Did you know you can refresh a brick fireplace with whitewash using paint you already have at home? We updated our fireplace wall in under a day without spending a dime.
We don’t mind exposed brick, but many of our homes have had an unattractive orangey-brown brick rather than the pretty red brick you see in old city apartments. In past houses we’ve painted the brick solid because we love the texture of painted masonry. This time, after seeing whitewashed brick on Pinterest and reading a few tutorials, we decided to try a whitewash first. If we didn’t like it, we could always paint over it.
Luckily, we loved the result. The room still needs work and this might not be a permanent solution, but for a day’s effort and no extra cost, we were very pleased.
Materials Needed For Whitewashing Your Brick
This list is short and likely contains items you already have from other painting projects:
- Regular white latex paint
- Paint pail or mixing container
- Stir stick, spoon, or other mixing tool
- Paint brush
- Water
- Rags or old t-shirts
- Drop cloth and/or rosin paper
- Scrub brush or wire brush (optional)
There are specialty whitewash and limewash products for exterior applications, but for a simple interior refresh it’s perfectly fine to use leftover wall paint. The technique is forgiving and inexpensive.
Below are the straightforward steps we followed to finish this in a day.
Step 1: Clean Your Brick
Start by wiping the brick to remove dust, cobwebs, and soot. A once-over with a rag usually does the trick. If the brick is particularly dirty or flaky, use a scrub or wire brush to remove loose material before painting.
Step 2: Create Your Whitewash Mixture
Mix one part paint with one part water in a paint pail. We used a leftover eggshell finish of Benjamin Moore Simply White, but any white latex paint will work. The mixture should be thin and drippy — imagine half a gallon of paint diluted with an equal amount of water.
Step 3: Apply With a Brush & Rag Technique
Use a paintbrush to wash a thin layer of the watery paint across each brick, including the mortar. Work brick by brick, then immediately dab the wet paint with a rag to remove excess and prevent drips. Because the wash is so runny, dabbing helps achieve the subtle, weathered look by absorbing extra paint and letting the brick color show through.
The dabbing step takes a bit of arm work, and it helps to move quickly so you can evaluate a larger area as you go.
The bricks absorb the wash quickly. At first it may look like you’ve painted them solid white, but after dabbing and letting the paint sink in the brick’s natural tones reappear.
After the first coat I nearly tracked drippy paint-water onto the wood floor, so I taped rosin paper to protect the floor — a waterproof option that prevents drips from soaking through.
Step 4: Let Dry & Evaluate
It took about two hours for the first wash to soak in and mostly dry. Once dry, step back and assess whether you want a subtler look or more coverage. The great thing about whitewashing is that you can add additional passes until you reach the desired opacity.
I decided a few areas needed more haze, so I applied a second coat.
Step 5: Apply Additional Coats As Needed
For the second pass I thinned the paint further — about one-third paint to two-thirds water — and worked quickly. That coat took about an hour and softened the overall tone without hiding the brick’s texture and variation.
From a distance the wall reads chalky and varied rather than flat or overly glossy. Up close you can see different tones and textures in each brick, which keeps the finished effect natural and interesting.
Whitewashing this once-dark wall made the room feel brighter and less cavernous, which was especially helpful since this space receives very little natural light.
Some readers asked whether we would paint the wood beams, wainscoting, or mantle. We’re leaning toward it, but don’t recommend rushing — paint on wood and brick is hard to undo. Only commit when you’re certain you want the change.
Update: We Painted It!
After living with the whitewashed brick for a few years, we decided to brighten the room further. We used a paint sprayer to paint the brick and surrounding wood Benjamin Moore Simply White, and the room transformed.
Many other changes took place in the room over the years — a new mantle, different furnishings, and so on — but the whitewashing project gave us the confidence to make larger updates.
Overall, whitewashing is an inexpensive, low-commitment way to soften and brighten brick without losing texture. It’s a great first step if you’re unsure about fully painting masonry.