DIY Faux Brick Arches

5 Materials
$20
2 Days
Easy

Hi there! When we first looked at our home, the things I loved most were the parquet floors in the kitchen and entryways, as well as the arches in the front entryway/living room!

Entryway Arches

So good, right!? Those cutie little corbels match the corbels on our dining room fireplace mantel and I’ve added them in the kitchen over the sink too! Also, this was just one of the many shades of peach we had throughout the place! 😳

Paint

Naturally, the first thing I did was paint! I painted the whole room Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, but felt it was missing something. After trying out the wall color on the arches and not loving that either, I decided the arches needed some texture and knew it had to be brick!


Tools and Materials

  • cardboard
  • masking tape
  • putty knife
  • joint compound
  • paint (one color for the grout and one for the bricks)
  • white paint (if you want a whitewashed look like I did)
  • paint brushes
Create a Template
Create a Template and Tape off Your Design


I started my faux brick by cutting out a little piece of cardboard the same size of the bricks on my fireplace (8” L x 2.25” T) to use as my template. Using 1/2” masking tape, I went along and marked each end of my cardboard template with a piece of tape. You can really do any size and layout you want!

Cover with Joint Compound
Cover with Joint Compound


I used a 2” putty knife and covered the whole area I was bricking with about 1/8” of joint compound. I made sure I had good coverage over my tape - I didn’t want to see any lines or thin spots around the tape, so there would be dimension when I peeled the tape off. I also tried not to smooth the joint compound out very much.

Joint Compound


Let Dry a Bit
Let Dry a Bit


After I had all my joint compound spread, I waited about 5 - 10 minutes and then removed the tape.


Paint
Paint


Next, I painted the arches my wall color again, because this is the color I wanted my grout to be.

Add Brick Color
Add Brick Color


Then I lightly brushed each brick with my brick color - I chose Valspar Two Cents.

Whitewash
Whitewash


When that was dry, I dry brushed a super light layer of Sherwin Williams Alabaster over each brick to give it a white washed look. For more detailed videos of my painting process, visit my story highlights on my Instagram!

DIY Faux Brick Archway


Light Fixture

Once I had my arches looking good, I knew we had to change that amber light fixture. One project always leads to another around here. 😅

Faux Brick Archway

I think the faux brick really pulled the room together and totally goes with our all brick home! To see more of my home and DIYs, click here!

Homemade Faux Brick Archway
Whitewashed Faux Brick Archway
Resources for this project:
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 28 questions
  • Katherine Katherine on Feb 06, 2020

    I love the amber light fixture. Would you like to sell it?

  • Alicia Ranberg Alicia Ranberg on Feb 07, 2020

    I'm curious as to why you didn't do the columns in brick.

  • Alicia Ranberg Alicia Ranberg on Feb 07, 2020

    I'm curious as to why you didn't do the columns brick too.

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 347 comments
  • 34354174 34354174 on Oct 10, 2021

    Love the warmth this added and the woods and natural baskets you use to add more warmth. Absolutely love it.

  • Bry Bry on Feb 18, 2022

    I really like the look of your faux brick pattern. I'm working on this idea for a friend's second floor exposed chimney. Hope it turns out as great as yours did.

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