Exterior House Paint Colors that Compliment Red Brick

Exterior house paint colors that compliment red brick can really bring out the best or the worst in its bold character. Brick can be showcased in many different areas- external structure walls, partition walls, freestanding walls, fireplaces, chimneys, retaining walls, etc.

Red brick is a style that will likely never vanish. It is a timeless, gorgeous, and versatile style.

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You’re here to get some tips and info on how to pick a paint color that compliments red brick. When doing so, it’s important to take your time and pay attention to details along the way.

In your design process, you may need to narrow your options down to a few favorites and use paint samples to see them right next to the brick in your space before you can really get a feel for what it will look like in your home.

Paint Colors That Compliment Red Brick

When choosing a paint color to compliment brick on the exterior of your home, the key is choosing a muted, earthy color that blends nicely with brick.

Natural brick is unique because usually, no two bricks look exactly the same. Brick is made up of different hues of red, brown, gray, and white, which is why earthy tones are a nice complimentary option. 

Some people choose to paint their brick. Don’t make the decision to paint your brick just because all of your neighbors are doing it.

There are some great options when it comes to updating your interior or exterior design while incorporating your brick in the best way. Although the decision is ultimately up to you and what makes you happy, there are some pros and cons to be aware of if you’re thinking about painting your brick.

Should You Paint Your Brick?

Pros

Painting brick can turn a dark home into a fresh and lively home with lots of curb appeal. It can also raise the value of the home quite a bit. Just know that if you are painting your brick it is a permanent decision. 

Check out limewashing brick for a slightly less permanent option. I limewashed our brick fireplace and it turned out beautifully.

Cons

Painting brick can cause moisture to get trapped that can damage the brick long-term. Painted brick also tends to appear dirty and will need to be power-washed often. 

If you’re looking for a paint color to coordinate with brick on the exterior of your house or maybe your interior brick fireplace, the following paint colors are great options that are sure to bring out the best in your classy brick design. 

Sample Paint Colors

My favorite way to sample paint colors is with these peel and stick paint samples.

You can stick them on any surface as you’re testing out paint colors. It truly is so much easier than buying a can of paint and physically painting a square on your wall. You just order the paint colors and they ship to your door in a couple days!

It’s called Samplize and I highly recommend it! I wish I had known about it sooner so I didn’t have a bunch of paint can samples sitting around my basement.

I’m actually deciding on an exterior paint color for our own home. Currently it’s painted a dark green (shown below) and I’m not a big. My personal preference is on the lighter end so I’m going to swatch colors this summer.

I mocked up what SW Jogging Path would look like on our home with red brick. It’s a very quick mockup I created in Photoshop so it’s not perfect but it does provide a good visual of what it would look like!

Light Paint Color Options

The trick with selecting a white paint, whether it’s for trim or the body of your home, you want a warm white that has a slight yellow undertone. This is complementary to brick while still providing a sharp contrast. 

You will notice when taking a deeper look at each of the following paint color options that work well with red brick that they are all earthy tones. Essentially, the more earthy the paint color, the better when choosing a color to compliment red brick.

Colors that lean towards white, gray, green, tan, brown, even blue, are safe to experiment with. A simple way to think if it is this – colors that your brick already contains will be the paint colors that will accent brick the nicest.

Stay away from cool colors completely! The warmness of red brick will clash with cool tones. 

Keep in mind while reviewing the paint colors I am about to share, the same color will look different on the interior than it will on the exterior.

Light paint colors appear a lot lighter on the exterior of your home than they will on the interior due to natural circumstances like light exposure. On the other hand, dark colors on the interior of your home will seem really dark if there is no natural light exposure welcomed in. 

These are my personal top 5 picks for light paint colors by Sherwin Williams that are great for exterior and interior design, working excellent with red brick. 

Creamy Sherwin Williams 

Creamy (SW 7012) is defined by Sherwin Williams as a bright white paint color with soft yellow undertones that bring about a subtle warmth. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a creamy white. Sticking with a neutral color palette to accent your red brick can draw all the attention to all the right places. 

Just bright enough on the exterior of the home, and just warm enough on the interior. This paint color is likely to be your safest white paint option if you are going for a traditional brick design with white accents. It is welcoming and undeniably stunning!

Alabaster Sherwin Williams

Alabaster (SW 7008) is another white paint color that looks great with red brick. This SW paint color is fairly similar to Sherwin Williams Creamy. What sets them apart is the gray undertones that Alabaster is made up of, making it slightly cooler. Although slightly cooler than SW Creamy, it is definitely not considered a cool paint color. It is a warm paint color that is soft and cozy.

This is a great color option for trim because it plays on the hues of the brick making the two appear to be a match made in heaven. This paint color is a great interior option for trim that doubles as a great exterior option. 

Row House Tan Sherwin Williams

Row House Tan (SW 7689) is in the yellow color family. Don’t let that fool you, it is definitely a tan paint color that appears very neutral.

This paint color has an LRV (light reflectance value) of 51.53, so it will reflect an average amount of light. LRV is on a scale of 0-100- 0 being the darkest black and 100 being the brightest white. For your reference, any paint color with an LRV in the mid to high 40s and low to mid 50s is a pretty ideal LRV for exterior paint color of your home. 

Jogging Path Sherwin Williams

Jogging path (SW 7638) is defined as a muted gray with a graceful green undertone. It is a paint color that feels somewhat nature inspired, and when paired with red brick it appears very earthy. The green undertones are apparent on its own, but next to red brick, tones of warm gray take over making Jogging Path a beautiful paint color that compliments red brick.

This paint color is another paint color with a pretty ideal LRV! It has an LRV of 49.

Jogging Path is known to pair well with red brick, wood, and iron, making it one of the most versatile neutral paint colors by Sherwin Williams, and in my opinion, under utilized!

Gray Area Sherwin Williams

Gray Area (SW 7052) belongs to the neutral color family. This particular gray paint is a warm gray that provides a good amount of warmth to both interior and exterior projects. It works well with a wide range of earth tones. 

Unlike the other light paint colors listed above, Gray Area appears to be a truer, neutral color. Undertones that are apparent and present in other light paint colors are absent in this paint color. The undertones that make up this paint color are blue, green, violet, and taupe. In some conditions you may be able to see these undertones come to the surface, but it is overall a very true neutral. It doesn’t have any green peeking through like Jogging Path does.

Dark Paint Color Options

If you prefer to take a bold approach and bring some character to your red brick you may choose a dark paint color. We briefly discussed how all brick is unique.

If your brick is a darker red with inclusions of dark gray and tan it would be in your best interest to accent with dark paint. Ideally, you should aim to accent your red brick with a paint color that is two tones darker than the brick to achieve an overall cohesive appeal with enough contrast to make the brick pop.

You may consider using a white paint color like Sherwin Williams Alabaster for the trim on the exterior of the home if you are using a dark paint color alongside brick. I know, Alabaster was mentioned above under light paint colors that compliment red brick!

Even if you don’t paint the entire sided surfaces of your home, any of the paint colors mentioned in this post would all work as accent colors on the exterior. Think trim around windows, gutters, and other features on your home to highlight.

These are my personal top 5 picks for dark paint colors that complement red brick by Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore that are great for exterior and interior design.

Soot Benjamin Moore

Soot (2129-20) is defined by Benjamin Moore as a straightforward shade of black. The undertones make this paint color more of a cool black than a warm black. Even while it is a dark paint color, it still creates a calming environment. 

Soot has an LRV of 4.11 out of 100. That is a pretty dark paint color! Don’t let that steer you away from this color choice though, the darkness will allow your brick to show up as the star of the show.

This can be a great paint color option for you if your home is primarily brick and you have minimal sided areas to paint. Painting small areas of your house means that it won’t look jarring, but rather a nice color that compliments red brick.

Naval Sherwin Williams

Naval (SW 6244) is a dark, deep navy blue with inclusions of grayish greenish undertones. It is a true blue paint color with no green or purple undertones present. Gray undertones are present, but you will never look at an area painted this color and think “gray.” There is just enough gray in the paint color to cover up any brightness of the blue.

You can imagine a sense of calming serenity with this paint color. Sherwin Williams mentions the “meditative” vibe that it brings to a home making it a great color option for a study room or office. Regardless, Naval is sure to please in any area as well as on the exterior of your home. 

Tip: Naval is a beautiful option to paint your front door!

Iron Ore Sherwin Williams

Iron Ore (SW 7069) is a deep charcoal that is said to add a sense of mysteriousness to a space. It is a dark paint color that’s not quite black.

Because of the inky charcoal hue, it has a sense of warmth and embodies natural elements.

Before you start to question whether or not you read my tip about not using cool paint colors with brick… Iron Ore, although considered a cool tone, is not too cool. It still has enough neutrality to it and is a great mix of coolness and warmness that won’t disappoint!

I personally used Iron Ore on my interior fireplace and it’s a really pretty deep charcoal.

This paint color looks fantastic with red brick and is a great option to use for siding on the exterior of your brick home. 

Sussex Green Benjamin Moore

Sussex Green (HC-109) is a polished olive green color that is darkened with charcoal.

Fun fact: This paint color is part of the historical color collection by Benjamin Moore because it is inspired by America’s historical landmarks. Needless to say, Sussex Green is a brilliant earth tone paint color. 

Van Dyke Brown Sherwin Williams

Van Dyke Brown (SW 7041) is a neutral paint color that is defined as a dark, muted brown. Once again, although it is a dark paint color, it still creates some warmth that compliments the moodiness of its appearance.  

If you don’t like the appearance of dark colors like black or charcoal with brick, you may really like how brick looks with this unique brown paint color. 

Hopefully one of the colors mentioned above inspired you or sparked an idea for your red brick revamp. As you now know, there are lots of options when it comes to choosing a paint color that will look great with your red brick. It’s all about what kind of aesthetic or vibe you are going for. Lighter, more neutral colors will appear classic for a clean, sophisticated look, but if you’re going for a bolder approach with more character you may choose to use a darker color. 

The key tip to remember is to use warm earthy tones NOT cool tones. If you take a look at your brick you will see a combination of colors. Stick to those tones and other complementary tones when selecting a paint color- creamy white, gray, greige, tan, brown, teal blue, navy blue, sage green, and black. Another key tip to remember when you’re in the market for a new paint job is to always test the color options in your space, or in this case, next to your red brick. You can use color swatches to do this that can usually be purchased from the same place as your paint- so handy!

I always like to emphasize that the best part about a design process is seeing the designer bring their personality to life through the design choices that they make. That is the freedom of design. Although you should do your research and pay attention to the tips given through sources like this one, you really do have the freedom to express yourself in the process.