Good point. I love a natural brick like the one in the photo above, but I also really love a nice painted out white brick too.

I love older brick especially if it's in good shape and I would never paint old brick. New brick yes.

Depends completely on the brick. Usually painting brick out can change a room with a fresh perspective which is always fun. Charmean

I don't much like red brick, especially the contrast between white mortar and dark red brick which can be too busy. But this is a lighter more neutral color and I like the texture.

Depends on the design. On the illustration here, for instance, I think the natural brick looks fine. The failure in this room is the wall color, which would look much better in a pale neutral peach or light adobe color.

Painted brick unless the brick is of some historical or architectural value. I love the texture of brick but not the colors.

It depends on if it's a wood burning fireplace or not. I would NOT paint a wood burning fireplace as the heat is an issue.

Natural brick tends to be a more traditional approach which works great with neutrals and classic looks. Painted brick can totally transform the room into the more modern and contemporary direction.

I agree with lyvia, yuk to the red brick! I had it in my last home but hated to paint it as some future owner may like it, I just didn't have the heart to paint it. Thank goodness, we're in our new home and I don't have to look at it now!

Sometimes it just has to be painted...especially if someone beat you to it. Our first house had painted dark brown brick inside and out - yuck. Painted the outside to match the rest of the house & then painted the inside a medium blue & spray painted that speckled paint over it (I was 20 - thought it was a good idea in the early 90's). It was MUCH better than the brown!

would definitely search for old brick and not paint.

What a difficult decision. In the right place natural brick is great...old brick can add warmth to a space. I also enjoy the look of painted brick for a clean more modern look.

I think it really depends on the space, but all things being equal I got with the natural look of brick!

I think it depends on the room, furnishings, and condition of the brick. I would always try to work with the brick, because once it's painted, it's really hard to go back.

either keep it neutral or have it rendered. My livingroom wall had resessed groutlines and it was hell to clean since the previous owner had painted it white but used ordenairy wall paint so dust seemed to just absorb into the paint - I had it rendered and I don't miss it one bit.

Like many comments before, it depends on the color and condition of the brick, and how it works with the interior style of the room.

I concur that it depends on the brick itself. That said, I love the look of whitewash on old brick, for exteriors and interiors.

Keep it natural and if old brick try to restore its condition as best as can while still keeping it natural.

I don't like brick, exposed or painted unless it's on the outside. If the brick is awful I prefer rendered to painted although white painted brick is an exception if the house is Cape Cod style or similar. I'd dry wall over it inside in a heart beat - the mortar joints collect dust and spider webs..

I love old brick - to me it feels like a fresh take on natural materials. I know that it's considered very "fresh" to paint brick and lighten a space, but my personal taste is that the color and texture of old brick (like original wood trim, if it's a nicely grained hardwood) adds an irreplaceable layer of class and timelessness to a room.

I think it depends on the brick and the surroundings. I hated the highly textured, yellow brick on my fireplace when the mantel was painted a light color but when I stripped and oiled the mantel, the natural wood looked fabulous with the yellow brick and toned it down. Remember, it is very hard to go back once you paint brick so consider what else you can do to like it.

I'm not a fan of painted brick, but sometimes you need to paint it. We bought a house that had a painted fireplace, and we re-painted it a different color, and it made a world of difference. The new color is a little darker than the actual photo (we've changed the glaring spot light) but it toned down the huge white-igloo fireplace.

In the middle of making a decision to paint brick or not and loved all the comments. I need to ask, what is considered old brick? The house was built in the early 70's and the whole wall plus fireplace is brick and an opposite wall has brick too. Have a new slip covered sofa, dark grey, and a slipcovered large plaid chair that coordinates. On a creek that goes out to the bay to the Gulf of Mexico and house is used as a guest house. Desire is to make it more coastal but not beachy. I need help! Thanks.

@Teresa: Do you like your brick? 1970's brick is not usually considered old (I consider anything past the 1930's or 40's "new" or at least "newer" brick), but so much depends on whether the brick has attractive shades in it or not. So if you like your brick definitely keep it. If you don't like it, then consider painting, whitewashing, or refacing. You might want to start a separate discussion thread with some pictures of the room with two brick walls so you can get some more detailed suggestions.

I like white washing older red or brown brick.... it's more natural than a solid paint and a softer look.

I'd like to calm my used brick down and am considering doing a smooth, white stucco skim coat, wearing some off with mason's sponge so the brick just peeks through. Have seen photos of technique but no materials list or instructions. Told that since the gout between the bricks is a little deep set, I may have to build it up with cement before trying to skim coat . I'm w/feeny for the separate discussions

Feeny, I uploaded two pictures of the room but they are on my Houzz. I am new to this so no clue how you can look at them. You may know a way. I am following you but didn't know how to contact you other than here. Thanks for suggestions. Love more.

I tried to upload two pictures of the room but they uploaded separately. I need suggestions on painting brick in room or not. Going for a coastal look, on a creek that goes to the bay, so not a beachy look, just a relaxed one.

Fireplace wall, above picture is the opposite wall. Paint brick or not and if so what color, wall color???

Hi Teresa,
No problem. I looked at your two pictures on your home page under projects. You did it just right. I quite like your brick. There is so much ugly new brick out there, but yours really isn't one of them. It has some nice tones of gray and brown that resemble the colors of a stone wall and work well, I think, with the coastal feel you are going for. You didn't include a picture of the two walls seen together, so I can't quite tell if it is too overwhelming, but my instinct is to keep your brick as is. If you want more input from other houzzers (including the professional designers who generously post here), what you can do is go up to the top menu and click discussions. You can then begin your own discussion thread and upload your pictures there so more people can give you input. This will be much easier to keep track of than posting more on this thread.

Thank you so much. My pictures will be EVERYWHERE, ha.

That's okay. More people will see them, and you'll probably get more personal input in a separate discussion thread, even though they make sense in this one too!

I agree with feeny. You have a unique "brick" room, and a professional design person will be a great person to listen to. Start a page with your room and see what happens. The brick itself is nice, but the 2 brick walls plus the brick fireplace on top of the wall is a little much, but changing one of those 3 might be the ticket...but get pro's advice here.

I live in Mexico and most of the bricks are artisan made by very small producers in wooden kilns and although this is terrible from an ecological standpoint, the products has a lot of character in the color and texture variations. I do not care for machine-made, completely uniform and boring bricks.

It depends on the location of the brick and the look you're going for, for instance a loft with exposed brick or an older home with a vintage aged look is perfectly fine.

I'll huff and i'll puff and i'll have to see the space and the place to answer. :)

Love love love painted brick. However if you like your brick but want a
More subtle look, try a white wash to soften the look. If it's still not enough
Paint.

Also if you change the wall color it would not be so stark.

This is a discussion my mother and I often disagree on. Truly I feel depends on the space, condition and type of brick but when it comes down to it I am not a fan for interior painted brick. I feel even beat up interior brick should be left unpainted, it adds character that can't be replicated, paint hides all of those wonderful flaws. Exterior brick, on the other hand, depending on the style of the house, looks great when painted especially when years of weathering has left it looking shabby.
I should however add that I also feel stained woodwork should stay stained and not painted which puts me in the minority.

I guess I am a nature (natural) lover.l I would prefer my brick natural. However, HGTV is welcome to my living room - touch anything but not my brick!

It all depends on context. A loft in an old building with exposed brick def needs to be kept natural. A 1950's arch house with yellow brick should NE painted, imho.

I do prefer natural color of the brick..just polish it with water base ACRYLIC EMULSION to make it glossy

Paint any color other than white I would choose the painted but white is just such a non color for me.

In most cases I prefer to paint brick (I painted my fireplace brick black and love it") however in this particular case I think it all looks like the brick is a wonderful backdrop providing a bit of texture in an otherwise neutral room.

I have painted brick before in a rental where someone ruined the look of it by gluing pennys to each one. I know! right! go figure. but I think it adds certain warmth in certain situation.

This was a hard one for me, but I voted for the natural brick, although I like a nice painted white brick, which would give the room a completely diffrent apperence. The natural bricks add color to the home and also compliments the rug and the rust cushion.

Depends on the brick