Well we couldn't resist and ended up painting. The final straw was a neighbor telling me that she always hated our brick color and I, of course, was very receptive to that nudge. If you'd like an update, check it out here on a little blog I created to show the progression: Cottage Mod THANK YOU for all the advice, guys!

If you have enough moisture on the brick, the paint will probably fail prematurely. I am assuming that section is a garage, which might make it colder and also encourage moss to grow. There are some solutions that help prevent regrowth that can be added to the power wash. Anyway, as nice as brick homes can look right after they're painted, it isn't worth the upkeep in the long run. Besides, your brick is good looking as is. Getting the right color on the gable section and the trim will be your best bet. Think about a creamy color instead of bright white. One red brick house change their trim from white to cream and the house looked so good. You would never think such a minor detail would make such a difference. A gable roof is like this /\. A shed roof is like half a gable. A house with shed roofs:A house with gable roofs:This house is predominately gable but has dormers with shed roofs:

Find a paint chip card that has the colors of the lightest, medium and darkest bricks. Use the lightest color for the siding and the darkest for shutters. A new pinkish white will be fine for the trim that is already white. Test your samples on foamcore board cut to the width of the shutters.

Something homey and less showy, is nice for a front door when your brick is so rich in hue... I kinda like the Mushroom color, Morris Room Gray on the door and Urbane Bronze on the siding with white trim....or Timber Bark, or Monterrey Taupe on the Siding and Cobblestone on the door, with white trim...just get white, no divided light, windows. You have so little white in your brick and they would look nice matching the trim and accent the darker siding and door very very nicely(and white is not a premium pay more, color on windows). Don't get any divided light. Your windows will look so pretty with the darker siding and pretty brick. When you dress the inside of the windows, try to make sure all the shades, lining or drapes are a solid color either white or something similar to your front door or siding color tones if you do coordinate the door and siding, both of them in the same color family. That is, any one of those 3 colors, not all of those colors. LOL That will make your home exterior look very special. Keep us posted!!! Love your homes' exterior style! And given the shape of your windows, I like the style of the navy blue door above the best. You don't need to add more shapes to your home horizontally and the other door is pretty busy. You just need a bit more simple door style with your multi surface siding, brick and exterior walls that also are not flush. And not sure you need sidelights with the higher window. Maybe a 2 door entry would be stunning? OR put the door all the way to the right hinged and make the sidelight just one on the left of the door? or the reverse of that?? If you want to change the color of the brick, which is very pretty as it is, especially if the siding and windows and door are all refreshed, check into dyebrick.com or into limewashing brick, which can be used to lighten the brick as to give a glaze over it. You control how much lighter or glaze you want to apply to the brick. I have read it can cost as little as 30 dollars to do a medium size brick home. Dyebrick, is more permanent and either of these processes will resist mildew by leaving your brick porous and breathable, allowing moisture to evaporate easily. I have seen both done and the effects are very nice. It is not hard to do, but it is much nicer if your brick is in good shape and you have not had alot of mortar repair done to it, to enjoy it as it is when it is pretty and timeless as your brick is. You have various hues to accent and it looks nice.