You wanted my thoughts on your home well here they are...OMG, when can I move in with you? LOL What a beautiful home you have! Geesh, if I had to do anything and I don't think that you really need anything, I guess I would maybe tone down the kitchen by adding a lite touch of a wash to the walls. Boy, your home is beautiful. This would just give it more demention. I love the colours you have picked. They compliment each other so well. I have added a site that you could check out some ideas. I don't know if you know her or not but I refer to her books all the time. Go to www.debbietravis.com. Then go to Room or Technique. You can get a lot of ideas here. And she shows you how to apply them to your home. Hope this helps a bit. Please let us know what you have done and keep us up to date on the pictures. I love the kitchen windows. Looks like a ranch type judging by the fence I see out the window. Just BEAUTIFUL...where is this lovely home of yours? Just being nosey! LOL Good Luck...not that you will need it. :0) Penny Here is a link that might be useful: faux painting

You're right. Drastically changing the exterior of a home is a serious decision not to be made lightly. Before you paint or stain brick, have it pressure washed -- something that (in order to do it right) would need to be done before painting or staining anyway. That will enable you to see the brick at its best and you might rethink painting or staining it. Anything painted or stained will, inevitably, need to be redone and begin to look awful as it begins to reach that point. Before painting the brick, and after you replace the windows, first try painting all the already painted surfaces -- window trim and fascia. Then pause and think about the look you then have and the look you want before proceeding. Personally really loathe most painted brick -- it needs to be some really ugly work to want that ... but, your home, your taste. Either all black or all white windows will go with any color roof or siding.

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..

I limewashed the brick using 1 quart of Romabio Bianco White. Let me tell ya, I used every last bit. A quart should cover 100 sq. feet of brick. I had 87 sq. feet. I really like the limewash because it's not just one solid block of white brick, the kind of look paint would give. The limewashed brick is more variegated. I had planned on spraying off some of the limewash, but after I applied it, I liked the look and just left it "as is." I really like how it turned out. Thank you, everyone for your help!