Color Me Wonderful
A little while ago, Kelli wrote to us for our opinion about painted brick ranches and requested a few of our favorite exterior color schemes. She went on to explain that she and her hubby might be purchasing a house with terrible orange brick that needed to be remedied immediately. Well Kelli, here are a few suggestions.
While we’ve actually batted around the idea of painting our own rancher, the house painter that we called on for an estimate was ironically really anti-brick-painting. He explained that our current brick exterior was virtually maintenance free, while painted brick in this area is notorious for getting coated in green mold and must be scrubbed with bleach twice a year to maintain a mold-free look. That would mean that we’d have to get up on the roof to scrub the chimneys because they’d be painted as well. No thanks. We also hear that since many buyers prefer unpainted brick, painting it might hinder a sale when the time comes. All this being said- we totally relate to the orange brick situation. Some types of brick are just helplessly fugly and paint them you must- hopefully in a less moldy location for less maintenance. So with that in mind, here are a few of our favorite painted brick homes.
First, this brick rancher has sort of a white-washed brick look going on. We’re not sure how to recreate it, but showing a house painting professional in your area might be all it takes to tone down ugly colored brick and give it a neutral haze without completely covering it with an opaque coating:
Here’s another look we totally love (and probably the exact scheme we would have adopted if painted brick was easier to maintain around there parts)- a neutral grayish-tan as the base with clean white trim. And if your house has shutters to consider, painting them a deeper grayish- tan tone (along with the front door) would keep the whole thing looking cohesive and inviting.
And if it takes more than a few neutral hues to get you going, injecting a pop of color could be just what the doctor ordered. Check out this adorable painted bungalow with safe tan and white colors set off by a few splashes of moody blue-green on the brackets and balcony toppers:
If deeper accent colors are more your speed, this cream colored house uses deep green trim along with some yummy brown tones (in the columns and the door) to keep things classic.
To play around with some alternate exterior color schemes, check out bhg.com’s free Color-A-Home software. Just select a casa that looks similar to yours and change everything from the color of the roof to the color of the door until you like what you see. Have fun getting your paint on!
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Comments
I’d go for the third or fourth, depending on the location. Here where I live, where beach season extends from mid-may until the end of october and we rarely see temperatures below 60F during the day in winter, I’d love to have a beachy looking house. On the other hand, somewhere colder that look may be a bit odd, in my opinion. In that case, I’d go for the last one, which is really classy.
About the look on the first one, I don’t know if it’s possible to recreate it by painting, since not all the briks look the same… I think they’re something similar to these: (If my aunt finds out I’ve shown pictures of her house taken before it was finished… hahaha)
Oh yes, and in Photo 3 you can see how stylish I am when I’m cleaning, hahaha.
Thanks so much! I love the second one the best. Since I sent you that email, we’ve walked through the house in question, and it needs MAJOR work, but I also see major potential. Want to see some pictures?
http://flickr.com/photos/74605918@N00/sets/72157605047886823
Kelli, I love that house! It certainly has lots of potential… and a huge need for goats, I’ll give yout that ;)
Gracia- Yeah, I think you may be right about the first house’s brick finish being hard to recreate since it might just be the color of the stone. I wonder if you could use transparent concrete or brick stain… we used it on our concrete sunroom floor and the original shading and marks still show through but there’s a wash of color on top. If you could find it in a few different tones (cream, tan, off white, etc) maybe you could mimic the look? Definitely something to ask a painter or test in a really nondescript place before going all out crazy with it!
Kelli- That house does need some major work but think of the transformation that could take place! I’m all about pretty rough before shots, and all that paneling and brick and dark green might seem a little scary, but that’s the easiest stuff to change with the stroke of a paintbrush. And the hardwood floors are gorgeous! Are you guys planning to make an offer? Any other houses being considered? Thanks so much for sharing!
xo,
Sherry
Sherry- Our current house hasn’t sold yet, so we haven’t really looked at any other houses or made an offer. Once our house is sold, if that one is still available, we’ll walk through it again with a contractor friend and see what he thinks everything will be cost-wise. We’d like add a front porch and completely redo the inside. Lots of work, but it’s in a great area where acreage is a premium, so hopefully it will work out! I’ve been making mental notes from your great blog posts, so I just know I’ll be incorporating some of your ideas!
Sherry,
Thanks for pointing out this resource! My husband and I are about to close on a house that has seriously ugly brick (you can see it on my blog) and a beautiful set of stained wood shutters with a matching stained wood door. We have been contemplating painting the brick cream, and now, we can play with all sorts of colors first, before putting anything on the house!
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I love painted brick, and the second home you showed is gorgeous. That’s my personal favorite of the options. I didn’t know there was a problem with mold in some areas–kinda scary! -Julia