Graywashed Brick

Gray Washed Brick Fireplace

Gray Washed Brick with Sherwin Williams "Web Gray"

So here is what we had to work with. The home was built in the mid 1990's and the brick is a classic red brick with an orangy tint (probably just felt that way from the orange oak trim)

Our fist attempt was a "white wash" that I learned from a few Pinterest Blogs. Typically you water down your paint. Brush it on the brick, then quickly wipe it off. 

Our little helper

But after we were done, it just did not look great. In fact, it gave the brick a rosy color and just didn't work. I kept trying to convince myself that it would look much better when I was done, but Sheree kept insisting it was just not going to work. I also knew that I was going to add white trim on top so it would just be too white. 

So, I had an idea.....

I had just painted my exterior accent in a "web gray" and had plenty of extra (its the darker gray below). 

I took some of the extra paint and thinned it out with half water half paint and tried it again. I made sure to only do the brick face and NOT the mortar. I also painted the gold accents on the fireplace with a high heat black paint and then added some trim accents on the upper part of the mantle as well as just below the original oak shelf to give it a little more volume.  It turned out great!