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18 BIG Pros & Cons: Should You Paint a Brick House White

Read my 18 TOP PROS & CONS of painting exterior brick before you paint a brick house. With full before & after for our white brick house.

Should You Paint A Brick House?

Are you trying to decide whether or not to paint a brick house, I understand how confusing and hard this decision can sometimes be.

I thought about painting our brick house white for a few years before I finally decided to do it.

So, I decided to put together this big list of PROS and CONS to hopefully help other people decide whether or not to paint their brick house.

Image of a brick house painted white. Text says "18 Must See Pros and Cons About Painting A Brick House".
Don’t forget to Save or Share the pros and cons for painting brick house white.

The Paint We Used On Our Brick House

We went with Sherwin Williams Loxon XP paint for our brick. The COLOR we used is called EXTRA WHITE.

You can find the product description and specifications for Loxon XP on the SW site here.

The greyish-brown we used on the shutters, garage doors, and gutters is a Sherwin Williams color called Functional Gray.

Now, let’s get to the 18 top PRO’s and CON’s for painting brick white OR any color, really.

1. PRO: Completely Changes The Look Of Boring Or Outdated Homes

If your brick house has an outdated or boring look, painting your brick can add instant style AND extra design options. You can use almost any paint color or stain color on shutters, doors, and porches on a white brick house.

Painting brick can also help architectural features in the brick stand out more.

Take my boring brick house for example. I LOVE a southern-style home with well-designed columns and porches. But, our columns looked like an afterthought. They stood out like a sore thumb with absolutely no purpose.

Painting our brick white gave our house a more cohesive look. AND, it took the attention off those oversized columns. Now, our house is eye-catching in a good way.

Before picture of a 2-story brick house with 2 story columns in front.
I wasn’t a fan of the way those 2-story high columns stood out as the “feature” on this house. Painting the house white helped the whole house work together.

2. PRO: Paint Is About 1/3rd The Price Of A Brick Limewash

Limewash on brick and a German Schmear on brick is absolutely beautiful. We had 2 companies quote us to apply a limewash on our brick.

A Limewash on our brick house would have cost us 3 or 4 times as much as we paid to have our house painted.

That was a lot more than I wanted to spend. Luckily, Sherwin Williams makes a GREAT paint that looks beautiful on brick. AND, it’s durable and long-lasting.

BUT, I do LOVE the look of Romabio Classico Limewash. If my house was just a single-story, I might have DIY’d a limewash finish myself. If you don’t know what limewash is, check out Romabio Limewash on Amazon here.

After image of a 2-story brick house painted white with Sherwin Williams Loxon XP.
You can see here how painting brick white helped the detail work in the brick stand out more too. I LOVE that! The old multicolor brick camouflaged those raised areas.

3. PRO: Brick Paint Is Permanent

When you use a quality exterior paint that is designed for brick, that paint is permanent. You’ll only need to repaint the brick if the color fades OR after years and years of normal wear and tear.

4. CON: Brick Paint Is Permanent – So Be Sure

Paint is permanent on brick., So, you need to be absolutely sure you want to paint your brick before you do it. The process to try to remove paint on brick can be pretty expensive and it can be damaging to the brick, mortar, and even exterior wood trim.

One side of the front of a brick house with medium brown shutters.
Painting this brick house white made the shutters and landscaping stand out in a GREAT way.

5. PRO: Easy Way To Cover Ugly Brick Colors

Some brick colors just don’t look great. Am I right? Painting a brick house with ugly brick is one of the most affordable, best ways to hide a bad brick color.

I kind of liked the brick color on our house. BUT, both of my boys called it the pink house because of the brick color. I’m much happier with the look now that we’ve painted our brick house white.

RECOMMENDED: 7 Most Surprising Things I Learned When I Moved To Houston Texas From Ohio!

6. CON: Using The Wrong Paint On Brick Can Cause Damage

If you want to paint a brick house, the NUMBER ONE tip is to use a paint designed for brick. AND, to follow the manufacturers recommendations for application and prepping the brick for paint.

If you use cheaper, exterior paint that wasn’t made for brick, the paint can peel or bubble on the brick. AND, the wrong paint can also trap moisture in the brick that can lead to permanent damage to the brick.

Side of a white brick house with grey-brown shutters and colorful landscaping.
Look at those pretty knock out roses and yellow flowers against that white background. It’s so GOOD. You can see how I painted those shutters in this post: Best Way To Paint Vinyl Shutters – Easy Steps and Video.

7. PRO: Paint Is Easier To Clean Than Brick

Painted brick is SO MUCH easier to clean than brick. With painted brick, you can easily wash off dirt, mud, mold, bird nests, and random bug goo with a light pressure washing.

8. CON: Painted Brick Needs Maintenance

When you paint a brick house, it does need a little more maintenance than unpainted brick. You’ll have to pressure wash it from time to time. And, you’ll probably need to repaint every 15 to 20 years.

BUT, it’s totally worth it to give your house a beautiful new look!

A red and grey brick house with white trim, white columns, and grey shutters.
That multi-colored brick sort of blended in with the trees and landscaping around the house.

Can You Paint A Brick House White?

NOW that we’ve covered general PRO’s and CON’s for painting a brick house, let’s talk about the pro’s and con’s for painting a brick house WHITE.

9. PRO: White Brick = Curb Appeal

People LOVE white houses, that includes a white brick house. Something about all that white paint just makes any house look prettier.

So, if you want to improve your homes curb appeal, paint your brick house white!

Large white brick house with columns.
Painting a brick house white can make the whole house look BIGGER and improve the CURB APPEAL.

10. PRO: Painting Your Brick White Makes A Home Look BIGGER

Another huge PRO when it comes to painting a brick house white is that white paint makes your house look bigger!

I’m not sure why white paint makes a house look bigger. Maybe it’s just that white paint stands out against your surroundings more than brick.

Whatever the reason, a bigger looking house can also increase curb appeal!

11. PRO: Landscaping Really POPS Against Painted White Brick

AND, another benefit of painting exterior brick white is that your beautiful flower beds and landscaping will stand out more against painted white brick!

I LOVE the way our Knock-Out Roses and purple bushes POP against our white brick.

RECOMMENDED: 16 Best Perennials For Zone 9: Easy Colorful Flowers And Landscaping Plants

Image of a brick house painted white with 2-story columns. Text says "18 Pros & Cons to Paint Your Brick House".
I am LOVING our white painted brick house, guys. All of that white paint is a pretty background for my flower beds!

12. CON: Bad Landscaping Will Stand Out More

BUT, the opposite is also true. Bad landscaping and neglected flower beds will be more obvious against white paint. So, keep those flower beds looking nice if you decide to paint a brick house white!

13. PRO: Holiday Decorations POP too

Painting exterior brick white creates a GREAT background for holiday decorations too. Our Christmas decorations looked better than ever once we painted our house white.

AND, check out how amazing our cool Giant Spider Decorations look at Halloween now!

Image of white brick house with Giant Spider Halloween decorations. I LOVE this CHEAP & EASY Halloween theme on our house! Here's how to hang giant spider decorations outdoors with tons of photos to help you get the look.
A white house is the perfect background for bold holiday decorations too. Like these Giant Spider Decorations on a House.

14. CON: White Paint Makes Worn Out Things Stand Out

This CON is similar to the con about white paint making your shabby flower beds stand out. White paint will also make a worn out roof, driveway, door, and shutters more obvious too.

Garage side of a brick house.
Those stains on our driveway were bad already, but painting the house white made it even more obvious that our roof and driveway needed to be cleaned.

Our roof and driveway had some black staining and mildew that was WAY MORE obvious next to that nice, new white brick paint. We had to have them professionally cleaned after painting our brick.

White brick house with grey garage doors and gutters.
After deciding to paint a brick house white, we realized that fresh, white paint made our dirty driveway stand out. We ended up having our driveway and walkways pressure washed.

15. PRO: Bold Door And Shutter Colors Stand Out More

You can use almost any paint color or stain color against a white brick house. Including all of those fun, bold door and shutter colors that are so popular. Like, a beautiful blue or stunning red door!

Backyard pool on a brickhouse.
Ignore the green pool, we were busy getting our house ready to be painted. 🙂

16. CON: White Needs To Be Cleaned More Often

Just like with white cars and white clothes, dirt nd stains will show more easily on white painted brick. So, you’ll have to pressure wash more often.

Especially the north side of the house that grows mildew from all the shade.

Large inground pool behind a white brick house.
There we go! Blue water in a clean pool looks so much better with that white painted brick house behind it.

17. CON: Watch Out For Dirt Or Mud Stains

And, be sure to keep grass, gravel or mulch on the ground around the house. That way mud doesn’t splash up onto the paint when it rains.

Nothing will make your pretty white brick house look worse than mud stains all along the bottom of the brick.

18. CON: Bugs and Wasp Nests Show More

Finally, those mud wasp nests, dead gnats, and other bug gunk shows up more against white paint too. So, you’ll have to grab a broom and a hose to clean those off from time to time too.

Large 2-story white brick house painted with Loxon XP with a big green grass yard.
Overall, I am SO HAPPY that we decided to paint our brick house white. It made a huge improvement on the overall style of this house.

That’s it for the pros and cons of painting exterior brick. Now, let’s go over some answers to common questions people have about painted brick houses.

Is Painting A Brick House A Good Idea?

So, should you paint a brick house OR paint a brick house white, like me??? That’s up to you. BUT, I will say I LOVE our white brick house.

It’s made a HUGE improvement in curb appeal. We’re so glad we did it! Watch this video to see the full before and after of my painted white brick house.

8 BEST PROS & CONS for Painting a Brick House White (Or Any Color)

Is It Expensive To Paint A Brick House White?

That depends on the size of your house and how many stories it has. I recommend getting 3 quotes from highly recommended house painting companies in your area.

Make sure the quote lists the exact paints they’ll use to be sure it’s made for brick.

We went with Sherwin Williams Loxon XP paint for our brick. You can find the product description and specifications on the SW site here.

Before and After images of a 2-story brick house painted white. Text says "18 best pros and cons painting a brick house".
Don’t forget to save or share this list for later.

More Curb Appeal Ideas

DIY Home Cleaning Ideas For You

This post on How to Remove Water Stain from Ceiling Without Paint is always popular.

Drop the paint brush, guys. There's an easier way to get rig of ugly water stains. Here's How to Remove Water Stain from Ceiling Without Painting! How to Safely Use Bleach to Remove Brown Water Stains or Water Rings on drywall, plaster, or ceiling tiles.

Or, this post on How to Clean Car Seats At Home: Easy Steps & Video.

Before and After photos of cloth car seats after cleaning with a Bissell Spot Clean Pro Upholstery Cleaner.

Feeling inspired? That’s it for the 18 Pros and Cons to paint a brick house! Let me know if you have questions.

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