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September 6, 2007
Enough with the exposed brick look already
Totally fed up, I am.
Comments
Bored? I know....
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 7:54 AM
Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force.
But beware.
Anger, fear, aggression.
The dark side are they.
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 8:32 AM
The exposed brick look was already passé when I bought my house in 1974. I always asociated it with shag carpeting :-)
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 7, 2007 9:37 AM
People don't realize that exposed brick walls started out as something people did in buildings b/c they were too cheap to actually put up real walls. I was once renovating this apartment building and the contractor i was using was from the former soviet union. I had to beg and plead with him to leave the brick exposed b/c he said in the former soviet union only really shoddy buildings still had exposed brick. He felt it made his work look cheap LOL. He couldn't believe it when i told him people payed a premium for it :)
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 10:04 AM
OK, begs the question - what should one do if one has tons of exposed brick? I didn't do it. Was like that when I got the house I swear! Have exposed brick on both sides of the flue in living and dining room/kitchen area. Three options, excluding moving . . .
Whitewash to tone it down a bit
Paint it same/complimentary color as the rest of downstairs
Sheetrock over it.
I think it looks OK in moderation - but I don't have moderation. House is old-ish but lacks period detail. Look is more modern, with the occasional victorian accent for good measure. But period it'll never be.
Posted by: Johnny at September 7, 2007 10:15 AM
i left some brick exposed in the gut renovation in my brownstone. there wasn't any original detail when i bought the building so i decided to go with a modern design.
there's exposed brick above the fireplace in the living room as a detail, exposed brick in the stairwells to gain an extra inch or two of width which helps when moving large, bulking stuff, as well as in two small rooms (den and office) to also get an extra couple of inches in width.
like Johnny above, i think in moderation as a detail or accent, exposed brick can look good.
Posted by: threecee at September 7, 2007 11:03 AM
Historically, exposed brick walls were used in factories and commercial buildings as a cost saving measure. Therefore, in an historically commercial renovation, the brick walls would stay exposed.
Alternatively, historically, brick walls in residential buildings were covered with plaster and/or wainscotting. The bricks used, were of poor quality and the mortar was slapped on, because it would not be seen.
In an historically accurate residentital renovation, the brick would be covered with sheet rock, plaster and/or wainscotting.
As a designer, I also agree with you that a little bit of exposed brick goes a long, long way. You could use wainscotting part of the way up the wall and sheet rock the rest or just sheet rock the whole wall. I don't know if you plan on staying there forever, but it's possible the next owner will want the exposed brick and will jump with glee to find it unpainted, behind the sheet rock.
I love the look of softly painted, peeling brick on the outside of a house. On the inside of a house, it can be very distracting. I don't really love the look of solidly painted brick either. I vote for sheet rocking it and painting the sheet rock.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Posted by: shoeboxinteriors at September 7, 2007 11:23 AM
I had it in a coop I bought in the 80's and I got really sick of it. I didn't have the energy to sheetrock over it at the time. I think it looks nice in restaurants and in some places it looks good in small pieces but that's it.
Posted by: donatella at September 7, 2007 3:31 PM
If budget is an issue, I like exposed brick painted white--nothing glossy. It's clean and modern and a good backdrop in a more contemporary setting.
Posted by: tinarina at September 7, 2007 3:46 PM
IMHO, painted brick looks tacky. Please sheetrock over it, and paint the sheetrock.
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 5:56 PM
exposed brick = no insulation.
no insulation = money down the toilet.
why would anyone ever do this?
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 10:54 PM
I think most exposed brick walls in NYC are the party walls between buildings, 10:54, not exterior walls. So there isn't an insulation factor. For weather anyway. Insulation against noise is another matter.
Anybody truly talented at interior design can make an exposed brick wall in a room look fabulous, fresh and modern, with the right choice of lighting and furnishings.
Thing is about exposed brick, although when you hate it you hate it, the majority of people like it. I can't tell you how many people walked into our old coop and the first thing out of their mouths was how much they loved the brick. So if you are thinking about resale value, taking the long view approach, it's probably worth it to leave it be. Buy fantastic new furniture instead of paying for a new wall.
Posted by: guest at September 8, 2007 9:26 AM
Who doesn't insulate party walls?
I don't want to heat my neighbor's apartment. Do you?
Posted by: guest at September 8, 2007 10:27 PM
Come on, 10:27 that means you get heat from THEIR side as well!
Sharing the heat can be a good thing. Heat from party walls can be sufficient to keep your pipes from freezing in Winter if your furnace goes out, for one thing. Go ahead and ask my friend in a freestanding house how fun it was for her, when her furnace cut out and all her pipes burst when she was out of town.
Posted by: guest at September 9, 2007 11:26 AM
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