Thank you all so much for sending me your paint questions! I got a lot, but am going to aim to do one a day. I’ll try to do them in the order they came in, so don’t worry if I haven’t responded yet, because I promise I will.
First up is this reader’s gorgeous brick home:
I already know that a lot of you are going to say “Don’t paint it!!”
But I strongly feel that if you want painted brick, what other people think about that doesn’t matter. It’s really not the ethical or moral issue that some people make it.
I actually love painted brick, when it’s done right. You can’t just throw any old exterior paint up there. Water can get trapped and it’s no good. So if you are going to paint, for the love of all that is holy and good get an experienced painter!
So, with this particular house, this is the look I would want to achieve. These show different methods of achieving a similar look (more below):
1. This home is whitewashed (watered down exterior paint). Source
2. This home is lime washed (a compound of lime that cures and seeps into the brick). Source
3. This house is also lime washed with watered down paint mixed with sand. Source
I absolutely adore these looks, and it is what I would do with our sample house:
Home Depot carries a product called RomaBio limewash by the gallon (HERE). Obviously, it’s made for this application, so you know you are not using the wrong kind of paint that can lead to nightmares later. Better yet, it takes 5 days to cure, so it washes off before that if you end up hating it. That is a pretty unique feature for paint. So really the only risk is the cost of the paint and labor.
Here are some examples of my favorite two RomaBio colors for this project:
Romabio Classico Limewash in Bianco White:
Romabio Classico Limewash in Avorio White:
Although I think all of their whites would work with the example house, because the roof and trim are black, I would go with one of the whites I showed – Bianco or Avorio, probably Avorio because I like the slightly warmer touch.
I would leave the trim black and the the columns white, like in the photo above. However, I also think if you want a more defined look, the columns would look stunning painted black to match the shutters.
This homeowner doesn’t necessarily want to match the creamy white of her neighbor’s house, but I think it would look nice together if the bricks on her house show through a lot. I think it would look different enough to work together.
If all whites are out of the question because of the neighbor, my second choice is the same technique but in RomaBio Nube Gray [HERE]:
You can also do your interior brick fireplaces and walls with this product if you are looking for a change.
Thank you to my awesome reader who submitted this project, and please make sure to send me after pictures!