Blue-grey goes well with red brick. It'll also play nicely with pink and wood.

I was thinking something along the lines of a light blue or grey as well. Something toned down would highlight the brick walls and wood floors rather than be such a stark division.

I agree with the grey - the first color that came to mind.

white, can you paint the brick too?

How open is your landlord to sweat-equity?

The half-wall of wallboard over the brick really bothers me; why is it there at all? The wall beneath it is most likely the same brick as that which is on top, so why not just uncover it? It would look best without the half-wall (and chair rail) at all! I suspect that it was some sort of design statement (judging from the irregular cutouts in the wall to your kitchen...)... Would it be possible to raise the issue with your landlord?

As for paint colours, I would investigate greys, although having painted with grays a number of time, I will caution that they are difficult to get right. Otherwise, I'd go with whites or off-whites -- the best are by Donald Kaufman.

Good luck!

How about a yellow green? It might pull in the pink fridge a little better.

What about black? Is that too bistro-y?

Hi.. I would paint the bottom a soft butter color; like a chamois.. and then paint the brick white. I hate brick though, so my opinion is slightly biased..!!!

I agree with Elliott26. I've had great success working with brick and pink colors by going with a green in the chartreuse category. It's bold, but you also might work with a taupe as a complimentary color to soften the overall effect, rather than the stark white.

Aubergine

Paint the trim a color closely related to the mortar used between the bricks. The wall could be any deep and subdued hue from the brick itself, though I'd lean toward bluish charcoal. Pain the soffit above the

Paint the fridge a bold color, like the deep aqua of your cutting board, perhaps.

I would paint it charcoal.

I vote for grey or grey blue.

A warm cream color.

Funny - I immediately thought grey too.

Good luck!

How about the color of the FLOOR ??

- And not allways the same shade, but horizontal "smudges" with little lighter and darker "waves" of fluently blending - kind of "patina",

- also to tone down the TRIM color a little - lighter shade of the new paint.

Alexandra

If it were my place, I would paint it a light, warm grey (SW Mindful Grey comes to mind). Maybe try to match/coordinate with the mortar color.

Navy or slate gray. In any case, I'd go with a mid-tone or dark color to balance out the brick. A light color would make the walls seem top-heavy.

definitely a gray...

i don't think a light gray would make the wall seem top heavy if it matches to the mortar.

grab some color swatches of various shades and check it out!
good luck!

i'd go with a green maybe.

ideally remove the wallboard part if you could!

the trim really stands out. you could go bold--paint out the wall around the kitchen door, that'd reduce the amount of contrast you've got right now, but would make it all more unified. and then you'd get additional pop of the fridge!

floor is really light. but a mid range sage-y (less bold) or kelly all over would be neat.

Wow, that red is really horrible, isn't it? I never think of gray first off, as I like warm palettes, but here it seems it could definitely work. Or a warm sand color.

To me, the place doesn't want to be wild, it seems to want to be a more classic soothing color.

Hate to be unoriginal, but I was thinking gray as well. Dark or light gray would both work, I think.

"A warm cream color."

Ditto - as it would pick up on the color of the flooring.

Cream for sure.

Dark grey or chocolate brown!

cream colour would look great.

I was all for the blueish grey until bepsf mentioned the floor. Cream really would draw the room together better. It's the trim that doesn't look right, though-- I don't think harsh whites ever really set off brick well.

I would solve the problem of the lower wall and the pink fridge with the same paint: blackboard paint. Primer is a must first, of course, and there is primer specifically available for painting metal appliances like the fridge. Also, while I think black would work fine for both applications, blackboard paint does also come in other colors, so a green would also work well and not suck up as much light, plus afterward you could draw on the lower walls, write grocery lists or have drawings on the fridge, etc. Having the same paint for the fridge and lower walls would also link those areas of the apartment.

The walls adjacent to my exposed brick are painted black, turquoise, gray, and light heather-ish green, respectively. They all look good. The turquoise surprisingly so.

"I would solve the problem of the lower wall and the pink fridge with the same paint..."

Somehow, I don't think that the OP sees a pink refrigerator as a problem...
...I'd be thrilled to have a pink fridge!

"It's the trim that doesn't look right, though-- I don't think harsh whites ever really set off brick well."

I agree - I'd paint that a glossy version of the exact same color cream thats chosen for the lower wall.

I vote for removing the bottom portion of the drywall and the chair rail as well; to make the entire wall exposed brick.

If you exposing the rest of the wall is not an option i say paint it the color of the mortar between the bricks, I am not sure what color it is but from here it looks like a 'khaki- brown".

I've lived in apartments with exposed brick in which I repainted. Shades of gray that matched the mortar worked very well. (in this case, Ralph Lauren "Cinderblock" & "Stone") The grays made the brick the centerpiece, while at the same time toning it down. The exposed brick is basically like painting your wall deep brick red and then adding red/blue splotches all over it. No use fighting it - best bet is to let it be what it is.

A creamy off-white worked well too. I've seen some yellows and greens work well - but be prepared - the overall effect is to make both the brick and the yellow or green pop out.

I tried going the slate blue route once - it was a complete disaster. The red and blue thing looked both tacky AND muddy, while also giving the room a gloomy appearance.

I'd go with an orange out of the brick. Probably one of the darker shades (perhaps even the darkest of the burnt bricks). Pretty much anything would be an improvement on what's there...

Gray. Definitely gray. It'll be sleek, but still neutral so as you make future decisions regarding the rest of the apartment, you won't feel compelled to change it. plus, it's purdddy.

How about a color from the mortar between the brick? Looks like a taupy-grey. I would contrast well against your dining set.

I would either paint it a nice taupe color with some grey tones in it, or I also like the color of chalkboard paint for something dramatic that doesn't take away from the classical brick too much. You don't have to use it for a chalkboard if you don't want to, but the color is so nice!

GRAY!!

This is the perfect photo to use to try all of these suggestions in Photoshop first. Not quite as good as in person, but you could really get a sense of what might work the best and what you don't like. Or I think you can do this on some paint companies' websites?

I would do grey, or as odd as it sounds if you want to just be ok with the crazy brick, half wall and pink appliance do green I have this green called hearts of palm and another very similar green called independent gold that I use in almost every apartment, I've used it with a grey in two places with exposed brick and it looked good it just depends on what your wall art, accent pieces, etc will be.

Change the red, along with the baseboard and chair rail, to dark brown, like the paneling in a pub. Then paint the wall to the kitchen a dark green. That will highlight the brick rather than treat it as a problem.

I agree with mschatelaine. The first thing that came to my mind was "What is that chair railing and dry wall doing there at all?" There is no cohesion and no style. If the there is brick behind the dry wall, I would definitely suggest removing the dry wall completely. If that is not possible, removing the chair railing and painting the wall grey would be the next best option.

What about a bright, lively green? My first thought was "gray, definitely a very light blue-gray," but then I saw that you have that blonde wood color throughout the kitchen, which would clash with what I have in mind. The green could possibly tie together the brick, floor, kitchen, and refrigerator well. Good luck!

"The first thing that came to my mind was "What is that chair railing and dry wall doing there at all?"

Oftentimes developers who are redoing old brick buildings into apartments/condos will add this type of detail to a brick wall to conceal necessary eyesores such as electrical/cable/telephone wiring or a badly damaged wall.

Probably not such a good idea to go ripping it out without being prepared to replace it somehow.

"Oftentimes developers who are redoing old brick buildings into apartments/condos will add this type of detail to a brick wall to conceal necessary eyesores such as electrical/cable/telephone wiring or a badly damaged wall."

Conduit pipes, containing necessary wiring and cabling, can be quite attractive, and definitely part of the loft aesthetic. A recent issue of French Elle Deco showed just how attractive it can be even in the context of traditional French boiserie.

If there is indeed wiring behind those walls, it just means that an electrician will need to be involved, but the final effect will be much, much more attractive than this half-wall and chair rail.

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. I also was thinking of gray or blue gray at first but taking into consideration the light warm color of the floor, I am now leaning more towards a creamy white color...
There is no way I can get the landlady to remove (or add) anything to the apartment and although I agree with the idea of a whole brick wall being better than a half brick wall, i am happy to have at least some in my apartment - yes I still think brick is nice, and I don't think it is a good idea to paint over it unless you have it everywhere - so I am willing to work with what I have... Same goes for the chair railing, I wouldn't necessarily build one myself, but I want to believe that I can make it work somehow... maybe use it as an opportunity to display objects or photos or put books or something, I don't know...It is hard to tell from the photo but actually it is pretty thick.
I considered all the other suggestions as well (brown,blackboard,aubergine...) but I think once I remove the red I want it to be replaced by something much lighter and much less bolder and thus make it easier to forget that I ever had the red to begin with! (see i am a bit traumatized by the red).
I think the trim color is my main problem now! What color should the trim be if I paint the walls a creamy off white?
Thank you!

Ceren

if you do end up painting a different color, make sure to get another color for the chair rail and baseboards too. that white is way too harsh for brick and mortar!

I agree especially this kind of white... Maybe I should after all find a warm gray color to match the mortar and then for the trims and the baseboards an off white color like benjamin moore vintage taupe? Or maybe use the same color everywhere to mute the chair rail a little bit...

I had that problem for about a month and I went to Sherwin Williams yesterday and got the grayish green color called Portic it goes great blends in so well and gave my room a very sophisticated look. I just wanted to give my input to anyone like myself or Ceren that were looking for suggestions.

By the way it Super paint Satin "Portic" by Sherwin Williams

I love your pink fridge.