Instead of painting the brick, I would recommend a limewash instead. It has been used for centuries on masonry and brick surfaces. The lime, salt, pigments chemically react with the brick to form a permanent bond which gradually wears off over decades. You adjust the opacity by the number of coats applied and can add more wash whenever you want. Limewashing allows the brick to breathe and will not cause damage to the brick. It's more complicated to apply in that you need to wear a mask and gloves. You can buy it premixed or make it yourself using hydrated lime, salt, portland cement and optional pigments. It also needs to be done in a certain temperature range to allow the chemical reaction between the brick and lime to proceed. A gw member ppps7 used a limewash from US Heritage on her new construction brick home. It looks amazing. Here is alink to a thread where she and I talked about limewash. http://ths.gardenweb.com//forums/load/build/msg0519572419310.html General info http://www.traditionalplaster.com/?view=765âÂÂ=824 US Heritage is one supplier of premixed limewash that I have found. They also do custom colors. I have 3 gallons of the wash in my garage for my rental property. I never got to it as i am not allowed to stand on a ladder anymore or at least till the baby is born. http://www.usheritage.com/form/marketing-limewash.pdf For more information, just google limewash or whitewash. I think this is the answer to your problem and doesn't add any maintenance issues since washes don't peel off. I think the brick would look great with a wash on it. I had a fireplace that color which drove me crazy till I stained it darker so I feel your pain.

We had planned to get the French parefeuille tiles, but we couldn't get them quickly without paying what was too much for us. It would have been about $14 per square foot if we had been able to wait 4 to 6 months for delivery. But, we needed them more quickly than that, and the only source that had them in stock was charging $27 per square foot. For us, $14 would have been steep, but worth it. Unfortunately, $27 was out of the question. This was all in late 2007/early 2008, so the prices and availability may be much different now. We went with travertine for about $5 per square foot and have been pleased with it so far.

I am currently obsessing over Exterior brick choices and also love the French country/Acadian style and look. I really like Logan Canyon and there is a gorgeous account on IG called OurDellHouse that almost had me sold on it. But, I am currently leaning toward a brownish Meridian brick called Bingham Canyon that has a tumbled look ivory mortar as I think it might be more classic. Planning on darker shutters- charcoal or navy. It‘s way better looking at my local store than on their website IMO.

Was thinking either blue shutters or a sage green. I want lots of white roses and some purple flowers as well! <3 <3 <3 Green is my favorite neutral. :-) Can't go wrong with the sage, and then mixing in the white roses with their lovely dark green foliage (shrubs, minis, and climbers!) with purple peppered throughout. My landscaping (in progress) is a white + shades of purple color scheme, so of course I think yours sounds gorgeous, lol. For the brick, I know that monitors are different, and your first photo looks the lightest to me, but if the last photo is the creamiest, then definitely pick that one!