Painting brick turns a virtually no maintenance wall finish into a high maintenance wall finish.

"The paint that was recommended is said to last 20 years before needing repainted."

Get the person's name that said that and have them bet their life on it.

Is there something you don't like about the brick?

Showing an image or 3 of the house might get you the best suggestions.

Did you search here to see what others think about painting brick? It's almost never recommended.

what mark said.

Less expensive and definitely less maintenance would be to find a brick made in the color you want, then use paint to match siding.

I cant even imagine why anyone would spend the money to have their house with brick, and then want to paint it, and bring it into the level of siding that needs to be maintained and painted. Why not, just side the whole house, if you want painted .

I'm baffled that you built new with brick and want to paint it. That is usually a "make do with what you have" maneuver. Why did you not side the whole house or use a brick color you like?

Please show us picks. We really cannot comment without seeing.

Is that design consultant getting paid by how much you spend on the project or working for a slice from the paint company or something?

No. Just no.

Paint and siding have different textures, so when sunlight hits them from an angle, the shadows make the colors look different. You *cannot* paint them the same color.

This thread is from someone who found this out the hard way.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6513460/exterior-paint-project-gone-wrong#n=24

"My husband is hesitant bc of the maintenance down the road (in addition to the higher up front cost)."

You married a wise man.

Congrats on your new build! How far along is it? Have you already picked out the brick and siding? What can change - can you change either of those selections or make the home all brick or all siding? If you post pictures, people here can help with suggestions.

My first home in the 'burbs was a painted brick home. (The previous owners had added a second floor, and I'm sure the brick of the second floor didn't match the old brick used on the first floor.) I loved that house, but we did need to have it repainted (I think 2 or 3 times in 20 years.) 3 sides were fine; the back side, which faces north, had a lot of peeling areas. Not sure if that's because it had different exposure / less sun, or if there was some kind of issue back there. It was eventually remedied only because we did a big addition across the whole back so that whole side was replaced.

Having dealt with that, if I were building new, I'd try to pick a brick that I loved as is.