved or they are in the back yard bar-b-queuing.
Green = a bit behind whatever is considered cutting edge, quiet folks and sorta laid back.
Brown = ecological minded, there's lots of wood in their house.
White = There's a door?
Gray = Private but available geeks.
This is just my opinion, I don't know if there's anything out there that really has figured out a door color to the personalities of the owners. What I do know is that I am planning the gardens around the gray door. We are politely private but do entertain a few times every year. We are well read (our attic is already full of books), we don't watch tv but do have DVD and 3D selection of over 300, we like classic rock-n-roll but tend to play classical music when we have guests. We allowed a gray cat to adopt us, and we have 2 dogs ( a Scottie and Shiba Inu) that go where ever we go. Finally, we are geeks.

Choose your door color then the rest will fall into place and if you decide to paint the brick then have at it. Your house is all about the people who make it a home. I don't think it should be about resale value in some distant possible future.

I think this home would look spectacular with SW 6235 Foggy Day (even over the brick) with a white trim - SW 7008 and the door could be SW 6870 - (All Sherwin Williams colors )

I see why someone painted the house all one color...the windows are all different sizes and heights. I would personally do a lighter or more neutral base color, with a very close trim (if you want a different trim color at all), otherwise the house will be choppy looking with the windows/doors standing out. The brick isn't bad. I know that a medium gray looks striking with red brick. Might try staining the brick if you don't like the color. I've done that on a fireplace (but obviously indoors) and it worked really well. Then seal the brick if necessary after staining. I can't see the color of your roof but it probably doesn't matter since it really doesn't seem to show.

Hmmm...maybe stain the brick a charcoal gray with a lighter gray base color on the house?

For once, I'm stumped. If your brick is not currently painted, then do NOT paint it -- it will flake off eventually leaving a nightmare to deal with. Stains fade out as well. Your brick looks very brown and dark -- makes me think your front door should be a lighter color, although the rest of the house would look best in a darker color. I'd do a medium grey, or a deep tan on the entire house with a lighter coordinating color on the front door. With the low roof line, I wouldn't paint the trim a different color from the rest of the house......the monochromatic look really looks great on your home!

here are two of my mid-century houses

I never understand why people with brick "wainscotting" outside paint the rest of the house light green or blue, to me the mismatch effect is way too strong. The ones that look good are colors that pick up some predominant shade in the brick, rather than are completely opposite to it!

To select the colors for our stain and trim, I photographed the house, brought it into Photoshop, silhouetted all the trim from the windows and siding, then went to work using the HUE & SATURATION adjustment to change the color and brightness for the siding, then the trim, etc. Using layers, I was able to save several variations. It helped SO much to do it that way. If you know someone who is good in Photoshop, you can get VERY close to what your house will look like when its done.

Are there covenants restricting exterior paint colors in your community? What colors are other homes in your neighborhood painted? Is the fire hydrant functional? If so, are there fire department standards for painting hydrants?

Sooooo many opinions! For all the money and/or time you will spend painting your house, trim, door, etc., ask the color expert, Maria Killam. Her website is: mariakillam.com. Believe me she is worth the couple hundred dollars you'll spend. I had her help me and she needs pictures and then she can call colors over the phone. And she was so right!!

You could use blue and white, grey and white. You idea is good too

For me .I like iron sand as a colour for your house.Any plantings particularly tropical will stand out.Your house is an understated beauty.Dont try to make it over elaberate by quitly sofisticated.I would paint everything ironsand including windows and doors.Simple and beautifull.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Dark grayish green with a red front door.

Whatever you do, please don't paint the bricks! I would go for a grey-sage colour wall with grey window frames and trims. Keep your dark green shrubs and add some more shape and texture with other green/flowering plants.

why are you painting beautiful wood, we treasure wood and grain in England. How about just oiling it or adding some wainy edge. christine

Also grass the roof over, add some wild flowers and some architectural shape bushes and you have a beautiful extra garden/room. imagine the picnic! christine

I would paint the brick and redwood an off white for pop. Trim can be a darker beige.

Just don't paint your house that awful turquoise.

Exteriors are always risky. Hiring a professional to recolor/restyle a photo of your house for a relatively small cost provides great peace of mind!

Luckily where I live, you must submit the colors you'd like to change your house to to have them okayed by a committee. That committee is NEVER wrong.....

Charcoals,light grey and beige/white this will go with the vibrant green grass and foliage.

A gorgeous grey with off white trim would look lovely with the brick.

It's an interesting house! I'd lighten it up. Light grey!

Here are some sample color combos on your house. Not an expert in Photoshop: The siding definition disappeared in the tan coloring, but was preserved in the grey. In both samples, the trim picks up the color of the brick.

I would be inclined to: (1.) not paint any of the brick; (2.) identify a cream or beige shade of paint that is cohesive with the brick; and (3.) choose a second, accent color for the trim (window, door, garage). If possible, you could purchase a front door with some added personality. Or, if your budget allows, build a portico over the front door and window to add some perspective to the front elevation. I think your home has good lines, and just needs to be freshened. Good luck!

I think 2 toned homes really pop and looked planned and finished. What about a burnt red on all trim then a gold or warmer color for all the rest? Great luck to you!

I like the color of the house...looking at the picture makes me feel like I am at a classy retreat in the woods. Want color, look at plants.

I agree that the color of the house is attractive. I live in Frank Lloyd Wright territory and the color of your house reminds me of his Usonian houses and also the buildings that he did for SC Johnson and Company in Racine Wisconsin.

If you can find out more about the original design of your house, you might be tempted to restore it rather than update it.

The house color is not bad, it just needs some lighter trim color to make it not look like such a solid blob. I love it's style and some landscaping in front would be in order.

White or pale yellow

I change my mind, either brick red or perhaps the windows an orange/red; there's a pic of this idea somewhere on Houzz that shows it really lifts the look of the house and inexpensively.

I think you have a real jewel there! I'm facing a similar dilemma with my mid-century home, but am looking for a way to restore redwood. I think your house would be great emphasizing its mid-century look as well, maybe with a darker stain and white trim (see Eichler photo below.) Drawshoot's advice is very good (above).

A great place to look for mid-century ideas is the Eichler for Sale website, which includes a page of exterior color combinations:

http://www.eichlerforsale.com/painting-eichler-house.php

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck to you!

Black!! Leave the brick

I rather like redwood and black too... Paint the trim dark charcoal or black.

Posted May 2013. Great advice by the way. Love to see what you chose. Let us know if you still need help.

Main colour a subdued yellow, trim the windows and front & garage door black, and add in some creamy white in the way of planters, white rock for landscaping. Cute house. The best of luck!