For some months now I have been looking at images of houses with exposed brick walls and dreaming … I don’t live in a loft so natural brick wouldn’t work for me but I would love to have white painted bricks in my kitchen. But my kitchen extension is built from breezeblocks, so even if I were inclined to spend more money ripping off the recently plastered walls, I still wouldn’t have any bricks to paint. And then I discovered Dreamwall.
white brick panels from Dreamwalls. Photo by Sophie Hitchens of lightlocations.com
The brainchild of Hannah Coleman, Dreamwall, which is now 10 years old, is a system of panels that fix to the wall giving the effect of brick, slate or stone. Each panel is only 2cm thick and, here’s the clever bit, they are made from resin mixed from real marble powder so that they are cold to the touch – just like the real thing.
This house is available to hire as a location from lightlocations.com photo by Sophie Hitchens
The panels lock together like a jigsaw and are simply bonded to the wall. Seemples. Hannah started Dreamwall from her spare bedroom. “I never set out to start up a business, it was originally a project idea for my own house,” she says. “I had not long given birth to my daughter and wanted to create a loft style apartment in my then new-build property. Due to building regulations it was impossible to have a real rustic brick wall built and after having no luck searching for a cladding system that would mimic the charm of a rustic brick wall, I decided with, help of my daughter’s father, to create our own prototype which was originally hand cast in the garage. It was only when it was installed that the light bulb came.”
Dreamwalls can supply panels in stone, slate or brick – painted or unpainted photo by Sophie Hitchens
Hannah’s business has gone from strength to strength in the last ten years and here are some gorgeous pictures of exposed brick walls to inspire you if you are thinking about getting the look but, like me, you don’t have the bricks.
image from digsdigs
This scheme is warmed up by the pops of bright green
image from interiorguiden.se
Hannah managed to secure a grant from the Welsh business support agent Business in Focus and away she went.
image from home-designing.com
You can either choose the paint your own option or go for the rustic brick range, which, Hannah says, was inspired by all the mill and loft conversions dotted around the UK.
image from lovingit.pl
As well as homeowners, Hannah’s clients have included shops such as River Island, Fat Face and and Byron burger restaurant. Prices start around £90 for a five-piece pack covering around 2.19 sqm.
image from Carl Hansen via decoist.com
The white brick in this room has been warmed up with the addition of pink rugs and bedding
image from merchantdesign.blogspot.fr
Here the simple white floorboards and brick walls allow the furniture and accessories to really stand out.
from designed-for-life.tumblr.com
This room is layers of white but the owners have softened the bricks and the loft-style ceiling by adding lots of throws and a rug that looks very soft.
image from atticmag.com
These bricks are a little more rustic but somehow that make the bed feel all the more luxurious. If this is the look you want you better have amazing sheets and accessories or it might look like a squat.
from annagillar.se
But then again how about a grey wall? Hannah’s panels can be painted any colour you fancy.
image from apartmenttherapy.com
To contact Hannah visit the Dreamwall website or call 01472 750552
And if you don’t fancy the “almost” real thing then you always go for a bit of trompe l’oeil with this fabulous wallpaper from Koziel from Rockett St George for £32 a roll.
koziel brick wallpaper also comes in white
To see more of this house at Light Locations or to enquire about arranging a shoot there click here
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