It could be a mortar wash and not stucco. Or it could be Boral Pastel Cote brick. Here is a thread with my mortar washing. Search BAH with "mortar wash" and you may get other threads. Also search "pastel cote." Here is a link that might be useful: Another thread

Pam our walls in the back basement were coated with LastiSeal Concrete & Brick Sealer. It can be repainted later and will protect the brick where you still have some paint. The details on the product are here: We didn't do this so I can't tell you how it smells etc. It looks pretty much like the rest of the brick (they ad an odor issue in the back room and tried this to help). A marble sealer isn't a good idea. It penetrates the marble (or brick in this case) and given you have paint, it's not going to penetrate that area so you'll get a spotty application and I'm not thinking you could repaint over that either...but on that I can't be sure. I just know it wouldn't apply cleanly because when I seal our marble it does not stick to any of the painted trim next to the marble (I can wipe it off the next day if I've missed a spot) or the caulk so there's no way it's going to penetrate where you have your paint. When you miss a spot (on paint) it gets gummy....all over a wall? Yuck that could be a mess. As to the water based poly. I'd try a test spot in a hidden or near the floor area and see if it works. IT's pretty easy to apply and I've found it to be a good solution for protecting walls as well. When it does not work you know right away because it gums up on stuff it does not like. I have used it over paint and dyes and never had a problem, even unstable ones. The trick on unstable paints or dyes is to brush over ONCE and move on!!! Don't keep brushing and it will seal things down where they are. Use a very good brush and take it slowly. Here is a link that might be useful: LastiSeal

Believe it or not a lot of us DONT watch J Gaines - pretty much a one trick pony, imho. Its a fad thats peaked and is on its way out. Now dont get me wrong, Ms Gaines is a talented and creative lady, but the reality is even she was getting tired of her same old, same old! I would question the knowledge of an architect who apparently is not aware that acrylic paint film traps moisture behind it and long term creates spalling, cracking and disintigration of brick. It doesnt happen overnight, but give it 20-30yrs it will. Said architect should have advised mineral paints and other methods which are breathable and dont have this effect. Yknow its fine if you and OP dont agree, but when you post to a public forum, you WILL get opinions... sometimes strong opinons. I think the strip mall effect could have been lessened by - painting those drab white srips a dark gray-green and, more importantly, take out a row of parking in front of the door and do some serious landscaping and create a more inspiring and beautiful entry way.

Hi @Danielle Smith, changing the wall paint and the backsplash will give you a more balanced and beautiful space. I know you don’t want to do the backsplash - I get it but reconsider! It will transform the space, and painting it will not. Do you have any inspiration images? If not, start googling images of kitchens with your materials. I think SW Alabaster for the walls but wondering which color white for the trim? I want to make the space look bigger. A warm white is best. A warm white can be lovely - Alabaster is a little yellow. If you want something a little more neutral, consider SW 7000 Ibis White. It will look great with your cabinets. Should the brick fireplace also be painted alabaster or something for contrast/ to match the kitchen cabinets? Suggestions? The brick is fine for now, but you could use a more refined mantel. You can build or buy a mantel cap that covers the one you have. I think white for the kitchen cabinets is overkill so looking for a warm light grey/ taupe – any SW color recommendations/ compatible with Alabaster? Or is white better to deal with the black countertops? Leave the cabinets alone for now. They seem fine. If we were to have the backsplash repainted any color suggestions there? Replace if you can. We are having the floors refinished and they can be slightly whitewashed – better to keep the natural Canadian maple or make lighter? Natural maple.