Interesting, I am new to this entire forum and also posted a similar question on the porch and deck site.
I also have an ugly old concrete patio. A few years ago I saw an article in Cottage Living about how to paint a brick pattern onto concrete using outdoor paint and rollers. I followed the directions and it turned out great. This was 2 years ago. Now I would like to do my driveway, but cannot find the article. So, I am trying to see if someone has old issues of the magazine and can send the directions to me. I tried googling this and did come up with lots of different articles and sites. Just not the exact article I was looking for. If you just want to paint over the color, there is lots of info on the net. Here is the link I used to start my search. Good luck.
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+paint+concrete+to+look+like+brick

Hi cearab,
A friend of mine has a patio painted to look like brick and I will ask her if she has an info on it. Have you thought of emailing Cottage Living editors to ask for the old article? Just type in the name of the magazine and add .com and it should give you the online magazine. I would love to have that look, but I don't think it will go with the low brick wall that is painted beige. I am hoping for a "faux stone" look.

Thank you kait! I would appreciate any info you get from your friend. BTW: I have sent a few emails to Cottage Living and have not had a response back from them. I didn't send it to the editor, so maybe I will give that a try. All the other articles I found by googling seemed a bit more complicated than the one that was in Cottage Living. Others involved taping out the grout lines using a ruler and then painting over the gaps that make the bricks with a paintbrush. Actually, that might work for you in your situation.
Others involved making a sponge shaped like a brick and mixing up your own paint, then sponging the 'brick' onto the concrete. All a bit nerve racking for me. The method used in the article by CL that I used basically has the roller doing much of the work. You just have to know when to stop rolling to create the grout line, and where to start up again.
Appreciate any information you can get. TIA

Anyone else have any ideas? Suggestions?

Cearab - My friend hired a painter in the past (no way to contact him) who did the faux brick painting and she does not know how it was done. Good luck with contacting CL!

Call local paint stores and ask them if they carry a product called "Peel-a-way". This product works well for removing layers of old paint from just about any surface.

When your finished peeling away the old paint be sure to rinse completely as directed by maker. Prep and paint as you wish.

Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Peel-a-Way

I received a reprint fo the article from Cottage Living about how to paint a brick pattern onto concrete. If anyone wants it; post back and I will put it on here. As I said, I did this myself to my old brick patio 2 years ago and it turned out great.

Here are the directions. I wish you could see the pictures of how this looks, but they sent me a color copy, not a link. Since your patio is green, you would probably have to paint it some sort of cement type color to form the 'grout lines' before rolling on the bricks.
If you have patience and a steady hand, this is a great cheap fix. Let me know if you do this and how it turns out. Or, if you have any questions.

from Cottage Living:

for painting old concrete to look like brick. This is the technique I used on my patio that I got from Cottage Living Magazine. They sent me a reprint, since I misplaced the article. I only wish I could post the photos from the article so you could see what she is doing. But here are the written instructions. Let me know if you need any help.
You can do it

Go Faux it.

The plain paving around the 1930's cottage did little to enhance its charm, but tearing out the concrete and laying a brick walkway would have cost thousands. Instead, Claudia mixed a batch of brick colored paint and rolled it right onto the concrete. Initially, she tried stenciling the bricks, but when it looked 'too neat and perfect', she decided to do the job by hand. After painting a 100 foot long path in an afternoon, she was so pleased with the results that she went onto brick her entire driveway.

Details: Paint a brick walkway:Gather the goods: 4 inch paint roller, paint tray, custom blended paint

1) Claudia Darr used 1 gallon of Benjamin Moore's MoorGard Low Lustre Latex House Paint (#103-4B) in the following forumla (the paint dealer will know what this means):OY 1x8, RX 5x, BK 1x22, MA 3x, WH1x16, TG 18

2) Clean the area you plan to paint, and let it dry thoroughly

3) Beginning in a corner, use a 4 inch roller to paing " bricks". Make each one about 7 inches long, leaving about 3/4 inch between each brick (to simulate grout line). Stagger adjoining rows so bricks form a wall pattern.

Good luck with this and let us know how it turns out. Some tips from me: sweep the area well before you do this. The 4 inch roller is a skinny little roller that I found in the Benjamin more paint store. It came with a roller stick. I attached one of those wooden poles that screwed into the handle of the roller handle. It is the type you would use when you would paint your ceiling. Trust me, you do not want to bend over with the roller for an entire day painting the ground! Experiment on some old newspaper first to get your technique down. And, I first went around the entire outside of the patio laying the 'bricks' out along the edge in the opposite direction that I ran the rest of the bricks in. It makes for a nicer look.

Hi everyone, I just got back from a wonderful week at the beach and found these great suggestions! Now, one more question - my patio is surrounded by a low brick wall painted the same beige color as the bricks on the house. It is actually attached to the house on one end. Would it look too weird to do the faux brick look on the floor in a slightly darker color beige brick motif? My friend has a faux brick patio that leads into another real brick patio in her back yard and it matches beautifully.

I think that would look best as opposed to the red brick color. I would ask for the same type of paint that I posted above, just changing the formula. Don't forget that you will need to paint the entire patio the 'grout line' color before painting the 'bricks' on. One word of caution"...be sure there is enough of a tone and color difference between the grout color and the brick color or I think it will look kind of washed out for lack of a better word. Good luck!