There is nothing like brick to bring together a room.
Brick walls offer a solid point upon which the rest of the room may be grounded.
Brick adds a sense of history, permanence, and stability to what otherwise can be drab and boring walls. Brick jumps out at anyone entering a room, instantly drawing the eye while attesting to the owner’s good taste.
All of my favorite living spaces in my past were rooms, apartments, and homes that were built, at least in part, on brink. One college residence of mine had a single brick partition separating my stuff from my roommate’s belongings.
We couldn’t help but gravitate toward, eventually putting our desks against it, giving homework time a calming, peaceful atmosphere.
Later on, a post-college residence was an apartment complex built from what was once a curtain factory.
I’d sit in bed at night staring up at the towering red-brick walls, wondering about the toiling workers who labored there a century before.
When I finally bought my own house, I made sure it included that same red-brick motif inside and out. It really works that well.
On top of not needing the type of maintenance traditional walls sometimes require, brick walls provide a generous, forgiving canvas that goes a long way toward creating the type of impression you are hoping to convey to your visitors.
Whether or not you’ve had an opportunity to live with brick, take a look at some of the ideas below to see if anything gets your creative juices flowing.
Brick is a lot more flexible than you might think. In this living room, the designer went with white paint throughout, including the brick wall behind the wood stove.
Once dismissed as passé and grungy, living spaces inside of refurbished buildings has revitalized many neglected urban eyesores. This example, complete with exposed duct work, features a brick wall with loads of character to spare.
Brick walls don’t always dominate a room. In this example, the sliver of brick near the front door mixes nicely with the more modern looking elements, including the polished brick and wood floors.
See more of this home here. Designed by KUBE Architecture.
Brick does a lot more than simply convey urban sophistication and revitalization. In this living room, the brick medium shines with homespun coziness, while an undercurrent of utility (the built in fireplace) allows guests and permanent residents alike to feel secure and comfortable.
Depending the type of furniture, appliances, and furnishings surrounding it, brick can easily mix with lots of different kinds of decor. In the example above, brink can help turn an urban space from typical to completely original.
Source: Zillow Digs™
Brick in smaller spaces can help lend rooms, such as this small library, the gravitas of much larger collections.
Providing strong, clean lines, brick is great at forming noteworthy vaulted ceilings and combining floors without the hassle of wooden or drywall seams.
See more of this home here. Designed by Garza Camisay Architectos.
Again, although it is often pigeonholed as inflexible, brick offers a broad range of styles and colors. In this example, the black brick completes the decor’s dark, smokey look.
Just a little brick can go a long way. Providing archways and support beams, the example above doesn’t need to dominate the entire room to leave an impression.
Source: Zillow Digs™
With the right drill bit and anchor system, your solid brick walls can easily support shelving in a variety of configurations and sizes.
Brick walls invite you to be as inventive as possible, providing a stable backdrop in which to unleash your creative impulse upon the blank canvas. The white wall in the above example helps the colors and patterns in the rest of the room come alive.
See more of this home here. Designed by Vick Vanlian Architecture.
Brick certainly plays well with others. In this room, the red theme works well against the white lampshades and carpet. The red brick helps reinforce the red color scheme.
Likewise, brick can serve to complete a room’s overall tone. The white brick in this living room helps propel the whites and grays in the furniture to peak effect. The white wall also accentuates the plant’s vivid green color.
One of brick’s biggest benefits is providing contour to otherwise boring walls. Brick’s uniformity is especially striking when each brick sports its own individual contours.
Source: Zillow Digs™
Again, the contour provided by brick helps turn a rather traditional arrangement. The brick walls in this room help provide contrast to the soft light and neutral furnishings.
Whether or not the brick is just a small part of a room’s decor, or it dominates the entire space, like the one above, large windows, mixed with floor-to-ceiling brick walls, create an impressive and pleasing juxtaposition.
Brick in one room can serve to accentuate the view in another, adjacent rooms. In this example, the loft empties into the living room next to the brick wall – essentially giving you more bang for your decorative buck.
See more of this home here. Designed by Four Brothers, LLC.
Extra value isn’t limited to lofts above rooms with brick walls. This room uses brick and a bank of mirrors to turn a small brick wall into a more dominating presence. With mirrors, just a little brick may go a long way.
Brick not only mingles well with other types of brick styles and patterns. In this living room, three different types of brick were used, that, when combined with more traditional furniture, allows for just about any decorative choice.
Ever thought about setting up shop in the style of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory? Brick walls formed in the style of an European archway, along with the weathered-edge wall bricks, help create a creepy and cool motif.
Source: Zillow Digs™
Brick walls in smaller living rooms provide a sharp interest point that does a pretty good job of taking attention away from the rooms limited dimensions.
Odd and novel wooden shapes and lines are only complemented by the brick’s stoic, steady nature.
Again, just a sliver of brick, when added with elements like the the exposed ceiling beams and the polished brick flooring, goes a long way. This room does an excellent job of mixing both modern and antique elements in a fresh and engaging style.
See more of this home here. Designed by Coronado Stone Products and Standard Pacific Homes.
The narrow, contained scope of brick, with its fixed and unrelenting lines, helps complete this room’s sleek, calm aesthetic.
Many times, just one wall (typically an outer wall) of a room will have brick. Set against the white curtains and sofa, this small brick wall prevents the room from becoming too stuffy.
Again, a brick wall on a single side of a room is still enough to reap the benefits of brick – namely, sturdiness and historic cachet.
Source: Zillow Digs™
Depending on your approach, brick does an excellent job of helping to lighten a room. Although brick is often thought of as dour, with the right kind of bleaching or coloring, brick can make a bright room even more dazzling.
Just because brick is on many a hipster’s list of must-have apartment accoutrements, brick is still capable of conveying a more traditional flair. This room limits the brick to the fireplace area, something with which most people are familiar.
Because of brick’s prevalence in early-to-mid Twentieth Century construction, there are a lot of non-traditional housing featuring brick around the world just waiting to be utilized. Areas like storage sheds and former athletic courts, like the one above, may be turned into cool open-layout living spaces.
See more of this home here. Designed by The Ranch Mine.
Few things are as cozy as brick. In this living room,the stained wood blends perfectly with brick fireplace.
Again, nothing sets off a neutrally colored room quite like brick. The multiple, random colored bricks accentuates the white backdrop.
The weathered look of this read brick is balanced by the color tone of the rest of the room. Art may look particularly striking against a red brick wall.
See more of this home here. Designed by Superpozycja Architekci.
It is fairly common to find a studio apartment that has some sort of brick structure within. Often, rehab companies must remove years of built-up paint or cheap wood or vinyl paneling to expose the brick underneath.
Oftentimes, brick will be used as just a piece of the design puzzle. This room uses red brick in the corner of the space to help unleash more unique design choices.
See more of this home here. Designed by +Modern Design.
Brick and fireplaces go together well, primary due to brick’s high heat tolerance. In this room, a rectangle of marble encloses the fireplace, while standard bricks surround the marble slab.
Here is another example of a little brick making a big impact. Supporting a fireplace, two paintings, and a flat screen television, this brick arrangement helps center the room.
See more of this home here. Designed by M2 Architectural Group.
Brick brings into instant focus a building’s history. This crazy quilt of brick treatments only underscores the modern features of the rest of the room’s furniture.
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