So sorry you didn't like it. Personally I don't understand why people paint brick or stone unless they are covering up a problem. The brick on the front of my house was painted when we bought it. I often wish it was the same as the sides and back. One stone house on my street had been painted white. New owners power washed the paint off only to find that the mortar didn't match at all, so they repainted it. You may want to consider having your bricks sealed after washing with acid.

Hi, we are renovating the exterior of our home. We recently did a white mortar wash on the brick (a suggestion I got from this site!), and we are now trying to decide on the color for the siding, trim, and accent color on the door. We have a sample up now (you can see to the right of the middle window in the 2nd photo). The color is a light gray body, with a darker gray trim. I feel the gray is too light and will wash out the house. I'm thinking of going a little darker, but then the trim would need to be darker, and I worry it would be too dark. Not sure if white trim would look ok or not, especially given the detail in the right peak of the house. I would think we would want that to stand out. Any suggestions on siding and trim colors would be greatly appreciated! Lighter or darker siding color? Lighter or darker trim color? We are getting new siding too, so the new stuff will be hardi lap siding. No Samples Up Front of House Front Door

Aren't those inspiration pics gorgeous. We moved to NY from TX and I'm worried about dark skies making me depressed. So light and bright is definitely a must. My husband wouldn't mind the TV over the fireplace, but I worry about straining our necks up. Though to be honest, we hardly watch TV. I would bet he'd be open to a second bookshelf or floating shelves. I like symmetry too. Thanks for your input.

paint it. and that scalloped trim on the bookcases, sorry, but it's very dated looking. You can easily trim that off. But I'd paint the entire thing the same white as the brick. And that mantle would also need to go. it's the wrong look for that style brick fireplace this one is pretty close to what you have. notice the mantle and fireplace screen. And, I think it would look neater if you put doors on your lower shelves. Like they have here on the left. Then you could style the shelves w/a few selected items and hide the mis-mash tried doing a photo shop. now, does this really look worse than what you currently have? you have the exact same set up as these two. These look amazing. there's no need to hand onto to those wood shelves! I know they're oak, but they're not a super crafted oak fireplace. they're just, blah. paint them and style them like shown! I photoshopped it both ways for you pretend the surround is brick. but notice the shelving. contrasting color in the back, everything else white. you could do baskets or pull out drawers on your bottom shelf. But, here are some pictures so you can see what it might look like. (and don't worry about painting that brick, it will be fine. may take a few coats (prime it first) but it will work. don't forget to paint out the gold in that insert. (or remove it) this is almost the same as yours. you could try a chalk paint or a milk paint. (or just use Romabio lime wash) paint out the mantle along w/your bookcases.