Hello Experts! As winter comes to a close, I finally managed to get the remainder of my Christmas lights down off the house. While doing that, I was looking at the house and realized that a paint job is definitely needed this summer. The color of the house right now is a pale green with white trim. It has been this color for as long as I can remember, and I am tired of it! I want to change up to a deep red with white trim and put up some shutters, just to dress it up a bit.
I am also looking into changing out the soffit from plywood to perforated vinyl. While doing that, I also want to add recessed lighting to the underside of the soffit.
In addition to the above I am also looking into replacing my fallen fence in the back yard.
So as you can see, I am going to have a very busy spring and summer on my hands but have a few questions before starting the tasks.
First, when changing the color of the house from one extreme to another, I am concerned that it is going to take too many coats to cover. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for a better paint more suited to minimizing paint coats and covering up imperfections.
I am also concerned with the shutters on one window. There is brick around that window and I'm not sure how to attach the shutters to the brick. I don't want to hurt the brick to badly, but really do want to install the shutters.
Has anyone had any experience installing recessed lighting in the soffit? I do have some electrical experience, but should I look into hiring an electrician?
I have included a picture of the house. I also included a picture of the house during Christmas. I had a light show and this picture shows all my lights on--Just for fun!
Thanks for any help.

http://s1027.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0689.jpg