Community Chat

[CelticCrafter]

This will sound strange...I don't mind painted brick inside the house - outside would be a deal breaker for me.

[mousiegirl]

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@dex wrote:

My son lives in a beautiful gated subdivision and all of the homes are brick.These homes are no more than five years old and very stylish looking.Today he sent me a picture of one home that was just painted all white over the brick.He said the neighborhood is really upset that the homeowner did this and I have to wonder what they were thinking.The house just stands out and not in a good way. The home is for sale but I don't think the paint job is going to help.I thought the beauty of brick was low maintenance.

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@dex  If the brick is the ordinary red, then painting is fine.  In our previous house, the previous owners painted the old looking brick with character, so I removed the paint, not too difficult.  They also painted the wall of brick of a fireplace in the master bedroom.  I repainted that as it was just ordinary brick and looked much better the way it was.

[stevieb]

It depends on the the color of the brick, the type of brick, the style of the home and the color of paint that is chosen. Overall, I like painted brick. 

If a home is made of 'old' brick, which already offers some color, I'd probably not paint it, but the most basic red brick isn't necessarily all that appealing. Likewise, some of the 'sand' colored brick could only be improved by the addition of a more appealing color choice. Were I to paint a brick home, I'd stick to a small and more staid choice of colors. 

There a number of homes near me, all in nicer neighborhooods, that were red or 'pink' brick and that were painted. I think the painting improved them all, except one, where they chose to paint the brick a glossy dark burgundy. I shake my head every time I drive by. Another of the houses was painted a very pale taupe-sage and it's beautiful and the third was painted white and the house really stands out, though it was also pretty with the original red brick.

As has been noted, the brick used on some homes was meant to be painted. There's a pleasant little neighborhood nearby where all houses of a certain style featuring all brick construction have all been painted and I can't imagine that those houses would be as charming had the brick not been painted. I suspect they were painted from the time they were built.

That same neighborhood has several other styles of house, using various types of brick but combined with frame construction. Most of those houses have left the brick natural but some have painted it as well and almost all of them are lovely, whether the brick was left natural or was painted. Sometimes, it's the architecture of a house that defines its appeal and nice architecture will work regardless.

There are no hard and fast rules and simply because a house is built of brick doesn't make it sacrosanct. I'd also note that concerns about upkeep seem overstated. Of course brick will need to be repainted eventually, but a good paint job using good paint will last for years.

[sunshine45]

we have an all brick home. i do not like the look of painted bricks at all. i prefer the natural look. the bricks on our home are now quite hard to find and match.

[ROMARY]

Silver Lining:  Yes, give it a try, maybe on the bottom first.  And, seriously, if you don't tell new guests, they won't even notice what you've done (well, exactly how you've done it, that is).  

[ROMARY]

p.s. Silver Lining:  OR, you can buy a few bricks when they are on sale for 4 for a dollar.  Practice on both sides, just to see which chalk application works for you. 

[JustJazzmom]

Painted brick requires a lot of upkeep due to fading &  chipping. Why give yourself more work? A house behind us got whitewashed over the brick and it looks awful. Brick looks great in 'brick' color. DON'T DO IT.

[Abrowneyegirl]

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@faeriemoon wrote:

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This is AWFUL!!!

[esmerelda]

The trouble with painting anything is that it will eventually need to be painted again.  And again.  As some of the photos show.

A very large red brick building here was painted white by new owners.  Not very long after that it was on the market again.  It was sold.  And now it's back to it's original beautiful appearance.

[Marienkaefer2]

There's always ONE in every neighborhood.