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HGTV Star Erin Napier Ditches The Painted Brick Trend For A More Natural Solution
The popularity of red brick as a building material surged after the Industrial Revolution in the US, becoming a standard choice for home exteriors until the midcentury. However, a shift in consumer preferences led to red brick being perceived as old-fashioned, dark, and drab, prompting many homeowners and designers to opt for painting the brick with a thick coat of light paint. Erin Napier, co-host of HGTV's "Home Town," has voiced her disapproval of this trend, considering it a mistake. In Season 7, Episode 16 of her show, Napier advises against painting brick exteriors, highlighting the material's porous nature. Unlike painted wood, paint on brick cannot be easily removed with strippers and sanding, making the alteration permanent. She warns that painted brick can quickly look outdated, suggesting that this trend is not a sustainable solution for modernizing homes.
Napier proposes an alternative approach to updating red brick homes, focusing on working with the existing brick rather than concealing it. Her core advice is to identify the darkest color within the varied shades of the kiln-fired brick and use this as an accent color. Red bricks, despite their name, exhibit a range of hues, including burgundy, chocolate brown, black, and green. By selecting a paint color that matches one of these darker tones, homeowners can create an accent that harmonizes with the brick, making its natural colors more vibrant instead of diminishing them. This accent color can be applied to exterior trims such as shutters, gutters, and window frames.
Beyond color matching, Napier emphasizes the impact of a fresh front door in modernizing a brick house. She illustrates this point with an example from one of her projects, where a white-painted double door was replaced with a wooden mahogany set featuring two large windows. This change not only improved the aesthetic appeal by breaking up the dark exterior of the brick but also enhanced the home's interior by allowing more natural light to enter. The recommendation is to select a front door that complements the natural brick tones and introduces a contemporary element to the home's facade.
In essence, Napier's philosophy encourages homeowners to embrace the inherent beauty and character of red brick. Rather than succumbing to the temporary trend of painted brick, she advocates for thoughtful design choices that highlight the material's unique qualities. By using existing brick colors as inspiration for accentuating elements and upgrading key features like the front door, homeowners can achieve a refreshed and modernized look that respects the historical and architectural integrity of their red brick homes, ensuring a timeless appeal.
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