did you just have the brick installed? if so, why not choose the white brick?

But yes, the reddish warm tones of the brick do nothing to enhance your cooler whites. and they actually work against your countertop.

Too bad you didn't use a warmer, solid quartz

Try a lime wash if they're real bricks. Rombaio. Or, you could also do a real milk paint.

To seal, use General Finishes Flat (or a satin finish) urethane top coat. It will seal the paint and the brick and make cleaning much easier

IMO a brick wall behind a stove is a poor choice at best. When you whitewash it it will discolor from grease and who knows what else I guess now that it is there seal it as best you can and do not white wash and FYI it does not work with the counter at all.

Even the Pros make an occasional mistake, don't beat yourself up over this one. Have it removed and replaced with a porcelain tile that mimics brick. www.tilebar.com has several "brick look" tiles in various colors / shadings.

You envision it like this?

I think it would look fabulous white-washed or lightened. There are plenty of photos on Houzz with brick backsplashes, so lots of inspiration photos. I, for one, have never had issues with splatters all over my backsplash, so I wouldn't be too concerned with the brick. Granted, I don't cook a ton ;-)

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Not the easiest choice for cleanability, but I think it's charming! We all have to make decisions, as there is no perfect, one-size-fits-all surface for anything in our homes.

I think a whitewash/paint will look great with your cabinets and counters. Good luck!

Agree, either paint it or whitewash so it matches your counter and is closer to your inspiration photo. I actually like it. Sure, it’ll be tougher to clean but my backsplash has never gotten that dirty.

I listed two different products to paint with, and a top coat for the brick. once you do that, it shouldn't be difficult to clean.

Do you plan on doing the whitewashing yourself?

The white washing will make the brick interesting, but you may need a clear sealer over the white wash so you can clean the brick afterward.

I like it as is, but agree it's not quite right with the counter, so a whitewash or paint would be a good option, especially since you like that look. And yes do seal it! Twice. :)

I'm going to nit pick because it might help you or another person with any future tiling projects. My main complaint is with the layout and execution. The eye gets drawn to that double vertical line of grout and slivers on the left. Ending up with all those small slivers on the left side of the "medallion" could have been avoided with better planning and tweaking the layout.

Good news is that you usually only make that remodeling mistake once!

I like the brick ..I would whitewash it

Who is splattering grease everywhere? Only these old posters keep cooking with grease....Clean it once in a while, big deal...I vote for the whitewash and I like the brick and the "layout".

Two ideas:

Take your spare bricks to the best local paint store for recommendations. Try different treatments on them. Several coats of clear finish may be all that's needed to dramatically improve the cleanability.

Reserve a spare piece of your countertop material to be recut in the same size as the herringbone accent, should you want to protect that area later. The pot filler can probably be adjusted to fit. Check with the manufacturer to see if the material is recommended for the heat exposure behind the stove (not all of them are suitable).

I never like to see beautiful brick covered, but it is definitely the way to go here given the counter. It will look great whitewashed and sealed. Waco cancel my trip to your place for dinner-idk if I would be considered "old" in my 40s but I am very fit and I love to cook, can't think of anything I'd want to eat that doesn't spatter.

I'd whitewash it. Definitely seal it several times. I have brick behind my range, it had a few coats of sealer on it. Its fine. Would have been easier to just use a white brick look tile in the first place but live and learn.

We agree with the other comments on painting it, good luck!

Everyone has splatter it is not a big deal, even on brick...

The brick will look great after white-washing. Please post a photo. To prevent stains, lean a large cookie sheet pan against the bricks when cooking something messy.

The whole thing just accents the fact that the range is not centered in the alcove. Especially having an off centered “feature”. It should all get removed. Then find something plain that doesn’t emphasize that design goof.

Definitely white wash it or replace your countertops for an option with warmer tones.