Painted brick houses (2024)

I love the symmetry and order of a classic Georgian house. This house still speaks to me…the windows, chimneys, palladian windows – all elements that I find to be quite beautiful. Architecture by Harrison Design Associates.

Working on a home from scratch, somehow I knew that I wanted to go more French in style. Perhaps more accurately, a home that combines some aspects of the Georgian that I love, but which is inspired by French architecture but does not slavishly emulate it. In some ways, what I like seems to combine aspects of both French design with perhaps a little English influence.

When I saw this magnificent DC house on the blog of Architect Design (above), I was immediately struck by its beauty. However, what struck me even more was Stefan’s description: the house (designed by Paul Cret, a French architect), was built between a Louis XV house and a Georgian style house. The house in this picture was meant to compliment the French house on one side, but make an easy transition to the Georgian house on the other side. It is stucco, which is very commonly found on French style houses in Europe (and America). I seriously considered using using real stucco on the exterior of my new house. There are countless spectacular examples of masonry stucco houses in Atlanta that are extraordinarily beautiful. (Photo credit: Architect Design)

However, I keep coming back to brick. It is my favorite material for the exterior of a house, and it is definitely a favorite in Atlanta. Red brick does not seem to go well together with a French style house, so I researched painted brick. I love this picture from Apartment Therapy DC – although the picture splices together two different houses, it shows the transformative effect of paint on a Federal or Georgian style house. (Photo credit: Apartment Therapy)

In Atlanta, it is very common to see what was formerly a red brick house updated to make it look more European. Case in point: this house in Atlanta started its life as a 1930s Federal style house, but in recent years it was totally renovated (taken down to the studs) and transformed into a Neoclassical masterpiece. Architectural design by William T. Baker, landscape architecture Alec Michaelides of LandPlus. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

Another home whose architectural appearance and color palette has immense appeal to me is the personal home of designer (and attorney) Ty Larkins, whose home appeared in the December issue of House Beautiful. Although I marveled at the interiors of this home, what really stood out to me was the exterior, as this is on my mind these days. I contacted Mr. Larkins to ask about the exterior of his home, which looks like it is an older house even though it is newly built (a ‘new old house). (Photo credit: http://www.tylarkins.com/)

Mr. Larkins told me that he used old brick on the exterior of his new house, then had it painted with latex paint (not too flat, not too glossy). I think the result is beautiful! Painting brick is a great way to get the monolithic appearance of stucco, or achieve a certain uniform look as an alternative to stucco. (Photo credit: http://www.tylarkins.com/)

The painted brick look is clearly one that has great appeal to me. Last spring, I had the pleasure of touring the home of designer Lori Tippins. I recently emailed Lori, and asked about the exterior of her home. Lori told me that many people think that her home is old even though it is newly built – and she partially attributes that to the fact that she used hand made bricks in the construction of her home (as opposed to machine made). They are not old, but they have interesting shape and character. I love the texture that they give to the exterior of Lori’s home. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

This beautiful new house in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta was designed by architect Rodolfo Castro, who worked for Summerour Architects before establishing his own firm Castro Design Studio (website, and Facebook page). I often walk my dog in this area, and was shocked one day to see what had been a red brick house was suddenly painted white (Benjamin Moore Ballet White –OC 9; the shutters are Benjamin Moore 977 Brandon beige – the colors were selected by Rodolfo and interior designer Jessica Bradley).

According to Rodolfo, the owners loved the durability of brick, but wanted a more delicate look, and from the first day of design knew that they wanted painted brick. I think the result is spectacular, and the slate roof is the perfect touch for this timeless house. I had the privilege of a private tour of this house by Rodolfo himself (at the tail end of construction), and it is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. (Photo Credit: Rodolfo Castro)

I love this new home in Charlotte, designed by Pursley Architecture. When this house was designed, the goal was to make it look like an old house – like it had always been there, and had a story to it. Although the article in Beautiful Homes magazine does not note why the owners or the architect chose painted brick, I think it is beautiful and charming and does lend a sense of age to the home. Image via Beautiful Homes, photography by Michael Partenio.

Architect Stan Dixon’s award winning renovation of a 50s ranch home is painted brick.

So is this charming new house, also designed by Stan Dixon. I love this house; I drive on this street at least once a week just to see it. The house is so beautifully designed and grounded to its environment, people often comment that it looks like it has been there for decades. The lovely landscape architecture certainly contributes to this effect - landscape architect was Alec Michaelides from LandPlus.

This beautiful new Georgian home in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta, also designed by Stan Dixon, is painted brick. This is very common in Atlanta homes, old or new – Atlanta seems to like its painted brick homes!

This beautiful home, designed by Louisiana architect A. Hays Town (1903-2005), was one of the first house that I saved into my architecture inspiration files. I included the house on my post on green doors, and was delighted when an architect who had apprenticed to Mr. Town emailed me and said that he had worked on this home. He said that the house has a brick exterior, and had a ‘mortar wash’ technique in which the bricks are loosely set, then the mortar is rubbed into the exterior creating a unique and beautiful layer. The reader also noted that his clients will often purchase old brick to attain a certain look in a new house.

When looking into the mortarwash technique a bit further, I came across a product made by Boral Brick called ‘Pastelcote’. This home, in a lovely enclave in the heart of Buckhead, was the Southern Accents Showhouse in the early 2000s, and was designed by Greg Palmer of Harrison Design Associates (website, Facebook page). I spoke with Greg about the house, which he describes as Normandy inspired. Boral Pastelcote was used on the exterior – the house is bricked with Boral bricks, and Pastelcote is a special finish applied to the exterior to give it texture and and solid color. Greg told me that Pastelcote was inspired by a brick treatment in Australia that is very similar to mortarwash. He also noted that he has used it on homes where the clients want the monolithic look and appearance of stucco, but prefer to use brick.

The Glen Parsonage, designed by Philip Trammel Shutze, has an interesting finish on the brick (here is a link to a larger view). You can see the forms of the bricks quite clearly, but there seems to be something smooth over the bricks. I am not sure if this is a result of years of painting, or whether it is a special treatment – perhaps the mortar was spread over the surface of the bricks to give a smooth appearance. Any Shutze experts out there who could answer this for us? Photo credit: Architecture Tourist.

Another type of brick treatment that I see in Atlanta is a whitewash or limewash treatment; it is achieved by using a thinner, more translucent mixture that allows the natural color of the brick to show through. Whitewashing brick is lower maintenance, as it is supposed to age with exposure to the elements, achieving a certain patina that is beautiful and elegant.

This magnificent house was selected by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles as one of the most beautiful examples of classic architecture in Atlanta. When it was renovated several years ago, the architecture firm Spitzmiller and Norris did a masterful job both inside and out in making this extraordinary house even more special. I spoke with Rick Spitzmiller about his work on the house, in particular on the front exterior of the home. Rick said that the beautiful whitewashed brick makes this grand home much more approachable and less imposing despite its elegant facade and grand face to the street. The result is a house that is truly grounded to its beautiful environment, and very welcoming. I thought this was a fascinating observation.

A close up of the front door of the home. I had the pleasure of seeing this house on a tour of historic homes, and it was by far my favorite home on the tour. The house sits on almost 5 acres, and the grounds are simply magnificent. The landscape design is by Graham Pittman.

Here is another house in Atlanta that was recently renovated by architect Stan Dixon. This house was designed by James Means (1904-1979), an architect whose work is much loved in Atlanta. Means trained under the great Neel Reid, and his houses are known for their beautiful scale and proportion. This house was originally constructed in 1970, in a Virginia Tidewater style. However, the brick used on the house lacked the character typical of Means houses, so the original brick was limewashed to soften the appearance of the brick while still maintaining the character of the original house. Landscape design by Howard Design Studio. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

Here is a close up of the limewashed brick. Architect Stan Dixon had the limewash applied to reflect natural weather patterns – so, for example, in the area where the rain would pound down on a surface, the limewash is lighter. This gives the limewash a patina right away.

Another treasured painted brick house in the Druid Hills area of Atlanta was designed by Neel Reid (1885-1926)– discovered through the Architecture Tourist.

Finally, a picture I saw on a post this weekend from the wonderful new Atlanta blog, Whitehaven. The author went on a tour of homes by Neel Reid, and took a picture of this charming house. The brick intrigued me. Is it painted – or is the color integrated? Helen, one of the authors of Whitehaven, said that the tour guide identified the brick as ‘buff colored brick’ that has never been painted. Given that the house was designed in 1909-1910, I found this to be fascinating. Painted or not, it shows that this look has been a distinct style in Atlanta for at least a century! (Photo credit: Whitehaven)

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