Exterior siding

We are in the middle of planning what sort of exterior covering we are going to use. The stucco finish was unservicable on most of the exterior walls, and can only be salvaged on the garage and perhaps part of the living room exterior wall. The extensive changes that we are making to the front windows require us to modify the exterior finish, or redo the stucco. I'm not a fan of stucco (it's ok as a highlight or feature wall, but a bit overwhelming in this house, despite the stucco/brick mix.

We've decided, after much contemplation, to paint the brick a flat black (see pictures for primed brick), and tie that in with matching black soffits and fascia. However, to prevent the black paint scheme from being overwhelming, we will bend some stainless steel for the fascia, and use a mix of Ipe or Merbau and an accent panel of large (17"x26") glossy black tile with stainless or aluminum accents. On the back of the house and the wall facing the pool, we will use galvanized steel siding which will run horizontally.