Questions about painting brick and trim colors

kled2008

10 years ago

We are purchasing a home and I plan to paint the brick. (Photos attached). I know there are a lot of differing aesthetics out there and many would never consider painting brick. Though I value your individual preferences, I have always loved the look of off white/light neutral painted brick homes and would love suggestions on specific paint and trim colors. The home is brick and stone and I love the stone that was used. My goal is to find an off white paint for the brick that does not turn creamy yellow or isn't to bright a white that will make the stone "pop"...possibly a shaded white with slight gray undertones. The windows are currently a shade of putty/greige/taupe and the casings and trim are cream. I'm thinking the windows and casing should be painted the same color? Should they be taupe or the off white of the house? There are shutters for the windows, but they have never been put up and I would like to find a putty/greige/taupe for them. Please take a look and give me your thoughts!!! Many thanks in advance.

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Comments (6)

juliekcmo
10 years ago
Try SW Kestral White
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
Just a thought, if you paint the brick the soft white, will it be enough contrast with your trim? Or will you be painting the trim too?

If you pick up on one of the deeper beige tones then your trim can be the white and will still stand out from the brick and the stone.
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kled2008
Original Author
10 years ago
I was thinking of painting the trim the same white as the house but using a semi gloss. I've seen houses like that and think I like the look. The exception would be the trim around the windows which I thought should be painted the same taupe/gray as the clad windows, which can't be painted. My shutter idea is to go a shade or two lighter than the window and repeat a taupe hue. I've never done exterior colors before and am so scared I'll make a mistake!! I welcome ideas!
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
You have a very neutral palette. You might want to add some color with the front door and the shutters.

Have you looked at houzz.com exteriors for inspiration?
lala girl
10 years ago
Great house! We painted our brick when we renovated/added and I have loved it (don't let folks talk you out of it if you want to paint). One great resource for me was House Colors: Exterior Color by Style of Architecture Paperback by Susan Hershman. She includes ideas and colors (with brands and paint formulas noted) for different architecture styles.

Here is our house before and after - we loved the neighborhood and bones of the house, but the busy brick and trim made the house seem dark, so we went for light and neutral (and hopefully a bit friendlier looking) Our paint is SW Tony Taupe (more gold than I would have thought but a lot of samples went green or lavender at different parts of the day, which was crazy making) and trim is SW Shoji White. HTH!

Before -

After
kled2008
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you all so much for your thoughts! I ordered the Susan Hershman book and love it...what a wonderful resource. I do think the brick competes with the stone and it all just blend together to much. I wish we could stone the entire home, but it's just not in the budget. As far as the shutters go, they are hand made, custom, plank style shutters that fit the windows perfectly. I'm looking for antique style, operable hardware...does anyone have a suggestion on brands? Any more suggestions on paint, trim and shutter colors?