It’s not very often that my daughter gives me an idea for a blog post.

She’s six-years-old, after all.  I’m surprised she even knows what a blog is.

We were driving through Leaside the other day and Maya said, “Daddy, that house there is blue.”

Novel observation, kid.

But then she asked, “Why is that house blue?” and I couldn’t really answer.

She said, “Most houses are red, but that one’s blue.”  Then she added, “I just saw a yellow one as well.”

We discuss a lot of things here on Toronto Realty Blog, and when it comes to the design of a home, or features therein, we would have seemingly countless themes from which to choose.

But have we ever sat down to examine brick colour?

I don’t think so.

In fact, I would think we take brick colour for granted, especially in areas where houses are made from siding, stone, stucco, or where they’re all literally the exact same brick colour.

So on Thursday, I set out through Leaside to snap a few photos of houses that feature a variety of brick colours and I figured we could play a classic game of “Yay or Nay.”

Sadly, Thursday was garbage day, so the street was littered with cans and it affected my ability to get prime pictures.

Also affecting my ability to get prime pictures: people who wonder why that guy is rolling through the ‘hood taking photos of everybody’s houses!

So let’s start with the brick colour that’s essentially default: red.

There are, of course, different shades of red.

Here’s a bright, vibrant red on a newer build:

That’s a yay for me.

I love red brick and I love the vibrant colour!

Here’s a newer build with a darker, duller red, almost with an undertone of brown:

Nit-picking here, since this is a gorgeous home that we’d all be lucky to live in, but that’s a nay for me, compared to the house above.

Gorgeous house, but I like that bright red!

Here’s a red that’s basically in between the bright ted and the brownish-red:

That’s a yay for me.

It’s got more life than the previous redish-brown and that’s what I like!

Here’s a similar red brick:

That’s a yay for me.

And the house is gorgeous too!

Throughout Leaside, there are houses that feature primarily red brick but really it’s a “mix” of colours.

Here’s an example:

Notice how the house, on the whole, looks red, but if you look at the individual bricks you can see dark red, light red, brown, and black.

There are a lot of these houses in Leaside and I would assume there’s a back story here.  Perhaps this brick was the most readily available when the area was built in the 1940’s.

Here’s another example:

As with any house, the colour of the windows, window frames, shutters, siding, shingles, et al is going to have a helping or hindering effect on the brick colour.

Now, once we move through the reds, we get into some curious colours.

For example, what is this?

Light red?

As with the darker, browner red, this is a nay for me.

It’s too much of an in-between, although I like the grey trim on this house as it works with the light red, or reddish-brown, or whatever this is!

What colour is this?

It’s not yellow.

It’s not orange.

It’s not red.

Is it light brown?

Is it dark beige?

I’m not colourblind; I just don’t know.

Either way, while it’s very original, it’s a nay for me.

One shade removed, perhaps, is this one:

Can we call this sand?

I don’t know.  It’s not yellow.  But it’s different from the house above.

This is a yay for me, as I like the house, even though I honestly don’t know what colour this is!

Here’s one that’s similar, but a shade off:

This isn’t quite yellow, but it’s not sand, and it’s not white.

Stone?  I think that’s what we’ll go with.

It’s a yay for me.  I love this colour!

Here’s another one, which my mortgage broker, Tony, just described as “cream”…

Tony said, “I love that house!”

Call it “Windham” if you want, but I’m trying to focus on colours.

There are a lot of houses in Lawrence Park with this style.

For the right house, it’s a big yay for me.

Alright, let’s start with the yellows now.

Yellow is a really tough brick colour love, so let me start with one that you certainly won’t:

Cute house, surely lots of demand for it, but the dark yellow isn’t my jive.

This is a nay for me.

Next up, a true yellow-brick classic:

Here’s where I’m confused, becuase I love yellow brick but I don’t like this one.

Is it the shutters?  The door frame?  The roof, downspouts, and lack of landscaping?

I don’t know, but it’s a nay for me, which is odd, because the next house is one of my favourites:

You simply can’t find a prettier house.

Classic yellow-brick, and this one has a back-story.

The left section of the house is original and the right side is the addition.  In order to find a brick colour that matched perfectly, the developer had these bricks shipped in from Chicago where an old warehouse had been torn down.

That’s worth the price of admission.

This is a huge yay for me.

Then there’s this one:

Almost identical brick colour and yet not as pretty.

Is it because of the other features of the home?

Does the first house just have so many other pretty features that make it all work, that we find it hard to focus on the brick?

I’m undecided, so that means I’ll go with a nay.

Lastly, here’s a somewhat tired looking yellow(ish?) brick house on a corner lot:

I don’t know.

In it’s current form, it’s a nay.

But perhaps if you sandblasted or acid washed the brick, it would be a whole other look and feel!

Moving away from the yellow, how about this colour?

Again, I don’t know what to call this.

Taupe?

Look at the colour of the trim – it’s yellow.  You would never think of doing a yellow trim unless you had taupe brick!

It’s a nay for me, but only because there are so many other great colours.

How about blue?

There are a lot of blue brick houses nowadays, and while many are part of a super-modern overall design, some are more traditional.

Like this one:

This is really pretty and it’s probably worth $4,000,000, so who am I to judge?

But that’s not the point.

The point is: do you like the brick colour?

And blue brick for me is a nay.

What about light grey?

Not stone, sand, or windham.

Light grey, like this one:

Not my fave.

I’m saying nay to this one.

Then again, the the next house is a very similar colour and it’s a different story for me:

Because this is a huge yay.

Now, how about something else?

How about painted brick?

You could conceivably paint brick any colour, but I’m used to seeing only a couple, and it starts with grey.

What do you think about this light grey painted brick?

Personally, I love it.

Huge yay for me.

This one below I think is painted brick:

I couldn’t exactly stop and get out of my car to examine the brick, as I was already being chased by four police cars that thought I was casing houses…

It lacks the texture and sheen of the painted brick above (and as you’ll see, those below) but I haven’t see that colour in natural brick before.

It’s nice, but a nay for me because my favourites are yet to come.

How about white painted brick?

I love that look!

Huge yay for me, and it goes well with the black shutters and window frames.

But here’s a house I’ve always admired:

Not just because I sold this house.

And not just because a friend of mine grew up here many years ago.

But because it’s a classic.

It’s the only painted white brick house in probably a ten block radius and while I wouldn’t like a house that’s “peacocking” or standing out like a sore thumb, I love this one.

Big yay for me.

–

Feel free to let me know where you agree or disagree; where you place your “yay” and where you place your “nay.”

There’s something for everybody when it comes to curb appeal, as we know.  The actual colour of the brick within that curb appeal is getting quite specific, but if you’ve never really sat down and thought about it, now you will!