Painted brick can be fun and add a different kind of texture....clean and added dimension.

As others said, it depends upon the brick and your style. I have looked at many houses that have red brick fireplaces and wood paneling in their family rooms. For me the only option would be to paint it. On the other hand we have some gorgeous old townhouses in our city with beautiful faded brick walls that I would keep just as they are because they enhance the house.

To me, original brick looks very busy. I like it better on the outside of a home if its not too mottled with too many shades. On the inside of a home I generally prefer the lighter and more uniform look of painted brick. It gives a nice background to do some other decorating. It's interesting to hear everyone's opinion on this. Leaving it alone seems to be winning.

We painted the grey cinder block basement (mostly because the basement leaked like the proverbial sieve) and I have to say "never again!" I suppose it's not quite as bad as painted woodwork and cabinetry, but it's definitely up there on my list of things not to do.

This is before and almost after. I think that it totally depends on the brick's condition, color and your style. Personally I like washing it out.

4js2ma....I will admit, that does look nice. BUT...in the original photo, where the soot has come up onto the wall. That is still going to happen, only now it will show even more because the brick is white.

The light whitewash....that will become heavier as you have to keep covering the soot.
I'm just saying that the soot issue isn't going to go away because you painted.

It wasn't just the soot that was ugly about this wall. Some of the bricks were actually black. I just couldn't handle it. Also on the opposite side of this wall is/was just as much ugly brick. I really needed to lighten this place up. I hand sanded each brick to get the final effect and we are pretty happy with it. I am also pretty certain that the previous owners NEVER took a second thought about how this monstrosity influenced the room they were in. Soot?? Eh.... There is always sand paper :). Didn't want a Brady Bunch house anymore! :) thanks for your comment! I love input!

Is the oven brick wall in YOUR kitchen? Someone certainly went overboard on the brick. That's one large brick wall!

YES!! It is brick hell! LOL! One side is the living room fireplace and the other side is the kitchen. Brick brick brick!! But if it was pretty brick and maybe not so much of it I might have done something else :)- for now I am done :)!!! LOL

Ok....Now I get it!! Is it a solid, like through & through, brick wall? Just a brick face that can maybe be removed??

I think that it is a solid, although it does not match the brick in the basement. Basically it is a big brick beast that will someday be covered up with Norstone, some kind cultured stone or drywall! For now we are just trying to help this MMC house along :). It's hard to convey everything going on in 2 pictures right?

we painted our brick white

Paint it! , bricks here are the standard in all constructions, I hate it!, here they are so common, everything is bricks, bricks (good anti seismic material, but ugly in my opinion), half of this house have brick walls and all are painted, and we are thinking in actually cover the bricks with something flat, they always get dirty, catch all the dust, I have mentioned that I hate it?, lol

I love painted brick. Would love to paint the brick around my fireplace but, hubby says NO! :-)

Here again circumstances dictate the answer. Some brick is really an ugly color or would fit better in the design if painted. Also the clients taste is taken into consideration. Myself, I prefer it painted. It adds another layer of interest to a room.

Yes

Yes, but a color that will make a statement

It's interesting that this question is here as I have had a wall over my sink of reddish faux bricks. I was thinking about having it removed but it would be so much work, I then thought about painting the bricks since the bricks were not real. Other times people have came over and really liked the faux brick look above the sink. I really don't know what I will do with the small wall as my kitchen is like a galley type with steel appliances. I was even thinking a dramatic black or red paint because it would make a dramatic entrance into the kitchen..

Whitewash it. Rather than paint. Looks better and is easy to do Google for instructions.

I had a typical 1970's red brick, black mortar large fireplace. Refacing was too expensive and I don't like the look of painted brick. I found an easy and inexpensive way to update the look using water based white oak stain. First I cleaned the fireplace then I brushed on the white oak stain in an area about 1' x 1' and then used a sponge to dab it. It was absolutely beautiful besides being easy and inexpensive.

There are so many different variables that play in to this question that it cannot be answered with one simple response. Generally speaking however, if the beauty and integrity of the brick remains intact and it works for your space, I would say keep it. #BeSeenBeSafe

@Judy Idaho do you happen to have any pictures of the fireplace? I would love to see them.

@Julie Hunt here is the photo of the fireplace I did with the water based white oak stain. I don't have a before picture but it was dark red with black mortar. Using the stain was easier and less messy than sanding down the bricks.

How about a "whitewash" that leaves some of the color show through? I would never glob paint on brick. I don't care about the latest craze, leave wood and stone alone!

Oh my God! Someone painted stone white? Off with their head!

What to do with brick monoliths in the home, have by FAR, been the most discussed subject on houzz.

If you have a very outdated, dominant architectural feature in your home, be VERY careful about changing it. Don't just decide on a whim, to paint your fireplace on a Sunday afternoon, because it CAN look worse, and taking it off is a LOT harder!

Also, if the brick you are considering painting is a fireplace, you have to get advice on fire safety.

Brick is a porous material, and if brick is painted with a thick paint, the heat cant' escape through it, and can be dangerous.

Nothing but a stain, or a light wash should be used. If you think a big red brick wall looks terrible, try looking at it with heavy white paint, and any variation in color or texture is obliterated, and you're staring at a big white blob.

@Judy Idaho thanks for the pic it looks great! In my opinion that looks way better than painting with a heavy color.

I think it depends entirely on the brick! We have a very large brick fireplace in our family room. The bricks are all kinds of variegated/mottled colors, red, black, gray, white, etc. I love it! By the same token, we looked at a house that had a huge wall of bright red brick. No variation, just a uniform red. If we'd bought that house, I'd have painted it in a heartbeat.

@Julie Hunt thank you! The bricks looked dark red before the stain. I was amazed how the stain actually brought out so many variations of color.

If you want to give a modern touch, paint it...especially around a fireplace.

I like both looks. The painted is bright and clean looking and would go great with a more modern design style. The original brick is warm and can have either an old-fashioned or a minimalistic/industrial feel. It really depends what you like and what kind of furniture you're going to use.

If the brick is in poor condition or a strange color then yes I paint it. If it's in good condition and I like the color then no, I love the industrial vibe exposed brick gives.

I think both look good. It really depends on your specific space.
-Angeline, GKB

Outside I wouldn't paint brick because of the maintenance, inside if you like it leave it, don't like it paint it.

In America there are four widely accepted "truths" God, Mother, Country and "You don't paint brick!" Despite this seemingly universal truth here is the actual truth. IT DOESN'T LAST- Here in Denver where all the old buildings are brick there are many, many houses where the paint on the brick has adhered for well over 50years and more. ITS A MAINTENANCE PROBLEM Once it has been painted well you just paint it along with the rest of the house at the proper painting maintenance period- usually 8-10 years ITS TOO EXPENSIVE Actually what costs in painting is labor. Painting brick is fairly low labor job because you spray it and there is little hand work. Repainting it again is even cheaper than the first time.
PAINT WON'T ADHERE TO BRICK Painting must be done properly. First of all you must use Latex paint because it breathes and lets the moisture in the masonry transpire. Alkyd paints do not let the water vapor out and cause the brick below to spald or otherwise deteriorate. The first time you paint brick you need to put a primer coat on. Using an airless sprayer is best because it creates a fine film of droplets that gets into the texture. The primer coat can be as simple as very inexpensive latex. I have often used boxed paint that was returned to the paint strore. The key is to put on a light coat first. If you put on a heavy coat the weight to the paint will tend to pull it away from the brick. It is essential the surface temperature of the brick be above 40 degrees for as long as the paint needs to cure, 2-3 hours. Your color coats should be applied a day or so later and you can put in on fairly heavy. Use the best paint you can buy- and again latex. There is no need for elastomeric paint unless the brick is in bad condition and if this is the case you shouldn't be paining it at all until it is repaired.
STRIPPING BRICK My experience over the years has been that usually brick was painted in the first place because it had some tragic staining or was badly damaged and repaired and the bricks don't match. Or the brick is really ugly. You need a real professional to do this and they are rare. I have seen people strip brick and eat the brick away like it was plastic foam. It will cost as much to strip it as paint it. You will also most likely need to do a lot of grout repair. Again, likely to be as much as painting. Lastly you will still have to paint the rest of the house and since your have to take extra care to protect the brick from getting paint on it it will cost as much as painting everything. So you are looking at 3 times the cost of just painting. Do you love the color of brick? Paint it a brick color in flat and it will look fine to most everyone.

The main point here is why live with ugly brick if you don't like it. There is no reason.

We are moving into a house built in 1970 where the brick has already been painted white. However, there are soot stains that will not wash off. I'm not sure how to handle this. It's a bright white, and the paint has a thick, glossy look, so I'm guessing it was painted with a high gloss Latex, but I'm not sure. There are some paint cans in the garage, so perhaps I can find the paint that was used. I'd like to repaint with a creamy white color that I'm using on some of my walls instead of a bright white, but after reading some of these posts, I'm not sure what the best fix would be. It's too late for natural. I thought about doing a reverse painting with a sponge to bring in browns and greys and give it a more natural look, but I'm afraid it would still look like painted brick, so I've nixed that idea. Any suggestions from the pros out there? At the age of 70, I'm not up to sandblasting the paint off, but I'm good at DIY jobs.

I say take a section and some really rough sandpaper- sand away and see what is underneath. You might be pleasantly surprised! Good luck!

I just like brick. I prefer it old, unpainted and overfilled with mortar. I would take whitewashed and with white spots and even painted. There is some ugly cheap brick in bizarre colors that must be painted. but good honest brick is best uncovered.

I don't think taking the paint off is an option. I'm afraid it would cause damage. I don't mind the white (although I wouldn't normally paint brick or stone) because it has a rough hewn mantle that's been painted. I plan to strip the paint off that because it will suit my decorating style. I just need to know how to change the paint color from a bright white to a creamy white, what type of paint to use and how to apply it without getting an even thicker coat of paint than what is there. I will be repainting where it's red. My daughter has been living in the house for the past year, and her preferred color pallet is brighter than mine.

pp, correct the flu problem first.

Craijh, what do you mean? Is that what caused the soot? I'm not sure what I need to do about that. The soot was there when my daughter moved in last year (which is when this picture was made), and they only used the fireplace a couple of times. She did say it let some smoke into the house. I want to have it cleaned before we use it. I don't expect to be using it much since we live in AZ and it only got down to freezing twice this winter. I also want to get a glass enclosure, more for losing the air conditioning in the summertime. The house definitely has some challenging insulation issues that we will have to deal with.

My neighbor painted their large lovely English Tudor brick/stucco house a single color. Grey. While it may look a little more contemporary now, it was a horrible thing to do to the history and style of the house. Removing paint from brick is almost impossible. There is really no going back. If you object that much to a particular house style, then buy a different house!

My friend didn't like the color of her brick but instead of painting a solid color over entire thing she dry brushed softer tones over the brick tones she disliked. It looks very natural. She is very artistic though, maybe not a DIY for just anyone.

I think try to keep it natural if at all possible.

Painted brick and painted wood are two style choices which cause me to cringe. Unless it's in such poor shape that restoring it just isn't viable for whatever reason, I see no good reason to paint either of these things. Once painted you've not only ruined the natural beauty but you've also created a stylistic nightmare for anyone who comes after you and wants that natural look back. I've been known to use polyurethane to seal pine because even pine has natural beauty...for me it's the difference between natural low lights and high lights and a dye job...the latter will never be quite as nuanced.

Painted brick is an abomination. There is nothing 'industrial' or 'modern' about it. It screams lazy and makes it look like you are hiding something. Another problem with painted brick is that it shows every speck of dust and dirt and is nearly impossible to clean. Natural brick rarely needs cleaned, and if so only from soot residue which is easily cleaned.

If the brick is in poor shape, repointing, repairing, and replacing broken bricks is always better. If you want a painted house, buy a house with painted siding. The house was built with brick because it is a BRICK house and isn't meant to be painted. That is why it was not painted when the house was built.. Painting brick because you bought a house that you don't like is akin to painting a mahogany table because you don't like how mahogany looks.

Depends on the particular home. In a loft with lots of character and brick walls I would prefer to leave brick unpainted. In a suburban home especially a builder grade I think painted brick can really enhance a space. Just be mindful - once brick is painted, it can't be unpainted.

I recommend a German smear or lime wash.

If your style is in between rustic and contemporary. use barn wood to make it a focal wall

Painting brick and wooden ceilings are a tragedy.