This is before we bought the house:

And after paint and a new mantel:

I used a roller with an extra thick nap on the roller cover, and it was an easy job once I finally got the color right. Lots of drips because of the thick nap on the roller cover and the differing depths of brick and mortar, so place your dropcloths well.

Margaritalady,
My name should be 'Brick Painter Lady' because once I painted mine everyone I knew who saw it had me come to their home to paint theirs.

Lots of folks don't appreciate painted brick but if you are hating it and hate living with it, then it's a very inexpensive fix.

So many techniques out there that you will probably get all kinds of brick painting tips and tricks here but here's mine.

I used left over Navajo White house paint (Satin Finish).
I put some in a bucket and added water. 2 to 1. Mix well.

Like Reno_Fan, I used a huge sponge.
Don't know if it's the same kind of sponge because I got mine in the Tile Dept. at Home Depot but it's a big yellow sponge and worked great!

My Tip: Start Light with the paint application.
When dry, if it's not dark enough you can go back after it's dry and add another coat of paint but always start light.

Dip sponge in bucket of water/paint, squeeze out, wipe sponge across brick.

I wore the long Playex rubber gloves because I didn't want the paint running down my arm and into my arm pit, but that's just me. *smile*
The cuff I folded on the rubber glove kept the paint from doing that.

I didn't do the grout as I wanted to have the natural grout and the rough texture of the grout showing but you can always paint the grout in the same paint/water mixture or use a different watered-down color and a stiff brush to apply the color to the grout.

Using the Satin Finish paint left the brick so easy to clean.
Simple wipe with a damp cloth is all it needs a couple times a year.

If you like the browns? then I would use a brown paint with some glaze....almost like putting an antiquing over the brick.

It will tone down the salmon colors, turn them a bit more brownish, while just darkening the brown that is already there.

But to answer your question, our fireplace was done with Navajo White over very ugly, used brick in all shades of red. Not pretty terra reds, but ugly reds, lots of pink in them so I didn't mind covering up that one bit.

How about getting a Min-Wax waterbased stain/sealer in a mahogany shade (or any dark shade of your choice).

Mix the Min-Wax with some water and try going over one brick that way and see if you like the color change.
It will deepen the darker bricks, blend the salmon bricks in more and will leave you with a very soft sheen.

It's just an easier way than figuring out glaze to brown acrylic paint ratio.

Ooooh, I'd love to hear what you've decided to do and would love to see the end result when it's done, ok? *smile*