It's hard to see but the dark blue is the original color of the siding.

You might look at Buxton Blue which is a lighter shade, or the entire range of blues in the Williamsburg color palette.

As you can tell by your house one of the problems with blue on the exterior is fading, so you may want to consider a blue with a strong gray or green undertone

Here is a link that might be useful: BW Williamsburg Color Collection.

BM Phillipsburg or Van Deusen blues are beautiful. Agree with palimpsest - look at the BM HC blues or the WC (new, gorgeous collection ) colors.

On the WC palette, the Azurite would look good with brick. Don't think any of the other WC blues would work, though.

The ben moore visualizer is a pain, so I went with SW just to give you an idea of colors. Unfortunately I can't operate it well enough to change out the white trim, but this will give you some ideas of color combos and how they might look. I'd definitely paint out the garage door to a color that blends with the brick. I think it looks nice to carry that color up to the shutters for a more cohesive look. This SW color is called drizzle. The brick color is SW roycroft copper red.

You could go more gray like SW aqua sphere

Here is SW turkish tile and I've tried to warm up the trim to honied white.

You could go with a really dark blue gray...this one SW stillwater

Deep exterior...sw black bean and warmed up the trim to sw fragile beauty

Deep greens can work well too with the landscape...this SW evergreens

I like Annie's green and brown.

SW Stratford blue with polished mahogany trim

I vote for Annie's 4th picture.....the dark blue gray...SW Stillwater.

I'm with joanieponie - of the mockups above, the Stillwater, with a creamy trim.

I showed the pics to DH and he suggested beefing up the trim around the garage door and think about adding some shutters to the lower window too. I don't know how accessible it is, but I'd like to see a light fixture over the garage door too if it's not a lot of work.

I tried
Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue on the body
Benjamin Moore Carriage Red on the shutters
Benjamin Moore Brickyard Red on the garage door.
White trim

I put wider shutters on the upper story, added shutters to the first floor, and added a light.

I think the garage door may be better blended into the brick, since it really isn't the entryway and is asymmetrically placed.

The mink color picks up one of the brown tones in your brick. I would also paint the garage door in the mink color. If you go with an unrelated color for the siding (blues or greens) I would paint the garage door the trim color or slightly darker than the trim.

I don't know where the current fad came from to paint garage doors to "match or blend" with red brick, but painting garage doors red does not disguise or in any way minimize or blend them in with brick.

I like the wider shutters, the shutters on the lower window, the light fixture, the garage door blending in, but I do like the house with the deeper body color.

Stillwater or Mink. Nice mockups Annie

You might try a mink siding with board and batten shutters and garage door in a warm wood that is varnished.

Here I did
Benjamin Moore Gunsmith Gray (like the Mink)
Benjamin Moore Azurite on the Shutters.
I did the gray on the garage doors, and tried picking the styles and rails out mid-century style in the azurite. Sort of the opposite of blending in the doors.

This post was edited by palimpsest on Sun, Aug 10, 14 at 13:28

Palimpset, that Gunsmith Gray is such a gorgeous color, don't you think? I notice that you've discovered the WC collection too.

As far as this house goes, I think I'd update it a bit by panting the window grids black.

Conventional colonial revival scheme

IMO the colors posted by palimpsest today at 11:41 are the winners, handdown. The colors are beautiful.

I hate blue houses! I'm recommending BM Nantucket Gray, which looks great when used outside and goes very well with the brick colors.

When your garage door is 1/4 of your front façade, it makes sense to increase the budget that is spent on it. It might be "just a garage", but it is the first thing people notice when they pull up to your house, so it shouldn't be ignored when you consider your overall curb appeal.

Here my Blue/Green House. Benjamin Moore Nantucket Green.

I like a lot of these.So many options, I don't know how we'll decide. It seems like people overwhelmingly like the shutters painted red. I kind of like the white. Definitely agree on the light fixture though and shutters for the lower window. I'll see what my husband thinks. What do you think of BM sioux falls?

Trust pal. Red is better.

I like the Sw stillwater or Benjamin Moore Gunsmith Gray. Both look lovely!

My opinion re: BM Sioux Falls: blah, dull, drab.

Here's a combo of the gray with the carriage red shutters and I was going for a black garage door but this dark brown works well I think.

Of course, from this angle, we can't really see the roof...what color is it?

Stillwater (SW) or Brush Blue (BM).

newhousef, it's not red, but a brick color so that it ties in the top with the bottom of the house and makes for a more unified look to the facade....the white is a real wash out. I prefer a warmer trim color too as I think it blends better with the brick mortar. Also, the surrounding houses have all white trim, so I think something less white will make your house more standout.

I'm really liking the gunsmith gray with the carriage red shutters and I'm even considering the white/off white for the siding posted by palimpsest at 14:05. Maybe I'll give up on blue altogether. I should mention we're part of an association who has to approve the colors and they prefer a more traditional look. They'd approve only some of the blues. I'll post several pictures; I'm interested in everyone's feedback.

With the brick shutters.

Dove white with blue shutters

White dove with brick shutters

The Gunsmith Gray is part of the Williamsburg collection, and it is really an amazing color, has almost a metallic quality to it.

The Azurite in Palimpsest's mock up is also from the WC.

Can you do a mockup with the siding in Gunsmith Gray with black shutters?
Here is the BM pic showing Gunsmith Gray with black. And black ALWAYS goes with brick. IMO, it's the best color to use with brick.

If you go with Gunsmith Gray and black, I'd paint the windows and trim BM Muslin. It would look great with the Gunsmith gray and the black.

If you go with a dark red make sure it is intense enough to stand out against the brick.

I wouldn't recommend white shutters. They stand out against the brick but from a historic context you would almost Never see a white shutter on the exterior of a house.

I surprised that you live in a fairly rigid association. Your new house appears in better condition than your neighbors' houses which have some condition issues. Missing shutter, broken railing, mossy roof.

One of the reasons that I left an association was because of the strange application of rules and regs. It kind of depended upon what a particular board member at a particular time was fixated on.

Palimpsest, can you do a mockup using Gunsmith Grey, black shutters, and ivory trim?

Yeah. There are rules for making changes to the houses, and you have to submit your plans. However, I don't think there are any rules (or at least any rules that are enforced) making sure that you maintain your house. There are neighbors (not the immediate two neighbors) whose houses are in really good condition and extremely charming and then there are neighbors who are elderly and not maintaining their homes.

Here is Gunsmith Gray, Black and Ivory

And I tried the same with a Benjamin Moore Azurite Blue garage door

I really like the gunsmith gray, but not with the blue door...I prefer the black. Very nice.

But I'm also liking the deep forest green...a hangover from the 80s perhaps...

Love the Gunsmith Gray, black and ivory. Really beautiful and classic. I like the red shutters as well but the black is striking.