Alexa, I think it will look great painted. The room is no light and airy, and so linked with the garden. Having the eye flow over the painted bricks seems like the way to go.
(I am making the same argument, for flow and lack of visual clutter, with DH about the fireplace in our livingroom.)

I saw it as it slipped away. I mean, of course, "so light and airy."

Agreed and thanks for educating me about a "Florida Room"! LOL

I respectfully disagree....
Get that poster and the clock o0ff of that lovely brick and let it stand alone.
And unless I am not up on all things Caliloo, you live in Pennysylvania....you may call it a "Florida room" but there will be times when it looks out on snow and certainly the fall leaves turning color.
Please don't paint that lovely brick work...make it a focal point....don't try to have it "slip away"...because no matter how you try, it's still there.
Linda C

Another vote for "no paint". The brick is not "dated"...brick is timeless. Rather than try to make it something it's not...use it as the inspiration piece for the entire room. I can easily envision a garden-themed room (PA style though...no Florida Room! lol).

I would use something like this as "inspiration"...assuming your goal is to bring your garden inside.

{{gwi:1443911}}

An indoor fountain on that brick wall would be beautiful, IMO. Lots of plants. There is so much wonderful gardeny (is that a word?) furniture available these days...made from earth-friendly woods & fabrics.

Nope, wouldn't paint the brick.

/tricia

My vote would be for NO PAINT, too.

I like the brick, do not think it looks dated. And if, at some point down the road you decide you no longer like the paint it will be a huge pain to remove and the brick will never look that nice after you do.

I like Tricia's garden theme idea, but I also think you could use the brick as a backdrop for some nice art, or a fountain, or even place some nice plants or a sculpture near/in front of it. Maybe with some uplights. Lots of things you can do without having to paint it.

Linda

The bricks around my fireplace are painted black. I would not like them to be natural as the look is too rustic.

Paint it, Alexa!

I have a brick wall in my living room but the entire wall is brick with the fireplace set into the wall. And like the rest of my house, it's white. It's not painted white, the brick is white.

I always like natural colors like wood and brick better than anything you could paint or paper with, so keeping in mind that I HATE color and can redecorate a whole house with a 5 gallon bucket of white paint, I'd say "no". Don't paint it. You'll still have brick, it still won't "match", it'll just be painted brick. I can't see that it would blend any better painted than it does now.

Annie

The post over on the DF is sliding away....here's one picture.

Do you know how many poeople buy "faux brick" to get the look you have?
Keep it as it is and play it up.

I'm in the don't paint it group. Whoever painted the one in my place and I don't like it. Yes, it is off-white and blends into the sunroom but I would love to have the natural brick back. I'd like to try to srip it but that project is way down on the list of thing to do as of now.

David

I posted on your thread and it bumped back up on top of the list.

your link brings us to the main page of the dec forum, I tried linking to the actual thread but it's not working, odd.

I vote for painting it - I hate seeing raw bricks in an interior, except perhaps in a Southwestern stucco motif. To me, bricks are depressing, and I would definitely paint them, but not the pink color of the walls - that would make it look like you are just trying to have pink bricks. I would paint them white to match the trim. It's all a matter of personal preference, however.

Lars

Alexa, where is your Florida room? I don't remember seeing it when we were at your house. Is it downstairs?

I think you need to decide on a style first. I would look for some inspirational rooms that have brick in them and see how they are treated. I like brick natural and painted but it has to work with the style...and flow with the house.
It's too early to ask whether you should paint the brick or not.
It's like asking should we have rolls with our dinner...and not telling us what else you are serving!

okay - First of all, sorry for the link. I thought I had linked to the thread, but it seems I jsut linked to the forum. I am attaching the link to the thread at the bottom of this post so you can see some of the other photos too.

The old peach color is what I am changing - it has been there for a few years and I am tired of it. You can see a bit of the new light seafoam in the photo of the glass door/window, but I will get another photo of the room showing the new color too.

Pam, the room is off the back of the family room on the first floor. Our house backs to the woods and creek, so it is quiet back there. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to see it, but that just means you have to come back when the garden is in its glory!

Thanks everyone for the advice and opinions. I think I am going to leave it natural for now and finish everything else. At that point if I decide I don't like the brick, I can always paint it then......

A

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to the thread itself.....

Bumblebeez made a good point - I should fill you in on everything else in the room so you can form a more educated opinion.

The upholstery is in the following link - Tommy Bahama Cocopalm Seaglass. The representation on my monitor is pretty true - it is a soft teal with a grey-ish undertone. The paint I chose is Benjamin Moore Turquoise Mist which is a light greenish blue with the same grey-ish undertone. The furniture is natural color rattan sofa, table and two chairs (no loveseat) and I have a ceiling fan in there that DH has decided he want to replace the blades on and get the ones that look like palm fronds.

The furniture looks a little like the set in this link:
http://www.furnitureoutletworld.com/furniture/product/41189/Wicker_Furniture/1

This is sort of a fun little fantasy room where we can sit when it is 90+ degrees with the ceiling fan on and listen to Jimmy Buffett, drink rum punches and have a little mental escape.

Hope that helps a little with the vision we have for that space.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tommy Bahama fabric

No no no. Absolutely not. Never take a classic component and try to reinvent it. Accessorize. You can update a solarium by complementing the focal point with lighter or trendy accoutrements. Painting brick will never work unless you are on a back episode of Quantum Leap and it's 1975. _Especially_ if you ever intend to sell your house.

Honest PITA in NJ

I don't think the pinkish walls of the room do the brick justice. If I were to keep the brick natural, I'd repaint the room.

You really couldn't go wrong with painting the brick or not, but it seems to me that if you're going for a fantasy, T Bahama type of space, painting the red brick a slight off white color would better accentuate the other elements in the room. Solid red brick seems too heavy for light and airy (although weathered red brick would work well, if you want to get into faux weathering the bricks).

Paulines - the room has already been repainted! That was in my previous post. I used Benjamin Moore Turquoise Mist (though it looks very bright on my monitor) it is a grey-ish pale teal which coordinates nicely with the Tommy Bahama fabric.