Note: We’re still reeling from the tragic events in Connecticut. Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and we’re holding Clara close. A friend who lives nearby has shared ways to help, and anyone looking to make a small difference might check her recommendations.
We finally painted the brick in the sunroom.
After our last sunroom update, plenty of readers urged us to “paint that brick,” and we listened. The odd, cut-off brick shape was bothering us every time we sat on the couch, so it was time to get it done.
We considered whitewashing and distressing, but those approaches would have turned the brick into an accent rather than helping it blend with the rest of the room. In the end we went for paint to quiet the visual noise and help the room feel cohesive.
Why not drywall over the brick? A few reasons:
- Drywalling would be a lot of work and dust, and it still might not match the drywalled lip above perfectly.
- The adjoining living room already has painted brick, so covering this wall alone felt unnecessary.
- We like the texture painted brick provides — it adds subtle character without shouting for attention.
We debated adding wood or another rustic treatment to the triangular area above the brick, but the primary goal was to downplay the room’s strange angles. The ceiling slopes dramatically left to right, and the room almost feels like a modern addition glued onto an older house. Painting all the walls and ceiling the same soft, taupe-gray helps everything flow and belong together.
Surprise: the brick only needed two coats. Brick often soaks up a lot of paint, so we expected more. We skipped primer—based on past experience, it wasn’t necessary—and used a brush to get into the cracks while rolling with a nap roller to cover the textured surface evenly. I did the detail work, and John rolled. Between naps and quick bursts of focused work, we nearly finished the whole wall during one of Clara’s naps, which felt like a mini miracle.
Painting cracks is tedious, but our approach—brushing the cracks once or twice rather than multiple repeat coats—kept the job manageable. The result was a nice even finish that made the room read as a unified space instead of a patchwork of drywall and dark brick.
Now the view from the couch is quieter and more cohesive. The painted surface helps the windows and the view outside become the star of the room. With the brick toned down, colorful cushions and accessories stand out more, and the slightly yellowed floor looks less dominant since the gray paint brings out cooler undertones.
Blanketing the room in this taupey-gray achieved several things:
- It draws the eye to the windows and the trees outside, making the view the focal point.
- It downplays the crazy ceiling angles and the awkward brick cut-off by unifying surfaces.
- It lets colorful textiles and cushions pop without competing with dark brick.
- It softens the floor’s warm tone by emphasizing gray undertones instead of yellow.
- It makes white trim and molding pop, giving the room a crisper, more updated feel.
We still have work to do: furniture arrangement, a rug, art, and some finishing touches. For now we’re using pieces we already own while we figure out final placements. Art on that painted brick wall will help distract from any subtle differences between drywall and brick; white frames, or a mix of white and wood frames, will likely do wonders for balance and cohesion.
Clara has been enjoying the sunroom now that it’s safer and less cluttered, and it’s funny to spot her dollhouse in photos—she hasn’t moved it in days despite her usual “furniture rearranging” phase. Burger, our dog, offered moral support during the paint job and kept us entertained between coats.
All in all, painting the brick was a relatively quick update that made a noticeable difference. It softened the room’s eccentric geometry, unified surfaces, and created a calmer backdrop for the rest of the decor. We’ll keep tweaking and sharing progress, but for now the sunroom feels much more like part of the house.
To follow along from the beginning: earlier posts cover phase 1 (planning and furniture placement) and phase 2 (painting the lofted room and ceiling).
Side note: working on our book freed us to experiment with paint choices beyond what strictly “matches” the house, and we’ve enjoyed stretching our color comfort zone.