Unpopular opinion: painting brick is fine and you people need to relax

Every time someone posts a painted brick fireplace on here, the comments blow up with people saying it's a crime. I get it if the brick is historic or truly beautiful, but most of the brick in my 1970s ranch house was that ugly orange-red color that made the whole room feel dark. I painted mine two years ago with a quality masonry primer and latex paint, and it cost me about $40 total. The room feels bigger and brighter now, and I still have real brick texture. Has anyone else here actually regretted painting their brick?

3 comments

3 Comments

gracec165d agoTop Commenter

Nah, painted brick looks way better usually.

violaramirez5d ago

Yeah gracec16 says painted brick looks better but I feel like every time I see painted brick houses in my neighborhood they start looking rough after a couple years. The paint peels and chips especially in hot weather and then you're stuck either repainting or living with this patchy mess. Natural brick just gets better with age while painted brick is like a constant maintenance project you didn't sign up for. It's like the difference between a leather couch that develops a nice patina versus a fabric one that stains and fades.

torres.thea5d ago

Started painting my own brick fireplace a few summers ago and halfway through I realized I forgot to stir the paint can well enough. The first coat came out splotchy and I had to wait for it to dry and start over. My dog kept sneezing from the paint smell and pacing around the living room like I was ruining his nap spot. Ended up taking me three days instead of one because I kept finding drips I had to fix. But honestly the room does feel way bigger now and I just touch up a chip here and there with a little brush.