u/Medium-Pie-6701

I have an area of exposed brick in my hallway by the stairs. It’s a 1970s house, so the feature is of the era, which I rather like. The issue I have is that they’re not nice bricks, I would like it if they were softer or looked older.
Plastering the wall to match the rest of the hallway would require removing the bannisters, which I don’t want to do.
Would you paint it?
Or is there something I can put on the brick to soften it down a bit?
Id appreciate some advice and suggestions please.