Comments on: dear d*s: painting brick + color flow between rooms

By: sue

sue — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:20:24 +0000

I have a brick wall that has been painted white. I am in the process of painting the room this wall in in Liberty Gree. Should the brick wall be painted the same color as the other walls in the room. or would it be best to leave it white?

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:06:02 +0000

I have seen on an web channel a DIY painting flat sponge, which sits on a base with it’s own handle, but can not seem to buy it now anywhere. Do you have any thing like this here?

By: Ararart

Ararart — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:58:09 +0000

As a decorative painter I have been faced with painting brick many times over the years.
If you have “used” brick on and exterior or interior that you want to maintain the character of, but the color is too harsh for your palette, you can “color wash” the brick with diluted water based paint. You still see the brick look but tweek the color so it melds into your palette. This works best with warm, light colors like tan or taupe since the orangy-red brick is so warm to begin with.

The ratio of water to paint should be about 50/50. The process is really easy, just paint it on with a large brush. Keep a bucket of water nearby in case you want to thin out any dense spots of paint. The porosity of the brick actually works in your favor on this technique so you can skip sealing it first.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:22:38 +0000

The previous owners of our home did a great job combining different colors in different rooms. Our living room is a suede-finish khaki, the dining room is a terra cotta red, kitchen is pale yellow & tv room/hallway is a deep eggplanty brown. All of the trim and molding throughout is a lovely cream color. All of the walls work so well together and can be seen from room to room. The only color change we had to make ourselves was the downstairs bathroom. It had originally been a bright orange and I toned it down to a soothing light blue. I love how all the colors work together – and love that we purchased the home this way. I seriously doubt I would have been able to come up with such a great color combination myself!

By: Katie Kelley

Katie Kelley — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:14:35 +0000

I painted an interior brick wall in the bottom floor of my carriage house about a month ago. I *highly* recommend using matte finish Behr Premium Plus (Primer and Paint in one). It’s a little more expensive per can, but ends up saving you time. Not only did I use one coat, but the finish is beautiful…I even painted over a previous red finish. Make sure to purchase a “rough surface” paint roler, which will make it much easier to get inbetween the cracks.

By: k

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:03:02 +0000

For those in old brownstones, rowhouses, etc. with party walls, I would really recommend KILZ primer before painting any brick walls. It kept a recent roof leak that seeped in between our wall and our neighbors from turning into a major issue. Also- sealing if you don’t paint is a good idea both for drafts and for water- water can seep through and cause calcification (white powdery residue) which as we found out is a mess and stinks, besides.