Never paint 'unpainted' brick unless its really essential. It has to be re-painted regularly or it looks dingy, and that makes an expensive maintenance job. Does it have to be done? If it does, look around your area and see if there are other painted-brick homes and get an idea for what would suit the style of your home and your taste. Always use a good masonry paint. Good luck with it.

Depends on a lot of parameters. Some places I know will slap you with horrendous taxes and really stringent inspections... if you do 'new construction' instead of a remodel, I've seen houses ripped to a small piece left and a new home built around a small inner wall piece, to make it a 'remodel' instead. Overbuilding your neighborhood, you will never get out of it what you put into it. It's fine if this is what you want to do, just realize that end fact. Home prices in the whole area have risen so dramatically that it may be more practical to add on to what you have instead of moving to different/bigger/better. And other places, home values took such a bath that bigger and better is affordable IF you could unload what you have now. As some others have mentioned, having put so much into it, not going to leave. Not willing to put any more into what you have, moving to something more like what you want and save the time and labor; may be an option. Depends on market (what's available) as well. Me, I hit my 'last move I ever want to do' point. I am not moving again, I am not caring about my resale, as I plan to use here until I'm no longer able, and redoing things to suit ME and to aid with aging in place. In some ways that is so freeing... being able to do what I want, and can afford.

I chose basement. It is as large as the upstairs, but it feels so much like a dungeon that I don't like to be down there. There is a bedroom. Even though it has nice furniture and carpet, it feels creepy to me. And there is no bathroom down there. I have a well-appointed sewing area, but where do I sew? I drag everything upstairs to sew. Maybe the basement needs all new lighting!

I agree matching it to the siding is good when the garage is a focal point right in front. I like that our garage is attached and the door faces the backyard.