Romabio limewash is highly recommended rather than painting the brick. I plan on using it later this summer. Sounds very versatile and can be washed off if you change your mind, or if you prefer some of brick color to show through. Do some research and decide whats best for you. Good luck with your ongoing project. Your yard looks totally different! Nice job.

Thank you so much! I really like the idea of limewash, but we were afraid it might be too white with the overall look of the home. I’d love to know what you think about that all white look even though it’s not all brick... We just want to make sure it looks appealing to everyone and not just us because eventually we will sell it so we’ve tried to do everything with resale in mind. It would be nice if some of the brick color popped through though!

I've only seen in pictures, but I personally like an all white exterior. The limewash comes in different colors, not many, but a few. Hopefully one will work for you.

Thank you so much!!!

The brick doesn’t bother me. If you want a change I would agree to limewash it. People are very happy with it...
ideally I’d want a front porch at some point.
I’d also add some wood accents.

I like your brick. If it goes all around the house, I would keep it its natural color and not lime-wash.

You've started to update your garden and I think that is where you'll get the most improvement.

Thank you so much HU-187528210! I was planning to paint the planter boxes black, but would you recommend I stain them a natural wood color instead? I just thought I should keep up with the white and black... wasn’t sure what to do with the planter boxes.

Thanks Houssaon! The brick does go all the way around the house, but it has such a faded look to it. It doesn’t look like real brick so that’s why I was looking to update it. I don’t know if you can see from this side photo, but the faded look of the brick doesn’t allow it to “pop” if you know what I mean.

I did notice the brick on the side in one of your photos that showed the front looked washed out, but I thought it was the glare of the sun. I can see now why you want to white wash it.

From what I've read here on other threads, Romabio is a great product.

They also produce a masonry flat available in subtle colors your might like. Check their web.

Yes, I unfortunately it is like that the entire way around the house. We’ve power washed it each year and some spots are better than others but generally it’s very uneven and faded. I’m told by many in the area that it has to do with the acidity in the rain eating through the bricks over the years - don’t know if that’s true.
I guess my question with white washing is, won’t it just wash off when it rains?

I'm surprised no one has said to remove the shutters.

Give you a visual of the white. (not my favorite)

SW Urbane Bronze

SW Greenblack

Keep brick and just paint siding?

SW Roycroft Bronze Green

SW Greenblack

SW Urbane Bronze

Lime wash brick, paint siding deep gray, losr the shutters. Is a portico over the front door in the budget? Your landscaping is an improvement, but more than siding, brick and color the basic ranch lacks architectural interest. Boxing in the windows, without shutters, in a 3” wide trim would update look.

I agree with Lisa’s idea ^^^. Ivory with any color trim you like. I understand the wish to cover the brick since it is not in good condition. Resale is important here so stick with neutrals (black and white; ivory and black) as those will help sell your house. You did a great job with landscaping, which adds to curb appeal tremendously. .
Just as a point about resale: our beautiful dark blue house and barn got painted white with black shutters for resale in a tough market. In a hot market, nothing matters.

I very much agree with Lisa Caudill about the German smear. Love the color and texture it brings to a house. Whatever you can do to deemphasize the linear nature of your house should help. That might be as simple as adding a pergola or stoop entry. Good luck!

Melissa THANK YOU!! We are very visual so this is amazing! No, not one person has ever suggested removing the shutters so this is definitely an idea!! I am wondering though if you think the windows lack character then without some kind of shutter? I know my planter boxes will look nice but they will only be up in the spring & summer and removed in the winter. I love the color choices. The roof is a reddish brown.

Valinta, I love your suggestion to paint the siding gray - I am concerned though how this would look with out reddish brown roof? Do you think that will be okay? We are not opposed to a portico, but we have a large hardscape walkway planned from the front door past the bay window and over to the driveway. I wasn’t sure if a portico would be too much. I agree that it lacks character in the front as well! Do you have any photo suggestions that you think would work with the planned hardscape idea that we are thinking about doing next year?

Thanks to everyone who recommended the German Smear. Is this something we could DIY? We’re not familiar with that.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+do+german+smear+on+exterior+brick&oq=how+to+do+german+sme&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0j0i10j0l2.8578j0j9&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Thank you Lisa!

A shmear is like a limewash. You can diy it. You can diy anything tho... :)
I would try it. You can always call a local if it’s too much.
For the window boxes I do think the black would be nice. But a light wood would too... and you can always add paint. You can remove it so easily.
I LOVEEE the blue idea. Blue is my all time favorite. If your open to that I’d say forsure go with the wood boxes.

Once you do the shmear, you will see a completely different house. The window boxes and shutters can be any color since it will all be a soft cream color! It’s fine if your window boxes are only full in the spring and summer. Your landscaping is more important to look ‘good’ as many months as possible.

Update: Decided to go with Romabio Classico Limewash in Bianca White. not done yet, but really happy with the look so far.

Next, Planning to paint the windows black to match the shutters and build natural wood planter boxes to match our fence.

Nice job.

Love it. Need some of your landscaping magic on the side of the house. The overall cream look is sooo much better.

Thank you so much. The landscaping on the side is brand new, but it needs to grow in. The Hawaiian Punch roses and a few other small plants on the left are being eaten by our family of rabbits that resides under our shed. Hopefully they’ll recover!

UPDATE: working on spray painting the windows & trim matte black to match the shutters, front door & garage door.

I’ll post a shot of the entire front of the house when it’s finished.

Next step is either spray painting our existing gutters & down spouts matte black or buying new. We’d like to buy new at Home Depot or Lowes but we’ve been told they’re hard to install. We were recommended seamless gutters, but we don’t think they’re in the budget. Does anyone have any thoughts on gutters?