Suzanne Seale, I agree about right corner of garage looks bad with that narrow line of tan stone. I'm glad you mentioned that, because I've been wondering what to do about that.

The pillars are non-supporting. They are only decorative. There were 4 originally. 2 have been removed. Do you think all 4 should be replaced with black ones? What color for siding above orange brick wall?

Thanks, Jana

Thank you for the advice realtortshaeffer. I love idea about the door and choosing paint colors.

K tn, thank you for the paint color advice and landscaping. I’ll look into plants. I live in St Louis, Missouri.

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/170953776/thumbs/exterior-color-palate

Realtortsheaffer, it says page is not found. :(

Your brick is beautiful! Don’t paint it.

Urg. Working on it… also should add that they’re kinda all the same theme, since it was for my personal reference and you have to actually open up the photos and swipe through to see the brick in some. So I don’t want to set anyone up for disappointment. LOL

Thank you bkeith. I don't want to paint the brick. The whole house is that same brick. I'm just trying to figure out how to make the brick pair well with the stone. They just don't don't go together.

Try it now. I had it set to private. Should be fixed

Realtortshaeffer, thank you!! Those color palettes are gorgeous!!! ❤️❤️

Yayyy you’re welcome!

Black siding above the red brick, black trim, cedar siding on the right, where it’s now grey. Black door, black square columns.

I like your cedar post idea and I think expanding on it with a pergola would look great. The garage and front door could be matching or even black, dark green or dark blue. The shutters are too small. Perhaps cedar trellis can dress up that brick, or dependingon your budget, expand the pergola for a larger outdoor seating area. These ideas should take the focus away from the mismatched materials for sure!

I'd lose the shutters, the front door, the posts, and anything that's not MCM. Replace the carriage style post lamp with a modern globe, or remove the whole thing. Stick with MCM paint colors and fixtures. Add simple, modern landscaping.

The photo of the garage really helps. I didn't realize there is brick above the stone across the front of the house; I thought that was siding that matched what was above the brick on the garage. I've never liked the look of painted brick or stone. Just work with what's there. I like "Dig Doug's" idea but it doesn't accurately show the brick above the stone on the body of the house or the driveway to the garage. His landscape idea is a winner; the shrub/tree colors and size enhance and balance the look of the house and the street appeal. I also like the idea of removing the shutters. Your front windows are 2 different sizes and one crosses the 2 different materials on the front of your house. Shutters just emphasize this and seem to clash with the "style" of the house. Though it's hard to paint a beautiful wood door, I think dark paint or stain would look better. If you had chosen a MCM style door I would suggest bravery with a bright color. I think people have offered good suggestions and hope you post an "after" photo.

Jana - The picture you posted above of a MCM house that has stone and brick -- they look good together because they are different from what you have. Both of the materials in that house are what would be considered MCM brick and stone. Yours are not. The brick in the MCM house is much narrower (more like Roman brick) and the stone is a natural, tan and gold stone. Your stone is a veneer that could be easily (?) removed, which is what I would do. Replace it with siding (board and batten style?) as Beth shows in a couple of her examples above. As others have said: remove the shutters, paint the siding and trim a dark charcoal-bronze color as Hallett has said (which would help to disguise the attic vent in front), remove the posts if it is structurally sound to do so or replace them with square posts, and remove the lamp on the post, which breaks up the front facade. (Use the electrical connection to install new front path and landscape lighting when the landscape is re-done.) After you remove the skinny area of stone at the left side of the garage door, you may need to patch that with matching brick. New or refinished door and entry light(s) and house numbers on the garage brick.

I love the color from @S M. I think it’s actually called Charleston Green but any blackish green might work for the front door.

Can you post a close up of the brick? Many brick houses have a touch of brownish gray in some of them so if your house has that, SW Urbane Bronze is a winner with brick houses. It also works with the stone.

Again, a close up shot of both will help us make solid color suggestions.

I had that same color door with brick for a long time. I was so happy when I painted it black, or actually very dark gray. I can see that very dark green working too. I do have to dust it more often but it looks so rich with the brick. Sand it a little to roughen it up so the (paint and primer in one) will stick well.

RedRyder, here's more pictures of the brick:

No shutters.

Paint the brick; keep the stone. Using the tone of the stone facade, paint the brick and the clapboard so the entire body looks as one.

Or, paint the brick white and the clapboard the tone of the stone.

Hi, our son purchased a 60's brick home similar to yours a few years ago. He since has removed the red awnings. He painted his front door. Sherwin Williams # 7674 Peppercorn and installed a Pella Storm Door in dark gray similar to his front door. He changed out his porch light & lamp post to Kichler Barrington. Still an ongoing process......but, looks more modern with updates.

Kichler Barrington from Lowes

Painting brick vs leaving it alone is another one of those hot-button subjects on Houzz; some people are pro, some are con….to each his own. I like brick, but if I had or bought a house that had features that didn’t go together, or the brick was not pretty, I’d paint it in a flash! We’ve walked away from homes because a neighboring house had super ugly brick….no way do I want to see that every day. Friends of ours have a painted brick house (in an older neighborhood with many brick ranches), and it’s super cute, definitely not a detriment.

Let us know which way you’re leaning about the brick and stone and painting one or both.

With the brick you have, either SW Urbane Bronze or a soft greyish-black (like Peppercorn) can work for your door. If you limewash or paint just the brick, you might want to go slightly softer so the door complements the stone. Hamburg Gray for example. Or the blackish-green….

If you cover everything with a neutral (like white or ivory) anything goes for the door.

RedRyder, if I had to choose, I’d change the color of the brick so the house would look more cohesive. However, I’m a bit nervous about that idea because the sides and back of the house are the same brick.

i like the picture with the shrubs- do not paint the brick it will reduce your home value

Yes, it would be hard to paint the front brick and not the rest of the house. I’m assuming that plan would leave the stone as is.

S M, I agree that Elcieg idea would look amazing, but do I really want to paint red brick that surrounds the exterior of my ENTIRE home?!? That seems like a lot just so the stone and front match. 😅

Red brick is out of style now. I know because my house is red brick. But it will come back. One really good thing about brick, It never needs paint.

If you do paint, it will peel. There is one area I did paint though. Someone thought it was a good idea to wipe their white paint brush on the basement brick entrance. I mixed up little batches of artists paint to match what would have been original color, then put a framed map over it.

If it were an interior fireplace, I would feel different. Though I agree a paint color would be nice, it will mean maintenance and someone said it decrease the value of the house.

The paint the brick/stone vs. the don't paint discussion is endless. After renovating about 8 houses in my life (not a flipper, just move a lot and love a project) I have found that unless you have a comprehensive plan for exterior, interior and landscaping developed after living in a house several years, it's best to not do anything that can't be undone. If it were me, I'd start with the trim and siding but not the brick and stone. You can always paint/lime the brick and stone later, but once it's painted/limed it's hard to go back.

If those columns aren't structural, remove them all.

Your choice IMO, is to embrace and enhance the architectural design of your home or make it something completely different. The long horizontal lines of your home are an asset but are interrupted by the columns, the shutters and the lamp post. You can do a lot with landscaping and paint to make your home spectacular.

But if you don't like the original style of the house, you need to do a lot more than paint/lime to give it a different architectural style that won't look like a painted box. The examples @Beth H. : posted are great but in the cases of painting/liming the brick, there have been many other changes to the home such as new windows, new siding, landscaping. That's the comprehensive plan I was speaking of and which you can certainly do but you need to take your time and plan.

All the best to you on this journey!

tozmo1, that is very good advice! Thank you!!

My final thoughts, since you asked for advice about color, and taking in a couple of other things I noticed. It looks like the shutters on the double window on the porch are framed by the stone, which makes “getting rid of the shutters” a larger project than painting. Also that your gutters are white. So unless you plan on an entire exterior overhaul (which is not what you asked advice about) you have to work with some of the more permanent features, like roof color, brick color, stone color, gutter color, front door features (like the wrought iron in the door) storm window color that you already have. Wrought iron is very MCM so I stay stick with it and the lamp post. Also I think generally window trim tends to be the same color as gutters a soffits. Not a rule but in general. So, between the brick, stone, iron and white gutter you have a base to start from. If you choose any color from within the shades in the brick and stone you should be okay. You need ONE darker accent color somewhere to ground it, which should probably be the front door (because it will draw the eye past the vibrant brick color to the entrance) with a lighter shade of the same paint chip possibly as the shutters. The front door should be the focal point (either remove the storm door and if you want one, eventually get a full view one and paint it to match as closely as possible whatever door color you end up going with.) Also too many people choose colors based on what the chip looks like in the store or sitting on their kitchen table. You have to take the chips outside and put them up against the brick and stone to see if they clash. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve chosen a different shade of something that I swore would work and it didn’t in the actual setting. Go get a pile of chips that are reds and oranges and taupes and neutrals and take them outside on your front porch. The right colors will jump out at you from the pile. Choose one chip/card from the reds/browns and one from the beige/putty/taupes. I personally would not go with a contrasting color because your visual contrast is already between the brick and stone and siding textures. Draw from the colors already present and just go darker and/or lighter. If the colors match, you can’t go wrong. More often times than not we have to work with the base that’s already there, which you wouldn’t have bought if you didn’t love it. So build from that base. Embrace the brick,stone the MCM and “rock it.” And BTW there’s a grouping of 4 darker reddish brown bricks to the right of the window on the front wall. That color keeps jumping out at me.

Great advice, Realtortsheafffer. Thank you!

Realtortsheafffer you've made some good observations about permanent features and costs. You say the big shutters on the porch window have to stay because they are built into the house, at least the small porch shutters can be removed, right? And the door being white: I think it can be painted black but it would mean all the windows would have to be painted black too. If the top triangle is painted, then paint the gutters, fascia and soffit too.

I often get a sample of the color I think is right and start painting with it. Then as I see if it's right, I add a little black or white or tan to make it just right, then make my own swatch and go to the paint store to have them match it. I'm almost always wrong if I get a whole gallon from just a swatch.

I would recommend getting Samplize of the colors you’re considering. You can move them around to see how the colors work under the overhang, in the sunlight, on the not-so-sunny side, etc. The colors are true and the samples are big enough to help you with selections - both inside and outside. You can’t pick colors from the paint strips at the stores.

Try doing mock ups on the Sherwin Williams website. That’s the least expensive way to see color combinations.

I also have a brick house - the bricks lean more orange than yours. It took a village - and a lot of opinions - to decide the color of my front door. I have some stacked stone under my posts so we used those colors for inspiration. I’m just saying, this isn’t easy and taking in all this great advice is going to help. Ultimately, it’s your house and you’ll choose what will make you the happiest.

I am jumping in and giving my two cents as a homeowner of the same type of house! This is what I would suggest based on what we did to our home because I did not want to paint our brick but I wanted to update it. If you can afford new windows get them, I bought mine in the desert sand color to match the mortar on the brick so they don’t jump out as another color in the mix. I used bronze for my lights, mailbox, and lamppost so they didn’t stand out when looking at my house. I picked a wood door with a large, lead glass oval window. I know everyone is saying take out the posts on the porch, I would add one more. I have three on mine in the front and replaced them with square ones and wrapped the bottoms with stone, you could match the stone on your house with the stone on the posts. I would do your siding and garage door in the color of your windows and pick the darkest shade from your roof for your trim and your shutters; speaking of shutters, add a set to the window that is missing the pair if you are keeping them. Lastly, get a more modern house number! Embrace what you have, your house can be beautiful and I love mine now.

Thank you, Kemmi Rose. Yes, windows is at the top of my list. Do you have a picture of your house you can share?

I don’t have the gray stone on the bottom like you but we had the same siding on the peaks and on the top half of the back of our house, I went with a siding that matches the windows although the siding looks a lot lighter in the photo? Our roof is gross and still needs replaced so I just picked a contrast color that I thought would work, I will eventually match a color in my roof. My shutters are built in and staying—no choice here. These are pictures as we were making updates to the house; #1 windows and I had just painted porch and shutters and new door—first door was mustard brown, everything was mustard brown! #2 new slider—could not afford desert sand and had to go with with white? Gutters will be replaced with roof and they will match windows. #3 we wrapped posts on lower patio to match brick and #4 used corrugated plastic underneath our upper level deck to create a roof over our patio below for a covered area. I will go out later today and take a photo of the posts in the front of the house. We are working on the inside now and just finished the bathroom. My husband and I do all of the work ourselves and as we have gotten a little older it seems to take a bit longer than it used to. LOL Good luck with your home, it is beautiful! Work with what you have and don’t try too hard to make it into something it is not! You are looking at a blank slate, add pretty things and some color and just make it yours!

You've got a lot of white, doors, windows, gutters. Because of this, I would say only paint the wood door black. It's a lot of work to paint all the white to black just for fashion. I think someone said it earlier, the stone color doesn't go with the brick. i'm imagining the house designer might have added the stone later or somehow needed a color consultant. I can see it doesn't look professional by the way it is wrapped around the front edge.

So, while I normally would not say to paint brick, I see this as maybe the cheaper option that would look good. So light stone color on the clapboards with white like some others have said and leave the stone. I agree with Eicieg. As for the pillars, since they are there, I personally would paint them to see how they look and if I hated them, take them down since you said they were non-supporting.

I don’t have anything against painted brick. In fact I have painted brick on the front of my house and it’s holding up fine and looks great.. However, with the majority of your house being brick, I’d paint just the stone and leave the brick.. I’d go with a deep blue gray or a greenish gray on the stone and siding. Replace windows.

Thank you for the pictures, Kimmie Rose!! Your house is very pretty and an inspiration to me! I agree with you. I’m trying to work with what I have without too many drastic and expensive changes.

I like these color combos. They have white windows, but black accents look nice, too too.

Thank you mick50!

Here's what your house could look like if painted all white, black doors and windows, and wood posts and detail in the gable.

Some people would like the all white. I think it's OK to keep the off white in the stone. Even with painted stone and brick. you still see the texture. I worry that the texture will look weird. But I do admire your skill with a program that helps you visualize what it would be like.

The brick and stone can work together without painting it. It can be done quite tastefully, actually. Just takes a little vision and coordination.

Oops forgot to crop the other ones…

New windows (casements), no columns, hedges instead of walls:

I personally like light trim, at least at the roof edges, as long as the roof is light. (Hallett's roof is considerably darker.) Try painting darker trim into the actual photo and see what you think--unless you're planning to re-roof soon.

I think Simplynatural showed a really nice example but took out the columns and removed the shutters. Realtorsheaffer showed the columns wrapped and shutters on a home, either way you are leaving the brick and stone natural. You would be surprised what a power washer can do to bring life back into your exterior. We power wash our entire house every year because of the tress/moss and algae—lots of shade. Our stone patio is a nightmare to maintain, but I am very thankful that I can clean them without worrying my paint will come off of my house? Also, one last thought, at some point brick and stone homes need to be pointed at some time. That will leave you with areas of mortar that you will have to try to match with the other paint that is on the house?