apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, everyone does see things so differently. I love your partial brick facade and wouldn't even think of painting it. I'd probably remove the trellis which looks like a later addition. This would draw attention back to the lovely Jetson-style roof line. I'd also go ahead and paint the metal soffits and fascia after the appropriate priming. As for the body color, choose something that exists in the brick, but also provides a touch of contrast. I'd aim to emphasize your lovely horizontal lines.

What color is the roof? Sometimes picking a pallet from the shingles can tie the house together.

However, given that the portico, aluminum and concrete are all grey, and your brick has some grey in it, that's the color family I would look for. It goes well with stained redwood, too. Maybe a vivid yellow for the front door to brighten up the dark entry way, with yellow lamps and plantings.

I honestly can't think of any color suggestions, but I will say DO NOT paint the brick. Not because I love brick (I do), but because you live in Chicago and the weather there will mean that you are constantly repainting your house.

I would also recommend using a grey. It's hard to tell without seeing the house in real life, so you'll need to get a few chips out there against the brick. But I suspect you could go with either a warm charcoal/almost charcoal, or even a charcoal with a slight blue to it. Though the red brink will probably make a grey with blue in it seem even more blue.

If you're not going to remove the portico, you might consider changing it's colour too. I'd decide that though once you've determined the colour of your house. Obviously that's the big job.

Good luck! It's a lovely looking house.

sorry for my typo... I meant "read brick" not "brink."

Paint the wood glossy, creamy white and the doors and trim navy blue. The trellis should go. Some sort of tall pretty grasses would be nice where the shrubs are. Could you hang a chandelier in the inset area where the door is, and get rid of the light fixture?

How funny, I was thinking grey as well. I also have a house built in that era. I saw some photos of our house before the owner before us and the house was a dark cedar color. The owner before us painted it grey and it looks fine with the brick front entry and brick around the side and back of the house.

i agree that the trellis does not match the rest of the house, and should go.
i would go clean, creamy white on the wood also. navy trim would look nice.
so basically, i agree with tarynitup lol

I think choosing a shade of grey to go with the natural bricks is a good idea for the wood, and then to spice things up add in something bright for the trim around the roof, doors, windows, and maybe even the entire trellis (which I think could look cool with some ivy.) I would think the metal would be good after priming. Perhaps a rich blue?

This recent post is sort of the idea I have in mind.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/at-austin/inspiration-bright-borders-austin-061476

Keep the brick the colour it is and paint or restain the wood a greenish gray or a moss green. I would paint the garage door a light gray with blue or green undertones.

I agree about the trelis. It is rather blah and doesn't match the lines of the house.

I feel that gray houses are a bit, um, boring. Maybe because I have lived mostly in gray houses. I was thinking about a color that would coordinate with the red in the bricks. I agree that you should NOT paint the brick. I would choose a green for the wood on your house and a darker shade for the trim. When I say green, I mean like a 70sish muddy green, not a kelly green. Does that make sense???

I think you can still paint the aluminum... it may just take more prep work than the wood. Maybe someone else knows exactly how and if.

Good luck!!!

I think khaki would be a great color for the wood. A house very much like this in my hometown was painted khaki (including the brickwork), and it went from looking like a dilapidated, dated shack to a cool, stylish getaway.

don't paint the brick! and, since that will add enough color, go neutral for the rest - soft gray, maybe. I think it looks like a great house.

I would paint the wood and brick. The wood a few shades lighter than the brick and as previously noted .... brighten up the front door. Paint out the trim and garage doors the same as the brick ... my pet peeve is when people highlight garage doors! I have painted down spouts more than once and they have stood the test of time. On our exterior reno we replaced wood siding with Hardie Plank and then I painted the stucco, the brick and the Hardie Plank all the same color with Behr's Stucco paint ... fabulous stuff and it is self priming. It only needed one good coat. We also trimmed out all our windows and I painted them a different color. The stucco paint was used on the down spouts very successfully. I also painted some plastic vents and had to touch them up this year (4 years later).

Against everyone's better judgment, I would paint the bricks. Read up on the correct type of paint, do it properly and enjoy the texture and slight flecking of red color that emerges as they shed tiny flecks of paint each winter. I LOVE how weathered bricks look --especially if they're painted a white or cream color. I also like the idea of lighter colors for the whole house. I think houses with these lines take on a really beautiful 60's beach house look when painted white, cream or a pale Nantucket gray.

Looking at Cabot Stains website, I'd go for nantucket white or cape cod grey. They are creamy warm colors...that would work well with chocolate trim / doors.

for some reason i just keep thinking WHITE all of it, the brick everything. except I'd do a super funky color on the door like a red or turquois.

Grey in the shade of a medium charcoal would be a modern look. A handsome house it appears to be though not big, so you would not want to split the house in two by introducing a dramatic contrast between the top and the brick. However might there not be a possibility of doing something with the three separate planes - left, middle that reaches from ground to roof and right plane. Maybe slightly different shades of charcoal? Or is this nuts? Then pick up one of those colors in the garage doors but don't emphasize the trim. Alternatively, how about a mink color, a kind of deep taupe with some red in it, though it is hard to tell if that color is in your brick.

Pantone 549c
http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/celebrity_brand_guidelines/images/creative-tools/2_3_3_image6.gif

I would guess homes in your neighborhood contemporary to yours have been through similar design challenges, especially with the brick and aluminum fixtures. A nice weekend drive around town can help you get some ideas, or even just let you know what you definitely don't want.

I would pick a color out of the bricks - a color that's not dominant. Without seeing the bricks up close, I'd guess the darkest ones are dark grey? That was my first reaction. If you don't like grey, see if there's something else in there. A yellow, a green tone, etc. It would look really sleek and modern in dark grey, though, in my opinion.

I would do something about the brick, as they dominate and determine the colour scheme, leaving you stuck with the dark redwood and dark brown currently on the house.

They are probably just brick veneer, and so would not be terribly difficult to take off. I would replace them with stone veneer in greys; something like this:

http://www.earthrox.net/STONE-VENEER-PANELS.html (bluegrass)

Here's the info on it:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1594479-3,00.html

If that is out of the question, I would definitely paint the bricks. A nice warm grey, not too dark, on the wood (what colour is the roof?), and a darker grey on the bricks, and darkest on the garage. This would allow you to go with a light grey or white for the trim.

For the front door, the most beautiful option would be a natural wood door - a very neat, plain, modern door in mahogony, natural, not stained, and with minimal graining, with a very matte oil or varnish finish.

As other posters have suggested, the trellis or pergola should be removed, since it is not appropriate to the style of the house.

To finish off, some great new house numbers and lighting...

http://www.ylighting.com/lum-awl-14.html

http://www.dwr.com/product/neutra-house-number-stainless.do?keyword=house numbers&sortby=ourPicks

I love a matte BLACK house. Honest. whether it's 50's ranch, "modernist" (cheap) shoebox or wild ass curlicue Victorian (especially) it is gorgeous

and gardens and trees POP around it


and do leave the bricks unpainted: these are too 3-D to not look dirty and sad instantly (mortar too recessed)


black is MAGIC as an exterior color

the daylight gives you a thousand blacks

PS the all white and bricks painted take (from tesstify) is brilliant too

yeah paint the bricks black too... they ARE hideous.

there is magical house here in LA that is all black painted lava rock (unless the lava rock IS black... never thought of that) the lumps and bumps catch the sunblast beautifully

I am delighted with the comments, thank you! There are a few things that I forgot to mention, the doorway you see is not the door. It is actually an outdoor hallway which leads to a courtyard behind the garage and divides the garage from the main house, so they are only connected by the roof. There is a metal gate that you can *kind of* see if you look closely, the photo is a little misleading. Sorry about that. The roof is grey/black and the bricks are very real, I don't believe that they support anything though. I'm amazed at how everyone sees this differently; it makes me feel better about my procrastination with this undertaking. Thanks again, I very much enjoy reading the replies!

Kristine

I agree with the others - Get rid of that rickety old trellis, don't touch the brick and go for a nice medium grey stain for the siding - and perhaps the garage doors could go a couple shades darker grey.

Also - that safety-yellow light fixture has to go!
Something like this: http://www.lightingdirect.com/index.cfm/page/product:display/productId/P5675/manufacturer/Progress%20Lighting/categoryId/1852/finish/Black in the metallic grey finish would be perfect for your home.

Yeah, get rid of the trellis (doesn't match your house style) and paint that house two shades of awesome blackish-bluish-grey. Darker on the brick (sorry brick lovers) and slightly lighter on the wood. The trim and doors in two shades of very light putty grey. Silver mid-century house letters. Add colorful plants.. I love it. ;-)

Take a look at this AT post which is an inspiration for my 1960s 2-flat here in Chicago. See their flicker set for more pics.

If you paint EVERYTHING the same color (vertical siding, window trim AND frames, garage door trim) and then paint the garge door a contrasting color, the brick will pop and look quite nice. Since the red-brown fascia & soffit can't change, you may want to use that color or something with a little more brown in it (they don't have to match perfectly). Remove the pergola and add a modern light fixture but also introduce some architectural landscaping and stainless steel address numbers and mailbox...and you will have every modern home lover in the area drooling.

One more thought, is there a way to add a hanging vertical element at the recessed entry? Maybe a light fixture (like a simple frosted glass globe)? It would add some drama to the entry.

Hard to say without being there and seeing all the other home colors and amount of shade, etc.
I would paint the walls a really dark dark gray (almost warm black) also all the window and garage door trim and the pergola. Leave the redish color on the steel trim and then paint the front door the same redish color.
Also find out if there is a transparent stain that can be used on brick---if there is, tone all the brick down with the stain to blend with the house better. As the stain wears down it will not look so bad as paint and could be re-stained when needed.
The aim is to give the house a sleek, horizontal feeling. Be sure and line your blinds or drapes with a dark color also.
I would consider perhaps taking down the pergola.
Then use grass plants to give the home a more modern feeling---some beautiful reddish/rust plants.
I would not approach painting this house in a conventional manner with all kinds of trims---like a house down the street that is an early american style.
Consider putting in a new cement walkway to the front door and make it larger then what is there now. Buy a really large contempory pot and place it on the cement area for drama. You could also soften the cement with some nice stone work along the edge. Play up the entrance more with this feeling---keep it modern though.
Put some large house numbers on the garage door (modern) numbers.
Then down the road always keep your windows very clean and sparkly looking.
P.S. You could paint the garage doors in a glossy dark gray (be sure and prep the doors very well before painting) this would help carry the sparkle factor across the house better.
Good Luck

Just a few further thoughts about your project (it's a fun one!) --

-don't make your garage the focus of your front facade, especially if you do not have a front door facing the street.

- love the black suggestions; black exteriors are quite popular in Denmark, and are gorgeous. However, there are a few concerns -- black may make the house appear smaller; they may absorb heat during summer, making cooling more of an issue; black may be a bit design-forward for your neighborhood or community, a consideration for re-sale.

-ornamental grasses in light green instead of shrubbery around the foundation would look quite modern

-I know this is really expanding your project, but have you considered closing in the space between the house and garage, and installing the front door there? That would make a huge difference! It would visually expand your house, and give you a front face, a front door, on the street, which is really missing now. I've seen it done with ranches several times, with the long interior corridor lit with skylights above, and slate flooring on the floor. It would probably expand your storage somewhat, as well as enlarge and reshape your living areas. A big project, but very doable!

Good luck!

like everyone's suggestions for color....BUT how about white-washing the brick like this outdoor fireplace:

http://69.60.255.163/~htdocs/manimages/1086/enlarged/140749383_80_01_L.jpg

it allows the natural beauty of the brick to still show thru, but without limiting you to the red/earth tones in the original brick.

that's my 2 cents