To be honest if it was me and I was going to paint the brick then I would go and paint it so that it is obviously painted rather than trying to recreate the red brick look with paint. I think it will just look fake whereas if you were to paint it white it would compliment your walls nicely and you would still get to keep the texture of the brick without trying to make it look like something it's not if that makes sense. There are great tutorials online from bloggers who have done it if you are interested in seeing how the finished result would look. You could full on paint it white or whitewash it for a more watered down paler look. Good luck with your project :)

I have the same problem with some of my shrubs, where the tree or shrub sends out new shoots at the base. Best thing to do if you're putting a deck down is to leave a circular gap around the trunk so you can access the suckers and trim them back as close to the base as possible. Do this as soon as you see them or once a year at the same time when you give the top its annual prune (Aug-Sep probably best time to prune). You could also lean some large loose stones around the base of the trunk to prevent them from growing, don't know if this would work (just a theory). Use some weed proof membrane under the decking but leave a gap round the trunk so the tree doesn't starve. Hope this helps:)

kikiamack, thanks for the input. I hadn't noticed that images had one or the other. I had noticed quite a few of the shelves just looked 'wrong'. I'd never thought of hanging something with the ability to also display things. This is food for thought. I have a weird vintage glass fronted display case with multiple incredibly narrow shelves. Ideal for displaying thimbles or Matchbox cars, neither of which I do. Now I'm wondering if I could create something interesting with it. My previous idea ( before I ran out of money) was to buy some original art from this artist: https://www.georgiacox.com I absolutely love her stuff. I'm still planning to get a print.

Try some shade and drought tolerant plants if you want to grow owt underneath it. The ring of bricks above give a fair idea of the look. irregular stone blocks might look more natural. A narrow level trench (footings) will indeed be best to do it properly. Then some aggregate, concrete, and blobs of mortar (concrete with more sand added) between each block as you build the levels up. There will be countless vids online showing 'how-to'.