1970's Brick Veneer Backsplash...ADIOS!!

I HATE this stuff.  Pretty sure it was original to the house. This 1972 Brick veneer that they put up with a black concrete mastic type gunk....UGH. This crap is IMPOSSIBLE to get off the walls...no seriously..  You can pry it off and chisel it out, but you are looking at replacing all the drywall etc from the holes and gouges it will leave.

So instead of doing all of that, I decided that I actually like the texture of the "brick", just hate the uneven and jaggedy look and the maroon and orang-y color. After looking online (thanks again pinterest), we found an idea that would save us a lot of work and money, but keep us from having that ugly red brick veneer. Im pretty happy how it turned out. Although this was just going to be a temporary solution (eventually I am going to completely redo the backsplash), I really like how it looks now and am considering keeping it.

We went to Home Depot and purchased a large bucket of compound. It is used for mortaring and brick and patching. It is a do-it-all joint compound.  We covered the entire veneer with it and made the bricks a little more even looking.

We did some nice thick layers and it really evened some things out. Just  by adding the plaster, it totally changed the look of the kitchen.

Look at how much brighter. Just plaster.

We let it dry overnight, then sanded to get any swirls or rough edges off.

I then used Primer to coat twice.

this stuff is the bomb!

After letting the primer dry, I then painted with semi gloss paint - this stuff is the best. Mold and mildew resistant, which is great for the kitchen area.

Just by making this one little change, it has brightened up the kitchen immensely. So although I still have the brick veneer on the walls, it is a little more bearable and looks a LOT better. The 4" gap between counter and brick veneer will eventually be filled in with a backsplash, so I am not leaving that empty. We are waiting for our new countertops to do the backsplash properly.

Oh and we also got a new sink and faucet.

Now onto painting, new countertops, backsplash, new hardware and lighting. Getting closer!!