A white brick house is a dream – a classic, ensuring your home will never go out of style. In 2023 white painted brick houses are trending in a major way, but not just on Pinterest – in real life too. It’s “the look” and what a lot of new home builders are focusing on.
Living in an older home? Painting your brick white can arguably add instant value to your home!
Building an all white brick house would have been nothing short of amazing, but it was not in the budget for us. As a compromise, we used white painted brick for a large portion of the front of our house. (Update: we moved into an all brick beauty, painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster seen here)
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See that center part with no shutters? That is the white painted brick I dreamed about and eventually got on this house. I went back and forth on shutters for those four windows because I thought they were so pretty – especially the color – but I didn’t want anything covering up that brick. I only had so much pretty brick and it broke my heart to put anything over it!
Is A Painted Brick House A Good Idea?
Styles and tastes are personal and change with the times – and some out there truly love the look of classic red brick. However, regardless of opinions, it is true that painting old brick that is not in good shape is seen as an “upgrade” in the real estate world.
It all comes down to curb appeal. Painted brick with a classic, clean shade of white makes a home easier on the eyes, and can arguably make the home feel more updated than the true color of brick!
- taupe
- dark or light grey
- white or cream
- sage green
- black (yes, black can work in modern homes)
As a general rule stick to neutrals. For instance, I love using blue in home decor, but blue brick is not appealing.
Lighter paint colors have an advantage, because they can trick the eye into making the house to look larger! Also, unlike darker colors, brick painted shades of white and off-white do not have the risk of fading after many years of sunlight exposure.
13 White Paint Colors For A White Brick House
Our previous home is painted Sherwin Williams Extra White, a crisp bright white, in a flat. (You can read all about the paint colors used I used in that home here.) My builder used the Loxon line. I love the finish, and he used a matte sheen.
This masonry primer was also used:
Our brick/siding: Sherwin Williams Extra White | shutters: Sherwin Williams Uncertain Gray
Brick: Sherwin Willams Alabaster Shutters: Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray
This is our new home we recently moved into. Alabaster is lovely and soft on the brick. Read more about Sherwin Williams Alabaster and see more of our exterior here.
via: Color Revival by Rebecca Dumas
Brick: Benjamin Moore Ballet White | Shutters: Benjamin Moore Briarwood
The combination of white painted brick plus gray shutters never goes wrong.
via: Bardwell Homes
Brick: Sherwin Williams Shoji White
An elegant white painted brick house boasts a double front porch!
Via: Pike Properties
Brick: Benjamin Moore Olympic Mountains
A clean, white painted brick house with many architectural details.
via: Houzz
Brick: Benjamin Moore Ballet White | Shutters: Sherwin Williams Attitude Gray
Brick: Sherwin Williams Natural Choice |Windows: Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
Everyone’s favorite white painted brick house – between the window boxes overflowing with flowers and the architectural details, this home is a knock out!
Via: Houzz
Brick: Sherwin Williams White Duck
By using white painted brick, this home has the illusion of bigger windows, and the gray trim pops against the white!
Via: Studio McGee
A simple but memorable white brick house in Denver, Colorado.
Brick: Sherwin Williams Spare White Garage: Sherwin Williams Cityscape
A white and gray exterior uses black-framed windows and black railings to set this home apart.
via @willowhomesbham
Brick: Sherwin Williams Oyster White
Via: Houzz
Brick: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Clean lines, white painted brick, black framed windows are a winning combination.
Brick: Sherwin Williams White Duck
Not too stark, never yellow, Sherwin Williams White Duck is a beautiful mix between the two extremes.
Painting your brick house will transform your home. If you live in an existing unpainted brick house and are on the fence, it is certainly a personal decision. But it can often take a house that looks busy and make it look more uniform, and improve the overall value of the home!
If landscaping and your home’s style allow, carry a white brick wall along the front of your home. This adds charm and can transform a plain house into a one that is more unique.
Is Owning A White Brick House High Maintenance?
We currently have lived in our white painted brick house for 2.5 years, so keep that in mind when I share my experience. Equally as important, our home is a crisp, bright white – that hardest to keep clean and the first to show the dirt.
Shop: hanging chair / pillow / small pillow
White painted brick is more maintenance to keep clean, it is true. Our bright white against the red North Carolina clay in the soil is quite the contrast.
Here in NC we also have a heavy pollen season- thick yellow dust covers our ground every April. It even turns the sidewalk yellow- so just imagine what all the yellow in the air does to a white brick house!
If our brick was an off white shade of white, with a creamy or gray undertone it wouldn’t show dirt as easily.
I was told to maintain brick painted with latex paint you need to paint it every 3-5 years (according to the Brick Industry Association – yes that’s a thing!). But using a mineral-based paint instead of latex allows your brick to “breath”, cutting the time down to 20 years! Our brick is still in perfect condition- no signs of wear.
What is Brick Veneer?
For the center of our house, we actually used brick veneer. Solid brick will cost you about three times more than brick veneer, so this is something to consider.
Brick veneer is the same size and has roughly the same look as a solid brick. But while solid brick homes are built to structurally support a house. When using brick veneer, the brick does not support the structural load. In other words, the inner wall bears the weight of the structure, and not the brick.
Brick veneer is still set just like a regular solid brick, with grout. When you are using veneer, you will want to make sure it has consistency with solid brick.
There is that brick with a fresh first coat, just making all my dreams come true!
White brick is so beautiful, it’s hard to ever go wrong! Of course, remember you want your home to fit in with your neighborhood- not stand out in a bad way. So if the homes on your street has lots of earthy tones, steer clear of crisp stark whites and use off white brick paint colors.
If you liked reading this, you will also love reading about building our home, or tour our refreshed kitchen or read about our coffered ceilings along with 23 others.