Hi there, We haven't done it yet, but I still want to. I actually found a neighborhood near here (tipped off by my neighbor who's been thinking of doing this for ten years but has yet to pull the trigger) where there are tons and tons of houses like ours, most painted a single color. They look great. And it's in a very fancy area, which I think explains the greater prevalence of doing this than my specific neighborhood, which is nice but not ritzy (since painting the brick adds a lot of $$). I took pictures of some of these houses, which I'm happy to post. I think it's important though to hire a really really good painter, and to shell out the extra $ for good paint. I've seen some crappy jobs and it's not worth it.

awm we were posting at the same time. I actually really like both versions of your home as I do of bittersweet's. You can count me in with the home owners with "fake" style homes. Ours is a Queen Anne Victorian wanna be and everyone that has seen it, even strangers that find out I live in "that house" tell me they love it. We even had one couple come snooping in our windows when we were obviously here working on our home during finishing (ha! like it'll ever be finished) construction. Two vehicles in the driveway and their walking around with their noses to the windows. LOL. When I saw them I told Darrell and we both went outside to meet them. They were a very nice couple and we invited them in to get a better look. Ha! They said they'd been watching it from ground up and was thrilled to get a look inside. Here it is last fall. We've yet to finish the sleeping porch railings. Took down the temp to be able to move in awhile ago and are now thinking of closing it in as a three season porch since we love the screen porch we closed in a couple years ago. And here's my idea of gingerbread and shutters that hubby really wants. I'd like other trim too, but it all adds up when you are doing it all with cash....

Funny you should mention that d_gw, I looked and looked for painted brick surround examples on images and found none. I did find many painted masonry surrounds. I decided against trying a mock-up of painted brick surrounds as my thought is that that is more nice jewelry highlighting better quality windows. Its one of those things were you can't really stop at just the surround. You have to go with nicer windows as well. I like my first full house mock-up. I did the door and sidelights all the same color as per Lori's suggestion and it does look nicer. So, it has been edited since my first go. To me sometimes simpler is better. That first mock-up would look nice with some pretty pots as per Outsideplayings suggestion and better landscape which everyone suggested. The first mock-up would also be a bit budget friendlier.

Here are a couple of interesting websites about historical colors to help you http://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/31885/Paint-Color-Do-s-and-Dont-s-for-Historic-Houses http://www.oldhouseguy.com/aesthetics/ A few more resources to get you started on your research: http://www.oldhouses.com/styleguide/colonials [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/a-brief-recap-of-historical-american-home-design-stsetivw-vs~4512983[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/a-brief-recap-of-historical-american-home-design-stsetivw-vs~4512983) [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/houzz-tour-whole-house-remodeling-suits-a-historic-colonial-stsetivw-vs~11528491[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/houzz-tour-whole-house-remodeling-suits-a-historic-colonial-stsetivw-vs~11528491)