Fabulous Ways HGTV's Jenny Marrs Transforms Boring Brick Around Homes

When it comes to exterior home renovations, few things can feel as daunting as working with bricks. While it's a classic, durable, and timeless building material that's been used for millennia, it can also feel dark, dull, and dated. Enter Jenny Marrs, design mastermind and co-host of HGTV's "Fixer to Fabulous," who has a knack for transforming boring brick features into warm and welcoming designs. Whether refreshing a dated exterior or bringing a unique kitchen backsplash to life, her consistently stunning design choices prove that brick doesn't have to be dull.

While brick's durability, longevity, and sustainability continue to make it a popular material for homes today, it could also be one of the exterior features that's making your home look old-fashioned. Through timeless color palettes, unique textures, and design elements, Marrs has been able to create stunning, inviting spaces that reflect her clients' personalities while boosting curb appeal. Here's how you can transform your own outdated brick home into a modern, welcoming dream home, according to Jenny Marrs.

Home renovation experts Dave and Jenny Marrs have seen their fair share of dated red brick homes in need of an upgrade. One way they love to transform their clients' homes is to paint the brick exterior. For example, in Season 5, Episode 4 of "Fixer to Fabulous," they painted the family's red brick home a stunning cream color that completely brightened and modernized the look. However, if you don't love the idea of painting your home's brick exterior, the German smear (or schmear) method is a stunning Marrs-approved alternative way to upgrade your brick home that may be more durable and cost-effective.

To get the look of German smear in your home, a layer of wet mortar is applied to existing brick, and then some of it is wiped away to achieve a more rustic appearance. In Season 4, Episode 3 of "Fixer to Fabulous," Marrs explains via her website, "We wanted to soften the brick, so we added a German Schmear." This also made it more cohesive with the rest of the home's exterior. As a finishing touch, Marrs favors adding new shutters that create a pop of color, contrast, and charm to a home's brick exterior. Whether you go for traditional wood shutters for a classic look or a more sleek, modern style, shutters provide a more inviting and polished appearance to your home's exterior while breaking up otherwise dull stretches of solid brick. Even without paint or the German smear, you can easily use these shutter ideas to bring the outside of your home to life.