Painting - painting a brick fireplace

We are buying a home with a 24x15 (cathedral-ceiling) family rm. It has a large brick hearth and gas fireplace (w/glass doors). The bricks go from floor to ceiling and are in fair condition. I'm contemplating painting the bricks white since the rest of the room/house and my furniture does not fit this rustic look. Any suggestions for painting bricks in a room interior? (primer? flat/sem-gloss or hi-gloss paint?) Any othjer ideas? We cannot afford to rebuild it. Thank you.

The best choice is a latex, in your preference of sheen. I'd suggest a lower sheen so it doesn't look all shiny and/or 'seventies'. If you prime the brick first, you'll use less paint for sure. You could tint the primer to the topcoat color. Use acrylic primer. Hope this helps you some. :)