Don't paint the brick. It already has that warm vibe that you want your home to have. It just needs a bit of a change to take the brick away from it's monoblock of color. Painting another monoblock of color isn't the right solution. Have it repointed with a contrasting mortar and it will look 1000 times better and still be low maintenance.

For the retaining wall, if it's failing, it needs to be replaced and wasn't constructed with proper drainage behind it. It could end up being a big safety issue in a big rain.

We also painted our brick house (with much help from GW on the color selection way back when). Ours is a small Cape Cod, but it's the same colors as your neighbor's home. We also had real shutters made and have hold backs like you mentioned.

Our house is Sherwin Williams Jersey Cream, the shutters are Sherwin Williams Belle Meade Green (similar to Charleston Green, but named after a neighborhood in the city), and the door is black (trim is yet to be painted and I'm not sure what color it will be).

Forgive this photo - it was taken right after we got the roof replaced and the lighting wasn't the best.

Livewireoak: Paint the mortar? Now that's an idea I hadn't thought of. Any pictures of houses with painted mortar? Everyone in the neighborhood has the typical, well, mortar-colored (whitish tan) mortar.
Albryant: Oh my gosh, is your house CUTE! I love those shutters with the plank of wood across them. (Is there a name for them?) I really like both the colors of the house and of the door, too. The shutters are almost black in the photos...I guess it's a REALLY dark green?

bushelandapeck - As soon as I opened your thread, I thought, " That looks like Atlanta!" Painted brick is so popular here. I say go for it! We painted our in-town ranch, and we love it!

olychick - That house is just around the corner from me!

bushelandapeck, this looks just like a house down the street from some friends of ours in Dunwoody, GA. They live near Dunwoody Club Estates.

I say painted brick. I love the cream color with black shutters that albyrant posted. Not so crazy about the yellow house, though.

We painted our brick house too (love it and would not go back for a million dollars) Don't let yourself be talked out of it if you want it, painting brick is a very polarizing issue, I have found. We went from dreary dark brick with mauve mortar (ugh) to griege (SW Tony Taupe with SW Shoji White Trim). Our pics are below.

I tend to prefer very neutral paint colors for brick, but I like your house with the yellow, it would just have to be exactly the right yellow, which could be stressful (yellow is hard for an interior) and there is so much green bounce from the landscaping it might take a little bit to get it right. But it could be inviting and warm for sure.

I also think some nice details will help warm up the facade of the house - GW'ers will have a lot of great ideas.

Two resources I used was CertaPro has a painting assistant who will give you suggestions for paint colors if you email her a picture (her name is Shannon, its on their website) it is a free service and CertaPro does not have to be doing your painting.

Also, I used a great book called House Colors: Exterior Color by Style of Architecture by Susan Hershman which has lots of wonderful photos and actual paint colors by brand - it was hugely helpful. Keep us posted!

And forgot to say that yes, I agree the retaining wall should be a neutral color not the house color - it should look natural and low key and recede into the landscaping. Do not let yourself get talked into a yellow retaining well! :)

I think that the painted brick houses look great. Nice and crisp looking. The cream color and the taupe are both very striking. I am not a fan of yellow, but you should paint the color you love. The only thing you may want to consider is resale. If you plan on staying in your home for a long time, yellow is great. But if you are planning on moving in a few years, its always best to go neutral. We all have strong opinions about colors, and its much easier to sell a neutral color home.

You have a lovely house and wonderful wall that has great patina.

Painting the brick of the house is an entirely different project than painting the brick of the retaining wall. As a horticulturist and landscaper, I can say that you would quickly regret painting the wall. The moisture in the soil the wall is retaining and the moisture of any plant material touching the wall will soon cause any paint job to fail. Even w/ an expert paint job by pros, with all precautions taken, will only delay the eventual failure of the paint job.
Either repair and leave the wall as is, or remove and rebuild w/ a different material such as stacked stone or a product such as Allen Block. Man made stone & concrete products come in many sizes, colors and configurations, so you can really alter the look of your landscape.
Painting the brick of the house does not pose the same moisture issues as the wall, so you are clear to do whatever you want w/ that.

Forgive my hijack, but I need to know about maintenance of painted brick. I want to paint my concrete colored brick, but am scared to death of future maintenance. The paint pro at Sherwin williams said I should stain rather than paint, as stain will fade gradually but never chip, chalk or peel the way paint will.

My questions: Are your painted-brick houses really painted or are they stained, how long have they been that way, and is maintenance or fading an issue? Thanks for any insights, and sorry for the hijack.

Brick is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture, even from just the humid air. Brick veneer structures with the proper air gap and drainage plane behind them have less issues with being painted than older structures where the brick cannot dry out well. That is why most older structures are whitewashed (lime based coating) rather than painted. Paint tends to flake off over time because there is no where for the moisture to go but bubble up the paint.

The big problem that new structures can have when painted is if the weep holes are plugged. That seals up the brick and then the paint job will fail for sure. Even if everything has been prepared properly and that includes a lot of prepwork, a painted surface will eventually fail and need repainting. Not so brick. Brick can go a hundred years or more and not even need repointing if the home was constructed properly and had the proper overhangs on it. My sister lived in a 150 year old brick building that was just then having it's first repointing done. Even then, the whole structure didn't need it, just the areas that received the most weather exposure.

We bought our 1940's painted brick Colonial in 1993. It was first painted in 1988. We have never repainted the brick--the paint is perfect--unblemished, no flaking, no bubbling. No maintenance.

New owners bought the unpainted Colonial next door to us. The house was an eyesore, dark red brick with muddy-looking mortar and rust-colored shutters and an addition with white siding. They painted the entire house pale green-gray with cream trim and charcoal shutters. The house is transformed--paint seems to have unified the structure, making it seem more harmonious and elegant.

I agree with Laura - people either love or hate painted brick and the discussion certainly can be polarizing!

Bushelandapeck - our shutters are *very* dark green. The green shows better in some light and at certain angles. The shutters are board and batten style and I think they are a better fit for the cottage style we were going for.

Our brick was also an orangey color - not nearly as nice as Laura's before picture! It's hard to tell in this photo, but it's the best "before" image I have. I can honestly say that every single day, when I pull into the driveway, I think "I'm so happy we painted the brick!"

Our paint job is only 2 years old, but so far, so good! We live inside Nashville and there are tons of painted brick houses. I think it's very common in the south.

The small white boxy things over the bottom windows look strange to me. Little top hats. They should be removed, or as wide as the shutters, or covering both windows from outer edge of shutters.

I agree on the retaining wall. If it's in need of repair, take care of it FIRST and take care of it NOW.

If there is anything left in the budget, come back and talk about paint.

I think your house would look beautiful painted -- I personally love painted brick. But I would definitely not paint the retaining wall. Would just leave it as it is and they will look beautiful together.

I live in the South where painted brick is very common, and I love it. However, I don't think your brick is ugly at all! Maybe it's the effects of the sun fading it, or whatever, but it actually looks quite nice to me.

My concern about painting your brick would be the amount of sun you say your house gets, as it would likely cause your paint to fade unevenly. Also, as someone mentioned previously, painting your brick would just create a different huge block of color to look at, and won't necessarily help to reduce the impression of size.

If I were you, I would give my shutters and trim a fresh paint job; Charleston Green shutters and door with a warm white trim would go great with that color brick. Replace the brass door knocker and handle with some something less bright (even antiqued brass would look better). I also like the idea of the planter boxes for the upper windows to add a little softness and to visually break up the facade a bit.

You will never achieve a cottage look with your home, as its overall design is inherently more formal, but I think these few smaller changes will go a long way towards helping it feel more cozy and warm and reduce the impression of size.

Once you have your house spruced up, deal with the problems of the retaining wall separately. I agree that a painted retaining wall would not look good at all. I like the idea of a stacked stone or similar material.

Thanks, everyone, for all of your suggestions. I really appreciate the thoughts about the retaining wall, and I certainly hadn't considered the moisture aspect of it. Indeed, after every heavy rain, the top portion of it is clearly saturated (from the inside out), so it might be a nightmare to keep painted and keep it painted well. And than you for these additiona lovely photos olychick and lauralincol! I was on the yellow bandwagon, but the lighter cream and even the taupe are beautiful, so I have more thinking to do. What a transformation. It's comforting to know that I have yet to get any responses indicating that they regretted their decision to paint the brick. Almost surprising.