The Newport has prefinished brick walls that would be near impossible to replicate, so I have been trying to figure out something that will make the garage seem like an addition to an historic house but not be an eyesore.  I first tried DAP Stucco Patch painted to match the red bricks.  While I liked the result, it looked too contemporary and just off in some way when put next to the Newport.  (But, if I build another dollhouse, I will definitely consider this finish - easy to do and beautiful.)  Remarkably, since I had primed before applying the stucco and had then painted it, the stucco lifted off the plywood rather easily.

The next idea was clapboard siding.  Brick houses often have sided counterparts, but I wasn't sure what color to paint it.  I made siding swatches of stained wood, white paint, ivory paint and the same brick red color I had used on the stucco.  The wood was out immediately since the rest of the house is trimmed in white.  The white siding with white trim was too much white.  The ivory looked better in contrast but there was nothing to tie that color to the house.  And, finally, the red with the white trim made the garage look like a candycane.

Driving home from work the next day, I noticed most garages on brick homes have brick facades with siding on the rest.  That brought me back to the same problem of replicating the brick, though.  I then remembered when I cut the new opening from the kitchen to the garage, the brick surface of the mdf walls would pop off along the edge.  When I got home, I took the doorway cutout piece and slowly, carefully slipped a sharp hobby knife under the bricks.

The mdf split pretty easily, and I was then able to get a putty knife further under the surface than the hobby knife would go.

I tried to get the bricks to come off in rows since I couldn't get the full surface to lift intact.

I taped the painted trim to the garage and placed unpainted strip wood in place of the garage door trim to mark the area I would need to brick.  I applied the bricks evenly on both sides of the garage door from the bottom up, using tacky glue to adhere them.  This way, if I need to stop due to running out of brick (or patience, I suppose), I can use siding on the rest and garage exterior will still tie into the house.

The bricks vary a bit in thickness though I've tried to even them out, so the surface it a bit uneven.  Overall, though, I am pleased with the result.

click image to enlarge

I have other doorways to cut which should give me plenty of brick surface to use for the two areas on either side of the garage door.  If I can't get enough bricks to also cover the area above the door, I will use decorative siding to fill in that area.  The "unseen" side of the garage will be covered with clapboard siding.