I live and remodel in a neighborhood of 1950's brick ranch homes where the homes became somewhat run down but in the last 5-7 years there has been an influx of younger couples. Many of the homes were in disrepair and the homes were originally starter homes. Now, with that said most of the renovated homes have been painted and look 10 zillion times better. We actually went very bold and painted ours a dark gray (the new white). Soon after the first neighbor came over and I wanted for the response. They and the rest of the neighborhood loves it. If the home was higher end in the first place a 'higher grade' of brick was probably used. In any case, I say go for it especially if it is a ranch style home. Check out Atomic Ranch and you'll find some really cool examples Here is a link that might be useful: Inside of house.

@Zone4 yeah, I think I'm starting to realize that the brick probably helps break up the facade and keep it interesting. I'm starting to be really intrigued with the limewashing idea. If it turns out we could paint the windows, would you do black or white? I like the idea of a black/charcoal, but have also heard that is the worst color on vinyl windows. @aprilneverends it has been hard to really get the colors across from the listing pics. Basically it is 50 shades of unappealing (to me at least) tan inside and out. So I want a dramatic change, but I know people are really torn about changing brick, so I'll probably have my husband mockup a version with the brick and a dark greige paint to see how that looks alongside a limewashed version. Front door, yes, that thing has a big stain glass Texas star that doesn't help anything. I was thinking one of the modern doors with 3-5 satin horizontal lites to keep some light coming in from the door, then finding a complimentary garage door. For the French doors, I definitely won't change my mind on the divided lites - however they are just an overlay on top of a solid piece of glass, so one of the contractors said you could just pop them off. One set of doors needs a new handle, the other needs about $300 in repair work and weatherproofing, so that is why I'm debating whether or not to rehab these versus put in new ones. And if we replace, I don't know if sliding glass doors that let in tons of light or new French doors with the thinnest frame possible would look best. I know landscaping will have a huge impact too, and could really turn this into a more modern looking house. The bones are certainly good, and it is plain enough that we can subtly take it in a couple directions, just trying to narrow down what will look best while also being somewhat our style.

Instead of painting the brick, if you still don't like them after having them sand blasted, consider staining them rather than painting them -- that would be a mistake. Seriously consider extending the deck the full width of the house -- better for use and resale value. alternately, build a covered porch from the deck and wrapping around the corner of the house, stopping at the chimney. If the deck (or a porch) were extended all the way to the end of the house, the higher ground would mean you'd only need a couple of steps to reach a patio on the end of your home. justgottabeme has the right idea with painting the foundation and window frames and siding already painted; however, you might consider using CWF or a dark, absorbant stain on the deck top and rails, painting only the posts (even with the foundation) rather than painting the actual deck or using a "solid stain" that looks like paint and, in my experience, doesn't hold up all that well..

Your house is brick. So I don’t think the inspiration is necessarily where you will go. I’d repaint the brick white. Definitely beef up the trim with some wood. Or even plain white. Maybe choose a different color trim : Black, Navy, Light gray, Light blue...