Don't paint the house. The roof color needs to be changed and landscaping will make a big difference. I don't know where you live but larger green schrubs would be nice. The door also could be painted to coordinate with the new roof and brick. The brick is a beautiful natural shade that would look good with muted colors.

Agree with: Put the grey that your husband is craving on the roof (DARK - Charcoal Grey). Spend the time and money you would have invested in paint on widening your front walk and stoop. Also add some landscaping to soften up the facade.....

Oh and lift the tree - you can take out 1/3 of the branches / mostly the lower ones so it doesn't hide the house . . .paint the garage the same deep tone

I agree with all the NO!! votes for all the reasons they have given. When you replace the roof go dark, dark. Paint the door, get a new front porch light fixture, use more modern address numbers and make them more prominent, landscape, landscape, landscape! Your home has much more potential than you give it credit for :)). Painting the brick will make everyone wonder just what yucky color is under that paint, rather than WOW! look at that front door! And that light fixture! Enjoy transforming it and post pictures when you are done!

Maybe the solution is some driftwood gray siding for part of the house - but I'm posting this photo for the lovely entry deck that is so modern in its simplicity - I can see a wider deeper "deck porch" like this on your home. [houzz=]
When you paint the garage / don't pull the trim between panels into a different color - paint it all out the same, and if you like modern, take the garage door down to charcoal - with spray paint if it is a metal door. The profile of the garage door will be great with modern. You don't really have the right window profiles for a traditional brick ranch anymore . . .you might as well make it an atomic ranch. You can look at modern landscapes too - perhaps it is a site wall that wants to be driftwood gray? Use the same warm gray paint watered down 1/2 and 1/2 on raw wood to see what kind of finish you can get. .

I think you can go either way, paint or don't paint. Your house brick is a pinkish color
And as mentioned by earlier posters, the roof is too close in color.
My brick home was painted by former owner and this year I repainted it a beautiful SW
Tan called Sticks And Stones. I think the key to maintenance is doing it right the first time,
prepping correctly and using paint for brick.

If you don't paint, I would consider landscaping first. Would put water hose, garbage can in back of house, trim the big trees.

Yes, decidedly. As you can tell from the above there are four basic tenets of American Life:
God, Mother, Country and YOU DON't PAINT BRICK! But this is business about brick is a complete fallacy, especially the business of it being a maintenance problem. I know brick house that have held their paint for over 50 years. If you paint brick right it is not a problem.
It is an investment the first time as you have to use two coats. (first a light coat, 2nd color coat ) but there is little labor because you can spray it easily. When it is time to paint again it not much in the way of additional cost for the same reason.

Look, If the brick is fairly ugly this is the easiest way to change the house and since there is little going on with the architecture of the house, color will make the biggest and most important change. Sure there are better roof colors but why drop 3-5 grand in replacing it especially since the color of the brick is still a problem. As to staining the brick it is a crap shoot. You never know what the end result will be for certain. Plus the paint will have a depth of color that stain can never achieve and this depth of color will add much needed personality to the home.

Next paint the trim the same color and the window and find a front door color with some moxie. - use a hight gloss finish for it. Satin for the trim

look at programs at your local community college and get a certificate associated with design or drafting. Just being able to draw what you want to have happen is immensely important. Education is the one thing no one can take away from you- go get it!!

It looks like your tree is multi-trunked and that they start branching out fairly close to the ground. If limbs are touching the roof, cut those back. Be careful about how you shape that tree. Stand back and imagine how it would look with the different trunks removed. You don't want to have a stump with a couple of trunks sitting on top of it :(( Also watch for roots that may be growing close to the top of the soil. That means the roots are growing laterally, not deep. Don't let that tree grow so large that your foundation, walk and driveway lift and crack. When it's time to take it out, take it out and plant another one that will grow to be just as pretty as that one!

Thank you all for the great advice. The photos are a little deceiving. The tree on the right is a smaller crabapple, but you are seeing the huge locust tree in the back yard.
We have spent about 3 years taking out all the run away bushes and overgrown crap the last owners planted and then never took care of (thus no lawn to speak of). I would love to get rid of the large trees in the front And back! Not a small undertaking.
So- with all of these great ideas we can definitely incorporate some of them and come up with something more modern that we will loves gain thank you!

Have you decided if you are going to paint the brick???

Brick is fine - add some details - paint front door a striking color - add some planter boxes under your windows or add some shutters with color - but leave the brick alone please

I agree with Michael Lee. Inc. The brick is fine. Paint door and add landscaping. Change the roof color when the roof has to be replaced.

Don't paint -- landscape to break up the expanse of brick. Add a curved bed, for interest, along your walkway to the front door.

Your house is lovely. But it would look better if you change the color of the roof since its the same as the outer walls. You can either change the roof in terracotta color or something like these images.

Nice muted roof and I like the shrubs in the house on the left

When you get new windows, don't go with white. Our neighbor really made their strange brick color look great by replacing the windows & roof using colors that blended with the brick. Now the strange brick color looks marvelous.

No. Don't paint brick. Add some architectural features to the front instead, like a deep porch to shelter the front door, and plantings to soften the brick.

No. Your windows are screaming for shutters. It will add a lot of interest and when you choose your new roofing tiles look for darker deeper browns.

Maybe add some wide trim around the doors & windows? Shutters & trim in the right color would really break up the color. I agree with some plant life as well. Staining or covering the walkway & driveway could help with the contrast as well. If you do the roof maybe changing the gutter colors? And maybe painting the garage something other then cream/yellow that is appears to be currently. http://www.houzz.com/photos/exterior/door-trim-

How is it going? If or when you've complete your project, post pictures! :)

Don;t paint the brick. replace roof with light or dark grey or, if you are in a very hot area with eco-friendly white

You always get knee jerk opinions to never paint brick- its a maintenance nightmare, etc etc. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE, it is the opinion of people who have never done it and don't know. If you paint brick you must use latex paint as the masonry needs to breathe. Clean the brick very well. Next you need to do it right at optimal temperatures. First coat should be sprayed with an airless - light and it can be anything, even mismatch paint sell offs from the paint store. A heavy coat will pull away from the brick because of its weight. Then spray on the color coat. Leave a day between coats minimum.

There is no maintenance nightmare because the paint will adhere and you can repaint to keep it looking fresh (or change the color) when the rest of the house needs a repaint in 8-10 years There is minimal cost because there is very little labor. I personally know houses whose brick has been painted thirty years in the harsh climate of Colorado with no problem so don't let opinion of the inexperienced sway you.

As to what to do with your house- I don't have time to really go into it but dark roofs always make a house look better. And making the body and garage be the same color will make a real difference. Incidentally you can paint asphalt roofs with latex paints- I've done and it last quite a long time.

@The Color People- I do take issue with painting brick, mate! Why would you ever take a no-maintenance material and paint it so forever after you must repaint it in order for it to look good?

I think by changing the color of the roof shingles and giving it some curb appeal with flowers/bushes/shrubs you'll see a big improvement...with not much upkeep.

my bro was a painter, paint is NOT high maintenance if you have someone who actually KNOWS what they are doing, uses quality paint. He painted brick houses in OK, and never had issues on homes he painted. They STILL look great decades later. Living in CO, you could tell those that had paint jobs that didn't do it right, fading, peeling, cracking, used inferior paint, or watered down paint. We painted a fixer upper with a professional sprayer on a house we sold in the 80's. We didn't know much about doing it. But it STILL looks good and better than some of the other houses that were professionally painted. You have to prep, use QUALITY paint, and do a good job.

Brick houses look GREAT painted in the right color, and done with right way, and they last just fine. If they look bad, it is usually because someone didn't do what they should have. Never cut corners on exterior paint, it has to withstand the elements, don't thin it-or do several coats, don't buy cheap stuff. Otherwise it will look awful quick. I think this house is plain jane, so it needs accents to spruce it up. If you don't want to landscape it.

Natural brick looks so much better except that old fashioned red brick!

I am wondering the same thing about my house. The previous owner tried "fixing" cracks in the brick with some kind of funky caulk. Looks awful! The brick itself is an ugly Sade of pink/red. To paint or not to paint?

Help!

Dana,

If you have a hard freeze in winter, then choose a penetrating stain rather than an acrylic / latex paint product to protect the brick's natural insulation properties. Both Sherwin Williams or Ben Moore will make you a stain for brick in any color that can be sprayed on (if the pro knows what he is doing). I vote to paint or stain - you can get coverage on all the surface mount utilities so they disappear visually to the eye as well, just mask the actual meter lens and cover the rest of the galvanized pipes and wires too.

You have two stories and a darling cross buck screen door. White eaves, shutters at the door ... what is your roof color? What color are your neighbors homes? Can you show us a larger curb appeal photo so we can see the architecture of the house to give you good color advice?

I came here with the same question. To paint my brick or not to paint? It has a lot of pink shades in it as well..

Spend the money on bigger windows. Leave the bricks but paint the trim and door.

Consider adding window boxes and shutters that extend from the top of the window to the middle of the window box. That, alone will add some personality to the home.

if you still want to paint the brick, choose a color that complements the roof tiles and use the shutters and window boxes as the accent color.

@libradesigneye. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. I don't know why I just received notification of them. It's been several months since you posted! Here is a picture of the front of the house. I really appreciate it your suggestions of painting the exterior surface mounted cables etc. Good idea! I am going to meet with some painters in the next couple of weeks. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I definitely think you should paint it - it will look great - but you will also need to change the roof color.

@Libradesigneye:

Brilliant advice, and heartfelt thanks for sharing it! I printed out and bookmarked your post to show it to my DH - and to the guy at Sherwin Williams, who thought I was crazy for asking about stain for brick. We're in Colorado, and our brick is a circa 1971 shade I call "Smoker's Tooth." I'd trade the OP for her brick in a heartbeat!

We are going to enclose our carport and make it a master suite. I'm struggling to make a decision on if I should enclose the carport with a brick wall (that won't match the other brick and have to paint the entire house) or use vinyl siding. My main goal is to make the addition look like it was always there and I'm afraid the vinyl siding will not achieve what I want. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I think painting it would look great!

Should I paint my brick? And what colors would you suggest for the siding if I don't paint the brick? And I have some brick on the front that was replaced with a totally different brick - how can I fix that?

Catherine, with your brick, I'd say "No", only because it's still a nice neutral color that goes with many exterior paint tones. If it were old brick, spalding brick, deep red brick or worse, I'd say Paint It, but I think a new roof color and some white trim would make your house look 100 percent better.

As to the original OP and many others here, I'd paint it with glee. Agree with ColorPeople, painting brick is not a sin and not a bad move that needs lots of maintenance. I've said this on other threads, I painted my brick 2 decades ago and other than some slight fading there hasn't been one place that has peeled, cracked or fallen off.

Another thing to consider is that the old-style deep red brick is a hold-over from an earlier era, long before ranch homes were designed. To my eye, it simply doesn't fit the ranch home design at all. Most California ranch homes (where the trend started) have a "stacked brick" style which is perfect for the era and style of home, but if you look at most ranch homes across the U.S, they have the offset style which doesn't fit the home. The reason for this is how fast it can be done. Think about it, it's the 50s and you're trying to maximize your dollar as a developer. Fast, cheap, cookie-cutter ranch homes, everywhere you look. And the quickest way to brick is offset because you can make mistakes and they aren't noticeable like one would be in stacked brick.

And the cheapest brick made is red brick. Why? Because they don't have to do ANYTHING to the clay, just fire it and it's done. Any lighter brick or white or other color brick takes a lot of processing and is much more expensive. I know this because I priced white brick for my vacation home and it was a fortune compared to simple red brick. So I used red and painted it gloss white. Sacrilege? Nope, just a color I wanted for my home. And it looks great.

It's all art - I hate our roof color but can't afford to replace at the moment. What color would you suggest painting the siding and garage doors?

Thanks for you response!!

have you thought about a "german smear" , lyme wash or mortar wash effect for your brick, it softens/ages the look and opens up your color options for the garage without the cost of a new roof.

Before and after.

Rita. Did you do that to tone down the red brick? Also what color is your door trim?

Rika,

Love the idea of a "smear". I will def. look into this.

Thanks!

catherine kornhaber...I didnt do this (yet) but i thought this would help Dana R. I have yellow brick (yuck) and I am looking for ways to make it look nicer without the major upkeep of painting it.

Painting outdated brick homes can make an AMAZING difference. It refreshes it and gives it a bit of class. If done correctly, that paint job will last for decades. Don't be afraid to paint that ugly brick!

Great examples, pammidesigns! Thank you for that!

I would love to know if you ended up painting it! I have the same vertical scored brick in a similar variegated reddish orange range and it's awful... I just assumed the vertical lines would not paint well.

If you paint it, I'd choose a light cream/buttermilk color that will complement the roof color. The roof is a warm color and grey is cool, so grey might clash. Or, in the spirit of compromise you could do an antique treatment on the brick :)

Good luck!