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3 Common Brick Exterior Colors and How to Work With Them

Play up or play down exterior brick tones by choosing the right paint colors for your trim and accent areas

Jennifer Ott

November 3, 2021

San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's work has been featured in many print and online publications. Her recently-published book, "1000 Ideas for Color Schemes," is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-navigate guide that takes the guesswork out of selecting the perfect color palette for your home or special event. For more information on Jennifer Ott Design, visit http://jenottdesign.com/.

Builders have used bricks as a construction material for millennia. And while today's bricks are manufactured in a much different fashion, they don't look all that different from those used in ancient times. Typically made from local clay, natural brick colors range from soft creams and grays to darker and bolder hues such as yellow, red-orange and brown. Some of these tones can pose a challenge when trying to come up with a suitable exterior paint color scheme. But as a color consultant, I've come up with a few go-to approaches for homeowners who have common brick exteriors.

To Paint or Not to Paint?

That is the main question when it comes to working with existing brick cladding on your home.

Properly installed brick is a durable and low-maintenance exterior cladding, but the minute you cover it with paint, you have a finish that has to be repainted every five to 10 years, depending on the quality of the prepping and painting and the local climate.

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Painted brick is also susceptible to damage from moisture that can get trapped inside the brick, which cannot properly drain or dry out.

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I'm not entirely opposed to painting exterior brick. Certainly, if you strongly dislike the natural brick color, or the brick is in bad condition and the repair work renders it unattractive, then painting might very well make the most sense.

But if you opt to paint the brick, you should be willing and able to invest in a top-notch professional paint job using high-quality, vapor-permeable paint and be comfortable with future prep and repainting.

Should You Paint Your Brick House?

In my 15 years of assisting clients selecting exterior colors and materials, I've found that the three brick colors homeowners struggle with the most are red, yellow and brown.

So here are some tips and examples for working with these hues if you don't want to paint over the existing brick.

1. Working With Red Brick

If your home is clad in red brick and you want to play down the red color, select accent colors in neutral hues, such as the shades of gray shown on this Colorado home by SH Built.

Some red bricks have subtle bits of warm or charcoal gray. Try picking up on those hues for trim and accent colors. This will form a cohesive palette that doesn't fight with the red.

Additionally, the ombre effect employed on the gable of this home, rather than the brick cladding, acts as the focal point.

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For a similar look: Cool neutrals such as these three shades of gray offer a visual break from the ruddy tones of red brick.

If you don't have an area on the home that can take an ombre effect, you could use the lightest gray for window trim and darkest gray for the roof fascia boards and front door.

If you want to play up the red brick, go for an accent color that strongly contrasts with the red-orange, such as blue or green, the latter of which is shown on this United Kingdom brick home by Guy Taylor Associates.

Contrasting colors, especially those opposite one another on the color wheel (for example, red versus green or orange versus blue), each amp up the perceived color intensity of the other. Likewise, if you want to play up interesting architectural details on a home clad in red brick, paint them a color in the green-blue family.

For a similar look: Play up the red-orange tones of the brick with a contrasting cool organic green color for trim and other small accents on the home.

2. Working With Yellow Brick

Yellow brick is a bit easier to work with since it's typically lighter and more neutral in appearance than red brick. But you still need to consider whether you want to highlight or downplay the brick.

A neutral accent color similar in value (lightness versus darkness) to the brick will play well with the brick and prevent it from standing out.

A soft, warm gray that is neither lighter nor darker than the yellow brick helps break up the brick when used as a large accent on the home. This United Kingdom home by TFQ Architects is a good example.

For a similar look: This gray strikes the right tone for a yellow brick home and can help downplay the impact of the yellow.

If you prefer to amp up the visual impact of the yellow brick, pick an accent color that is darker and cooler than the yellow brick. The cool charcoal gray color used on the roofline fascia of this Ireland home, as well as the front door, punctuate the brick.

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For a similar look: A strong, cool gray can accent lines and highlight yellow brick. Lighter warm gray hues bridge the two contrasting colors.

3. Working With Brown Brick

Brown brick is solidly neutral, so you can pair it with just about any color you want. It's all a matter of how much you want the brick to stand apart from other elements of the house.

Bold front door and trim colors, such as the black and red hues used on this Atlanta home by builder DesignSpec Atlanta, will really highlight the brick.

Accent colors similar in hue or value, such as those used for this Australian home by Building Designers Association of Australia, cause the brown-hued brick to blend. This home has a neutral and mostly low-in-contrast palette, so none of the materials or colors particularly stand out. Instead, they all pull together for a balanced look.