How to Make a Faux Exterior Brick Look

Wash the exterior wall with a garden hose and scrub brush. If there is a lot of caked-on dirt and debris, consider using a power washer. Allow the wall to dry.

Apply two coats of exterior latex primer to the wall with a paint roller, allowing each coat to dry completely.

Draw the brick lines onto the wall with a pencil. Use a laser level to ensure lines are perfectly horizontal and vertical, and a ruler to ensure they are the same distance apart.

Apply exterior latex paint in a mortar color with a paintbrush over the drawn lines. You should be able to see slightly the lines through the paint. Allow the paint to dry.

Dip a natural sea sponge in latex paint that is a shade darker than the mortar color. Sponge the paint randomly over the mortar lines. This creates a mottled texture that appears more realistic than one solid color.

Tear the edges off strips of painter's tape, then apply them to the wall over the pencil lines. The torn edges create a more natural appearance than the cut edges with which the tape comes.

Apply a base coat of exterior latex paint in the brick color of your choice with a paint roller. If the mortar color shows through, apply a second coat.

Randomly sponge on more paint that is a shade or two darker than the brick base coat. Apply this more heavily to some bricks than others to make it appear the wall is made of bricks from different manufacturing batches.

Allow all of the paint to dry, then peel off the tape.

Lightly paint a line of the darker mortar color under and to the side of each brick to simulate cast shadows. It doesn't matter if you paint on the right or left side of the bricks, but you must be consistent for the entire wall.