Paint Brick or not?

LatinGoldilocks

We have been working on adding a new walkway in our home. I am trying to determine if painting our brick home would be wise. The only reason I hate it is because of the stucco in between the windows. We tried painting it to match the brick but it still bothers me (it used to be white). I had contractors come to match the brick but they claim it would not be exact color. I thought of painting it a light gray and adding black shutters. Hopefully sometime this year we will add a portico to the front entrance. What do you think?

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Gymschu

I don't like brick to be painted..........it then becomes a maintenance issue, but, in this case painting may be a good option. Your house looks chopped up as it looks now. A consistent color scheme would make the house look larger and less busy. I say go for it. Just be sure to clean the brick and mortar (gentle pressure wash) and prime with a masonry primer like Loxon from Sherwin Williams. Then you can topcoat with just about any type of latex paint. Gray with black shutter would look very nice and wouldn't clash with the roof color. Good luck with your project.

P.S. I might add that your house has an "apartment building" look to it that would really benefit from a quality paint job.

chrisn

I hesitantly have to agree with gym. Painting brick normally is not a good idea as he said( maintanance), but because of the very strange design, I think you would be happier( and maybe the neighbors also) to paint as posted.

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jamalc6996

If you paint the brick, proper preparation of it will be key to how well the paint adheres to the brick. As gymschu said, pressure wash the exterior first, allow to dry and then prime the brick with a high quality masonry primer.

ltd

painting will help a little ,but your still going to have those stucco squares under the window . i guess making it one color would help. but play along for a second .what your house needs is some mature landscaping to bring your eye away from house . a big tree, nice thick lawn., a raised island , bla bla bla

Graveyardshift

I'm not a huge fan of painting brick either, but, yeah, gotta say go for paint here. Those fields of speckled brickwork are a bit too distracting.

Gray and black shutters sounds good, but with all those flat exterior walls I'm worried that it might look a bit like a bunker. Maybe a warmer shade of tan?

What do other folks in your neighborhood have for house color? Is everyone else brick too?

sdsester

Those shutter things are so out of scale with the windows. The ones on the bay windows look nothing short of goofy. Remember, shutters used to close to cover windows. The faux things most people buy and hang would never come close and in this case, in my opinion just do not work. I would take them off.

I would leave the brick alone but come up with something to accentuate the vertical "stripes you have left. Maybe painting the stucco a contrasting color to the brick? The door in a different shade of that color?

jsheridan

I have about twenty minutes in looking at that picture, and that's a real stumper, just a horrible design from the beginning. I agree with everthing that's been said. However, I don't think that anything that's been said is going to solve your problem and make you happy. I would paint what's visible from the street for the short term, and save my money to have it sided with hardie plank, or have it solid stucco in a style less textured than the stuff on there now. You may see that as too much expense, but you'll be happier with the consistency and you'll definitely get it back at sale. I agree that a tan color would be a better choice, tan with gray accent is coming back in vogue. And yes, the shutters on the bays have to go. I agree with goofy .

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LatinGoldilocks

This is a work-in progress. We just finished the walkway and added some landscaping (still not mature). I am still waiting for them to remove the old stump and that is why part of the landscpaing has no mulch. The shutters came with the house. I have been looking at several colors as option but I want whichever color I pick to compliment the purple salvias and white daisies as well as the blackeye susans that will be growing soon behind the bench. That is why I thought of the grey paint. Any other ideas that could help?

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Blondesense

While I agree the shutters are a bit goofy looking, I'm not sure getting rid of them is the way to go. Without them I'm afraid the vertical lines would be overwhelming.
First thing I would do is get rid of that mint green color though.

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LatinGoldilocks

Can you tell me what program did you use to change the color of the shutters and make them bigger? I am dreading painting the brick because it is sooooo much work. But I really like the way gray brick looks as well. I just wish we can find some way to hide all the colors in the bricks. I even thought of painting some of the bricks that are colored in a brick color paint. I am so lost

DangerMouse

Personally, I'd paint random bricks the color you painted the stucco, then paint the stucco to match the remainder of the brick using white, gray, and black to blend. It'd look something like this if done well.

DM

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LatinGoldilocks

Goodness you do such great work! please do tell me how you managed to change the house look...can you paint it grey? lol
Please let me know what software you accomplished this with...thanks

DangerMouse

I used Photofiltre freeware version. It's easy. ....and free.

DM

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DangerMouse

Gray with black "shutters".

DM

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