Afraid of painting a brick wall in your house? Maybe it's a fireplace or an old exterior wall? Give it some thought, consider the pros and cons - and then just do it. Start whitewashing away the brick you don't like today.
Painting an interior brick wall is the kind of thing only an a) brave b) stupid c) bored or d) mentally deranged person would do. It's a project I was terrified to do. I stared at a brick wall that I hated every single day for 17 years before I decided to finally paint it.
So why didn't I? I was scared. I wasn't scared to paint an entire wall in my office with whiteboard paint but brick? Brick is different. Painting brick is SCARY.
Table of Contents
Should I paint my interior brick wall??
Yes! There's no reason not to. Other than the whole, you can't undo it thing. But if you hate the wall as it is, you're not going to hate it any more when you've painted it so at the VERY least you'll break even.
Painting brick isn't 100% irreversible, but it's pretty close. It's like gaining 600 pounds. You *could* lose that weight but it's gonna take a lot of work, a lotta tears and enough swear words to fill a penitentiary.
Even though the original brick wall was beautiful, it didn't make my room beautiful. At all. I put LED strip lighting above it to brighten it up. That worked(ish). But not enough.
I told many people I was going to paint this brick wall over the years and I had many people tell me back "NO!", while simultaneously whipping their hand up in the universally recognized stop position. "You cannot!'.
No one ever had a really solid reason for me, other than they didn't think it should be done.
White brick walls are having a moment right now but unlike some other fads, this one not only looks good but it's actually a fairly classic look.
A lot of white painted brick walls are done to replicate the look of efflorescence.
What is efflorescence you ask?
Antique stone or brick walls turn splotchy white over the years. It's actually a layer of salt. The process is called efflorescence and it happens when moisture from outside, travels through the brick or stone. The water picks up salt from the brick, stone or cement on its way through and then the water exits out the other side of the stone and evaporates. Unlike the water, the salt it picked up doesn't evaporate, it sits like a powder on the stone.
I also ripped up all of the floors in my house on a whim. That didn't go quite as smoothly as painting the wall. You can read about the floor debacle here.
And then one day in 2017 I thought suck it and I painted my brick wall on a whim. And I'm still love it.
I started off thinking I was going to completely paint my brick wall solid white. Then on a whim (again) I decided to whitewash it.
Whitewashing Interior Brick
Materials
- Water based paint (latex)
- Water
- Paintbrush
Instructions
- Wipe cobwebs and dust off of brick wall.
- Mix equal parts paint and water.
- Start painting.
Whitewashing a brick wall (or anything) is as simple as using 50% water mixed with 50% paint. The paint has to be a water based paint, not oil. If the result seems too solid still, just water it down a bit more.
Then paint the "whitewash" on the surface of whatever you're painting and blot the runs with a rag right away.
I didn't like it.
I didn't like it one bit.
I got out my primer and started slapping it onto the wall with a brush and a roller, realizing I'd have to just paint the whole wall in a solid white. Because my bricks are so old and irregular it was almost impossible to get into every groove and hole so I gave up on that after a while and just brushed the primer on quickly, thinking I'd go back and clean it up after one quick coat.
But as I stood back I liked it exactly like this. Not a perfectly painted brick wall. Not a Pinterest brick wall. An interesting looking, aged, antiqued looking brick wall.
It's chalky looking which gives it the look of being authentic; as though salt and lime have dusted the walls over centuries.
And just like that I knew I was done.
How to Antique a Brick Wall
- Slap some primer on the wall being careful not to cover every bit of it.
- Clean your brush, put your paint can away.
I did finish priming the entire wall, but after I was done a quick coat of primer I packed up my paint, washed my brush and started sending photos to family members and friends.
Well guess what. They liked it. I mean, they gasped of course, but they liked it. A few people asked me if I was finished. I told them I thought that I actually liked it the way it was. To which they replied, "Yeah, I think I like it like that too."
Do you know what's funny?
Never once, in 17 years has anyone ever walked into my dining room and commented on how beautiful they thought my brick wall was.
Not. Once.
So I don't know what everyone's issue with painting it was.
The truth is I'm glad it took me this long to paint the dining room wall because had I done it 6 or 7 years ago I wouldn't have had the confidence to leave it the way it is, half-assedly painted.
I'm also glad I didn't know I was going to haphazzardly paint my wall. If I knew I wanted a "random" look to the wall I would have given WAY too much thought to what areas got more paint than others.
I would have stood back and assessed and made it way more difficult than it needed to be. By not knowing what the hell I was doing, I got a genuinely random look. The kind of random look I never would have been able to achieve if I was trying.
Painting an Interior Brick Wall
How to paint a brick wall inside your house.
Materials
- Primer
- Water based paint
Tools
- Paintbrush
- Roller
Instructions
- Vacuum your brick wall to get all the dust off of it that you can.
- Using a brush or roller coat the wall in primer.
- Once primer has dried go over it with 2-3 coats of interior latex paint.
- See notes for additional options for painting a brick wall.
Notes
To whitewash a brick wall mix together 50% water and 50% latex paint into a container. Using a brush, paint the thin mixture onto the wall watching for any drips and cleaning those up as you go. Do a test patch first to see if you like the sheerness. If you don't then either raise or lower the amount of water you've used.
For *my* brick wall I ONLY used primer. I never went back and put any sort of actual paint onto the brick. The primer stuck really well and I like the sort of chalky appearance of it.
I know; you maybe liked the brick wall natural. I know; it was a beautiful brick wall. I know; it's very difficult to lose 400 pounds. But it can be done.
I'm not sure why I was so scared. Everything I fretted over painting in this house like the kitchen brick wall, or my interior trim I've loved.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a wall to look at.
Carrie
Well "Heavens to Betsy" (lol) doesn't that look great!!
Love old brick but it definitely changes the look of the room besides brightening it up. A wreath will pop up there!
Funny no one has commented on the brick.
I love period pieces,Austen novels etc. so I am drawn to that painting. When you look at her it makes you wonder all sorts of things. Well,if you're like me anyway.
Have you ever told the story of where you got her?
Its all fabulous but nothings better than your first cat Karen!
Hahahaha😱😱😻😻
Rose
It does look great. Now the floors look more beautiful.
Marie
Well done! And you got me with the cat story :)
Karen
LOLOLOL! I had fun doing that cat. ~ karen!
Lynne from Design The Life You Want To Live
You committed to white!!! You did it !!! You did it !!!!!
Whooooohoooooo !!!
It looks s.t.u.n.n.i.n.g.
I'm so excited I just pulled my t-shirt over my head and ran around the room like a footballer after scoring a particularly spectacular goal. I'm chuffed.
Whoop whoop
Karen
Well, I committed to whiteish. But that's still something! You'll have to come see it. ~ karen!
Leticia
Karen, is your brick wall original to the house? It doesn't look like it to me, it looks like a layer of bricks in front of a stud wall.
I am a big fan of original, old brick, exposed. Although I am not sure I could live with it. But if it's added on, c'mon, it's no sacrilege. Actually, it's your home, do with it as you please.
Thandi
I luuurve it. And I loved the brick wall, but I didn't have to live with it. My apartment is a dark cave which gets virtually zero sunlight, if I had brick walls I would have become completely homicidal. Not that it wasn't touch and go when we first moved in, because the previous tenant had painted the entire open plan living area in alternating colours, Halloween purple and orange. Orange, purple, orange, purple, orange, purple. Paint: it's a miracle cure for orange.
Karen
LOL!!!! ~ karen
Thandi
So orange. So purple.
Karen
Ho. Ly. Stink. ~ karen!
Renee Ryz
wow - I love purple, and even I say "nay nay!" we looked at a home before we bought ours that had hot pink walls & lime green shag carpet - and I thought that was bad
Marna
Looks great!
Ev Wilcox
Did you leave the LED light strip up? If so, I would really like a shot of it on, at night. Before paint, the light really brought out the natural uneveness of the bricks. Does that show now?
Don't know if I would have done it-but it's your home and good for you! It looks great.
Sue Bouchard
Love it! If you ever get tired of the plain white, stencil some kind of old (or new) advertising on it. You can always change things with paint...and go back! [make it look brick again with more paint :) . Did a faux brick wall sign with a Coca-cola ad on it, for my son...he loves it.] I think Margaret loves looking at it, too! Great job!
Jenna
This is great. I love that distressed white washed brick look. Bonus that it's easier than pinteresty white brick too. And way easier than gaining and subsequently loosing 400 pounds. I actually like that the brick color still shows through because that little bit of brick color brings out the gorgeous wood of your table.
dana
I love it, Karen! Really nice. We had a house built abt 20 yrs ago and I wanted to do something on the vaulted wall in the great room but I didn't want anything trendy like sponging or stenciling. We decided to stamp it like brick. It was so cool. It was one of those I-love-it-more-than-I-thought-I-would moments.
Karen
Thanks Dana. And yes, those moments are fun. WAY more fun than I-hate-it-more-than-I-thought-I-would moments. :) ~ karen
Deborah Burns
It looks great Karen!
I like the craggy whitewashed look, it's patina!
I have paneling in my living room which I hated when I bought my house 20 years ago and have wanted to paint it. But what color looks good over paneling?
Dither, dither, dither.........
Eventually I gave up on color and decided on white, because I finally got over my dislike of white walls born of years of renting apartments painted "Navajo White".
I decided to paint my paneling (actually a beautiful veneer of golden wood) white.... Time happened
Then guess what!
Now I LIKE the paneling! HaHa
Karen
LOL. I'm sure it still looks better white. :) ~ karen!
Angie
I started reading the post thinking, "Oh, hell, no, don't ruin that awesome-looking brick wall." Then I saw the pictures. I'm a convert. It looks great. Way to go!
Pattie Meyers
Girl. Waaaaay better looking wall now. And I predict Margaret will end up hanging out there. I think your first instinct was right.
Karen
Hi pattie! I can see why you think that my first instinct was right (I thought it was too!) but it wasn't. :) The room is a much better balance with her where she is plus you can see her a lot more for some reason. She is where she is. :) ~ karen!
Raymonde
It's only lime wash, it looks like watered down skim milk, it goes on translucent and becomes opaque when it dries, which is part of the fun! :-)
Jane
Looks great!!! Very rustic like that's how it always was. I also painted an orangy brick fireplace white, the red brick behind my wood stove white, and "solid pine paneling" (what I was told ) white....all against my husband' saying no no no!! All scared the crap outta me, but love them all. This summer stained my concrete driveway....scary, too, but turned out amazing. It's just paint....right? ; )
Valerie
Karen I am sure you will think that this sounds dumb and very uncool but I think it needs another few coats of paint.
I like the whitened look of the wall and prefer it to the exposed brick.
Karen
LOL. No, it just sounds like you want a solid, white, brick wall. Which is exactly what I decided I didn't want once I saw the wall as it is now. This is just more me, and I'm sure a solid white wall would be more you. ~ karen!
Raymonde
I love it!
I did that on some the old stone walls in my house, but I did what they did in the old days, I lime washed them! It's really easy to do, very inexpensive and it looks great! :-)
Here's what it looks like in my bedroom.
Karen
Ohhhh you live in that billion year old house in Quebec! Love the lime plaster. I've used it on my cob oven (if that's the same thing ... I think it is, but with a wash instead of a plaster). Looks great! ~ karen!
Carlene
Ohhhh, that looks amazing, Raymonde (and so does your wall, Karen)! I always feel like interior stone/brick should be treated completely differently that exterior stone/brick. Karen, the added light in your living room is fantastic.
Unlike 90% of the population, I'm a total sucker for a (properly weatherproofed & color-coordinated) painted brick building. I live next to the amazing city of Troy, NY, which looks like the 1800s never left. Every single downtown building is brownstone or historical brick, and the residents throughout the years have done a lovely job of maintaining that "step back in history" feel. There's an entire street of painted brownstones where they've filmed quite a few movies due to how amazing it looks. So, paint your bricks, says I!
(I attached a photo of them filming "The Age of Innocence" in Troy, just for fun)
Karen
Wow. It really does look like it's from the 1800s! Love it. ~ karen!
Kim
Wow. It REALLY looks great white. And I am an exposed brick lover. But this looks so much better. It reminds me of the walls in a Chinatown near where I live.
Good work!!!!
Karen
Thanks Kim. And actually it doesn't translate nearly as well in photos as it does in real life. I can't even STAND how much better I like it. It's made a huge difference in the room. I can't wait until it's Christmas so I can hang a HUGE wreath on the wall. I couldn't before because ... ick. ~ karen!
Toni Guerrero
Loved the story of how you painted your cat. Genius! 😉
Karen
Hahahah! I'm so glad you liked it the cat story! ;) ~ karen!!
Brenda
I'm going to have to find that cat story. My ex painted my cat green when I was in Florence, Italy studying for a year. Never let your ex have your cat for a year.
The wall looks so great! So does Margaret. Win. Win.