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We live in a neighborhood built in the 1920’s and 30’s. The houses in the area vary in size, architectural style, and exterior materials. I would guess about half of them are clad in brick. But on a recent walk with the dogs, I noticed many of them had chosen to paint their brick. While deciding to paint brick isn’t new, what surprised me was the various colors selected.

Painting a brick house white has been a recent trend tied to the popularity of the farmhouse style. Some historical purists really hate this trend. After all, brick is one of the oldest building materials that has stood the test of time. It is also relatively low maintenance. So, it does beg the question – why would you want to paint your brick house?

Refreshed look

A traditional red brick house with shutter can still look tractional when painted white and the shutters are a contrasting color.

But painting the brick can also dramatically change and even modernize the look. Such is the case when the brick is painted black.

One example paired their yellow ocher painted brick with a red clay tile roof giving the home a Mediterranean look.

Perhaps the brick is a dated color or simply a color that the homeowner doesn’t like. A good candidate for a brick refresh might be this two-toned brick home.

Painting this brick would certainly refresh the look.

Hides defects

If the brick is damaged, stained, or mismatched, painting immediately unifies and “cleans up” the exterior look.

Unifies remodels or additions

Matching a brick tone and grout on an older home can be close to an impossible task, especially if the color of the brick or the grout has changed over time. In some cases, matching even the size of the brick can be a challenge as building standards change over time. Since many of the homes in this neighborhood are small, additions and remodels were likely the reason many chose this route.

In many cases, if you look closely, you can see slight textural difference of the old brick and the new brick. It could be the size of the brick or the troweling of the mortar between the bricks.

What Kind of Paint?

The brick needs to be masonry sage, breathable to avoid trapping moisture within the brick. Some popular options include a limewash which is breathable but also gives the home a soft, aged look. It is also partially reversible. You can also whitewash brick by diluting the paint to allow some texture and color to show through. And if you really want the color to show through, consider a mortar wash. This method is smearing wet mortar over the brick and then partially whipping it off.

What Color Paint?

Here is where the sky is the limit – or at least it seemed to be in my recent neighborhood survey. Of course, I saw white and cream color paint. Many selected gray – in various shades and reflectivity.

I was most surprised by the pinks, yellow – even a dark blue.

With these colors, the brick essentially becomes textured stucco. What do you think? Should we be more bold and imaginative with brick? Or do you fall in the “Leave it alone!” camp? I’d love to hear your thoughts!