I'm thinking of doing the same thing but haven't been brave enough yet. I saw something on youtube about how to do whitewash but I'm not sure I like it. Maybe you can find more ideas on YT. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply emee. I too have really been afraid to do this, however, in the past I could find little or no info and after posting here I came across oodles of photos and instructions. I didn't care for the photos where the application was very light, but that's just me. What I have decided after viewing many photos, is that I actually like the heavier whitewash or even just painting it white. My home is very old and I think the white cottage look will be beautiful as a heavy whitewash or a solid paint. Now to find the right shade of paint and sheen. Here we go again! Good luck to you too!

Just remember there is no turning back, once it is painted, it is there forever, unless you sand blast it.

I white-washed my red bricks about 25 years ago. Easy and I think it looks great. Still did when we moved out 4 years ago. I don't recall having to wipe anything off. I did most of it just during my kid's afternoon nap time. And my brick was about 6 feet wide, floor to ceiling, 9.5' ceilings.

I just thinned white paint with water, sponged it on, and had plastic on my wood floors with towels layered on top to catch any run-off. If I recall correctly, there was a little but not much. The plastic without towels probably would have worked fine. I worked from top to bottom so I was able to quickly sponge any lines of paint that did stream down the brick.

I'd say give it a try. If you don't like it but were going to paint the brick anyway, you can always paint over it.

Personally, I hate the look of painted brick so I was a bit worried but hated the cheap brick (really Z-brick facing bricks) in my 1908 house with all the original, unpainted woodworking. It was a modernization attempt gone wrong. Might have worked better in a different style house. What I really liked about it is that the brick looked like real white brick when I was done, not like bricks that were painted. The paint was thinner in some areas than others so a little bit of the brick barely showed through but just looked like darker spots, not like red brick. It looked very natural.

I received many compliments on it. Give it a try. You really have nothing to lose if you don't like your current brick.

Have you looked into limewash ing the brick? I think I prefer that look over paint?

You might try this: http://www.brick-anew.com/
I am considering it for our "colorful" brick fireplace.
I don't know anyone who's tried it but did see a couple on an HGTV show who had great results with it. They seem to have a few choices.. a grayer color vs a more beige color. It's certainly much prettier and more modern looking than our fireplace!

The fireplace is almost done! Decided on Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Pure White. I love this paint! It needs a second coat in spots where the darker bricks were, but other than that, I think I will leave the few red specks peeking out of each brick rather than stabbing the paint in for a sold white look. It looks rather artistic. This is not what I would call whitewashed at all, but it is lovely. Everyone at the store tried to talk me into the Old White color...glad I stuck to my guns, the Pure White is perfect. This paint is expensive, $37.50 per quart, however, there was no priming, only a few spots that need a second coat (one quart did it), and I got their lacquer sealer. Oh! It cleans up with water and has no smell. It can be used on furniture (think Shabby Chic), indoors and outdoors. The woman who developed it used it on the outside of her house and said it would fade with time but doesn't chip or peel like regular paint. I will be doing some furniture next.