Stop Searching - Here Are The Best Exterior Paint Colors for Brick Houses

If you're a homeowner blessed with a beautiful brick facade, you may be wondering how to make the most of your home's curb appeal. Choosing exterior paint colors that enhance, rather than compete with, the existing brick can feel overwhelming. But have no fear! In this post, we'll walk you through assessing your brick, provide can't-fail color suggestions, and share tips for painting brick itself versus just the trim. You'll have stunning exterior paint colors picked out in no time.

First, let's talk about why proper color selection is so crucial for brick houses. An exterior paint job can completely transform the look and feel of your home. The right colors can make your brick pop, add contrast, and give your house a stylish, put-together look. On the flip side, the wrong color choices can clash with the brick, date your home's appearance, and detract from your curb appeal. With a material as striking and permanent as brick, you want to make sure your color choices enhance it.

Assessing Your Existing Brick Color and Tones

Before choosing any exterior paint colors, you need to assess the existing brick on your home. Is it warm or cool-toned? What undertones does it have? Does it read as predominantly red, brown, or gray? The shade and tone of your brick will inform what colors work best.

Look at Undertones

Brick is rarely one solid, flat color. Most brick contains undertones of other colors that impact its overall look. For example, your red brick may have subtle orange or brown undertones. Or your tan brick might read more gray than beige. Pay attention to these nuances.

Warm brick with red, orange, or yellow undertones pairs best with earthy green, brown, terracotta, and cream colors. Cool-toned brick with hints of blue or gray complements grays and blues exceptionally well. If your brick has neutral undertones, you have more flexibility in your color choices.

Consider the Style of Your Brick House

The architecture and style of your home also plays a role in choosing exterior paint colors. For traditional Tudor style homes, rich, warm colors like burgundy, forest green, and navy blue are stunning complements to the brickwork. For stately Victorian homes, lighter tones like powder blue, sage, and dusky pink provide pleasing contrast.

On mid-century ranch style houses, opt for retro color schemes featuring gray, teal, or olive green paired with bright white trim. For a modern brick house, go bold with a sleek black exterior or soft gray palette. Ensure the color scheme aligns with the aesthetic of your home's architecture.

Take Other Exterior Elements Into Account

When finalizing your exterior color scheme, you'll also want to look at other outside elements like your roof, siding, stone accents, doors, and trim. Your paint choices should complement these existing features to create a cohesive, harmonious look. For example, opt for a cool-toned gray exterior on a home with black shutters and a charcoal roof. If you have warm terra cotta pavers, match that tone in your color selection.

Our Can't-Fail Exterior Paint Color Suggestions for Red Brick

Now that you have a sense of your existing brick color and home style, let's explore some of our tried-and-true exterior paint colors to use with red brick facades. While personal preference plays a role, these classic shades beautifully complement the red undertones.

Timeless Black

One of our favorite go-to shades for red brick exteriors is classic black. Few colors contrast and accentuate red brick as sharply as a true black. Painting your shutters, front door, window trim, or other accents in this rich shade provides instant pop.

Black is versatile enough to work on brick homes of any era. For a modern twist, paint the whole facade black and let the red brick peek through. For traditional homes, use black only on accents to frame the brick elegantly. Make sure adjacent elements like roofs and fences align with the color scheme so the black trim doesn't look random or disjointed.

Classic Gray

If you find stark black too bold, consider a cool-toned gray exterior instead. Soft gray provides an understated complement to rich red brickwork, lending a classic, timeless feel. Focus on gray tones with subtle blue or green undertones rather than ones with brown or beige, which can often clash with red brick.

Some of our favorite gray shades for red brick homes include Revere Pewter, Gray Owl, Edgecomb Gray, and Classic Light Gray. Benjamin Moore's Historical Colors palette also offers tried-and-true gray tones perfect for older homes. Pair your gray exterior with crisp white trim for contrast and visual interest.

Vibrant White

Speaking of white, this crisp, bright shade works beautifully to make red brick "pop" when used strategically. White provides the perfect contrast and enhances any brick color. Use it on trim, windows, garage doors, fencing or other accents. We don't generally recommend white as the dominant exterior color on a traditionally brick home, but as an accent it lets the gorgeous brickwork shine.

Our one tip if combining white and red brick is to avoid flat, pure bright whites. Instead, opt for whites with a slight gray, brown, or greige undertone for a softer look. Examples include Edgecomb Gray, Classic Light Gray, and Revere Pewter from Benjamin Moore.

Deep Greens

Complementary colors on the color wheel, green and red create a harmonious exterior color combination. The key is choosing the right tone of green to work with red brick. Focus on deeper forest and hunter greens with blue undertones. Olive greens also pair nicely. Stay away from bright kelly greens, which could clash with the brick's redness.

Great green paint options include Black Forest, Essex Green, amazonSoil, and Evergreen Fog. Use the green as the dominant color on walls with red brick accents, or vice versa. You can also paint trim and doors a deep green and use red brick as the main facade color. Green and red brick is a timeless, elegant combo.

Painting Your Brick vs. Leaving It Exposed

Along with choosing paint colors for exterior elements, you may be wondering whether to paint the brick itself. There are pros and cons to weighing when making this decision.

Painting brick can entirely transform the look of your home, whether you give it a fresh coat of the same color or take a radical new color direction. It also masks any imperfections or damage in the existing brickwork. However, properly prepping and painting brick is labor-intensive. The paint may also crack or peel over time and require continual upkeep.

Leaving brick exposed maintains the architectural detail and texture while letting you focus color changes on easier-to-paint trim, doors, and accents. This route is less expensive than painting the brick facade. Just make sure bare brick and mortar are in good condition before skipping the paint.

In general, we suggest going the accent paint route first and leaving existing brick as-is if it's structurally sound. Down the road, a full brick paint job can always transform the look. Talk to a painting pro about your goals to decide the best option.

Ready to get started choosing exterior paint colors for your brick house? Here's a quick recap of our top suggestions:

• Black provides bold contrast on trim, doors, and accents
• Cool-toned gray creates a modern, sophisticated look
• Crisp white lets brickwork pop as an accent color
• Deep green complements red brick as an analogous color scheme

Consider your home's style, assess your brick's undertones, and look at other exterior elements as you select colors. Remember, the options are endless for exterior paint combinations that enhance the beauty of your brick facade!

For more inspiration, browse our exterior house color visualizer tool. Or, connect with one of our painting professionals who can help analyze your existing exterior, provide custom color recommendations, and handle the painting for stunning results. We hope this overview gives you confidence in choosing exterior brick paint colors that give your home maximum curb appeal and style.