Hello. I wouldn't begin to paint.

Leslieap10 pointed out that white-wash could do the trick here. You'll still see the brick, but it becomes as light as you wish, depending on how many times you white-wash it and on how diluted with water the white-washing is done.

What do you think? The way it is now, doesn't become the room.

I also think black might look good. Not sure if you're going with a modern aesthetic, but I think it would lean that direction.

when in doubt, wait.

Thanks y’all, I like the white wash but hubby isn’t a fan, he wants to use the paint sprayer or nothing. Our decor is sort of industrial rustic if that makes any sense. Gray leather sofa with large ottoman, crank table, and gray distressed tv stand. Not really modern, we don’t want to fight with the natural ‘70’s style of the house. Ugh, I am never this indecisive!

paint it. sorry, but that brown brick was hideous in the 70's and it's hideous still. it's not like it's some vintage used brick.

Paint black or a charcoal gray. (use brick paint)

or do your white. look at how much better this looks! And lose that flimsy little mantle while your at it. get something like in these pictures. You can buy a 2x6 or 4x8 at Homedepot or lowes and stain it yourself

your room is fresh and clean and bright, and then you get to this dirty,dingy brown brick. nope. paint it

If your taste and the scheme that you would like is industrial/rustic - I think the brick works better than a white painted brick would - honestly speaking.

It looks like you've painted a blue below the wainscoting. It's a pretty color - but it might be throwing off the look a bit. I don't think the blue works with the brick. And it doesn't really work with the industrial rustic scheme - or with your furniture (in that scheme). I also think it is breaking up the space - dragging the eye down instead of up. You could bring blue in with art and accessories - but I think painting the whole wall the white (or whatever color) you have on top part may really work better for your room and design. And - if you paint the fireplace white, or do a white wash with this blue and white that you have now - you are going to have more of a cottage type of feel to your space as opposed to industrial rustic. White walls with the original exposed brick lends itself much more to the style you are interested in.

If my scheme were industrial/rustic, I would leave the brick alone - and paint the lower half of wall some derivative of white, if not the same white (color) as the top.

Most definitely paint it white.

freedom,if it was the same brick that is in all 3 of your photos, I'd say leave it. but look very closely,,it's nothing like that vintage looking brick. Big difference.

Paint it white!!!! Also, if you make it dark first, it will be hard to cover with white later, right? But my opinion is, go white.

Changed my mind. Paint it that light grey?!?!

Light grey for brick, white for mantle only. Maybe replace mantle with nice one down the road

Peel back the paper on the hardwood some first, to see the paint with the hardwood. Then decide once you see that extra color/layer in there. For what it's worth, I would cover it somehow, for me the question is, what paint color to choose. The hardwood is tripping me up. I hate when wood colors clashwith paint colors....so try to make sure whatever you pick marries with the floor color.

Last comment, swear. Paint the brick....grey or white...blue wall can be changed later if you get sick of it. But either way, stain a piece of wood the same as your hardwood, and use that for the mantle.

Assuming the wood stove is staying, You could build a reclaimed Wood wall around the fireplace or paint it white, then if you don't like the white make it look likebrick again.

I would cover that brick with some cement tile. That is really ugly rght now and will still be ugly if you pant it.

maybe do it with wood like tile?

Did yall miss the part about hubby vetoing white brick, industrial design etc.

OP - masonry stains come in all colors, including gray. Esthetically would still give you look of brick - with texture and variegation in color - but in a different shade more harmonious with wall color. Would still be more of a rustic raw brick look.

Agree with the above that brick as is is still quite serviceable (esp if cleaned up) but does clash terribly with wall colors in both before and after pics. (Just a side note - its not the fireplace thats ugly per se, its the clash of colors that is objectionable. More of a greigey-gray or charcoal brown-gray put up on the walls would give your fireplace a whole different look.

Please do not paint brick! It looks cheap and lazy when done- very 'rednecky'. When your furniture and walls are done ( the yellowish looking walls are not nice to look at, at all) the red will not stand out as much. You have something of quality that you can work with.

When we bought our 90 year old colonial, the previous owners had painted EVERYTHING yellow- walls, trim, and of course the brick fireplace and mantle. I don't like the painted brick look in general. We used a product called Brick Anew. It gives a faux finish that makes your brick look like brick of a different color. Not a single person who sees it believes that it is painted- it looks exactly like our fireplace was built with beautiful taupe-toned brick. The best $250 we spent on our remodel- the fireplace is the centerpiece of our home. Took two of us one relaxing weekend to complete the project and it's totally customizable- make it darker or lighter as you go, or highlight certain bricks if you like. Cannot recommend enough and I'm always surprised more people with ugly brick (no offense!) don't use it. brick-anew.com.

I would not paint it. I can see how, against the original wall color, it looked like it needed brightening up, but I think against the more striking new color scheme, it adds a bit more natural tones (like the floor), and is dark enough to support an industrial/rustic motif. The bricks are themselves very inoffensive, so I would not paint them if you're at all uncertain, because there is no going back. I think you'll find the fit into your decor just fine. (Plus, if you change your mind later, you can use some kind of stain that won't require a sprayer.)

Perhaps a bold deep color like a navy or dark gray. or white wash it to get some texture through the paint. (:

To the comment about painting brick looking redneck-ish....I live in Los Angeles, and people paint their brick fireplaces a lot here, to quickly cover the 70's look. It may not blend in with styles in other regions of the country. Here, I feel like it's common and people decorate around it. Maybe because there are a lot of rental houses, things are doing quickly....it became part of the style. I ditto what Beth H said. I like that look, in those photos. But those houses all have a more modern and West coast vibe. Keep in mind the other things you may like about those photos though. Like the all white photo has a lovely wood ceiling, which you do not have.

When you paint, that black is really going to pop. So grey may be better. Though white is nice. You will want to add some black metal decor so the black fireplace looks to be part of everything. Black metal sconces, black metal decor, Black metal legs on furniture.

Whereas in my neck of the woods, which is also a high proportion of rentals, people buy houses partly to get away from landlords' cheap fixes and everything painted "landlord white." Where I live - lots of new luxury rentals and condos + development around here that all heavily borrow from prairie style (this being WI & home of FLW, etc) Which means lots of raw brick and stone, wood, real linoleum, and nature colors - grays, oranges, browns, blues, greens. Not seeing much Joanna Gaines white-everything. We all have opinions and preferences, but what irks me about the white-everything brick painters is that yall have such a one-size-fits-all approach to everything, whether appropriate to region or tastes as stated by the OP, or not. (To clarify: "Irk" in a mild sense of the word, its not like a major problem for me or anything).

Carry on.....

Hi Kat,

My hubs also doesn't like white wash and demands the use of a sprayer.

I agree with many of the above posters, the brick does need something done to it, it looks old and tired and doesn't really match.

What does hubs want to do? Have you shown him inspiration pics? Perhaps I missed it, I read what he DOES NOT want, but what is his personal choice TO do?

@Janie Gibbs

What about a stain?

I agree with Beth H. that there's nothing special about your brick. The Misty Harbor Brick Anew looks like it might be a good choice for your space.

"Nothing special". Hmmm. Just want to point out, in case yall have missed it - the fireplace structure itself is quite attractive with the brick brackets to hold up mantle and it is a substantial structural element that fits in quite nicely in the space.

If the color has to change fine but pls do so with respect for future and long term viability! Either a masonry stain or colorwash effect ( can be gray or dark color not necessarily white) esthetically better than a paint film which sits on top of the brick and is more durable. Paint becomes ugly over time and can only be painted over again and cant be removed from pores of wood. If you want more opaque look the mineral paints aka silicate paints can be opaque - and btw the us distributors can mix to match colors of any major paint brand. US sources include Keim-usa, Limeworks, Romabio, some others less user-friendly.

Oh can someone advise how I can keep from getting these notifications of new posts. I dont want to keep beating the proverbial dead horse but its hard to resist when this same message keeps rising to the top again and again!

Good luck OP with whatever you decide.

I agree that the fireplace itself is attractive but the brick is monochromatic and very dull. I never advocate painting brick but I don't see anything wrong with changing the color to update it if replacing it is not an option. If you don't want to get any more notifications, go to the bottom of the comments and see where it says "Click to switch off notifications about new comments" in green.

Thank you everyone! The furniture arrives this week so for now we’re just going to paint the mantle a nice grey and bring in additional warm tones in the area rug to tie into the brick. Down the road we may do that masonry stain or refinishing product someone mentioned, but we decided to live with it as is for the time being. I appreciate everyone’s input!

Have you heard of Brick Anew? Right now I’m considering doing my fireplace using this product. I think the Mystic Harbor color would look great with your decor! Here’s the link https://www.brick-anew.com/. Good luck!

Oops ... just saw katinparadise already recommended the Brick Anew, Mystic Harbor!

And, the should be Misty Harbor! I’ll get it right ... LOL