Remember when we “guested that nest” on Upper Kingston Road?
I’ve been thinking about those reclaimed brick floors in the hallway off their kitchen ever since!
The homeowner told us they were actually thin slices of salvaged brick, and that you install them just like you install regular tile flooring.
And now that the living and dining room floors are done…
…it’s almost time to rip out the ugly, stained old tile currently covering our kitchen floor and replace it with something we love.
So the question du jour: To brick, or not to brick?
Whaddya think?
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I wanted to say, brick all the way it looks amazing.. heck you hose it off in the garden.. right? Course I’m hearing a lot of those common sense folks they do have a point, hard on the feet, back, dishes, etc…. Form, function.. form… function? It’s just so charming..
Love, love, love the brick!
They look AMAZING and are not nec. a pain to clean–just seal them and the porous factor is significantly reduced. Additionally, with animal hair and crumbs and such, you can just vacuum the debris– that’s I did at my old house and it’s easier than sweeping. You can even use a shop vac. Cleaning= easy peasy.
We had “Old Chicago” split brick in two of our homes. I have always wanted wood and that is what I have now. Since you already have wood, I think you should go for the brick. It looks killer mixed with wood, and it is practically indestructible. With four little boys running around here, I miss our brick floors. By the way, we have always been told that they have to cure for a month or so before being sealed., here in Coastal Alabama. We learned the hard way not to rush this. White chalky spots pop up if sealed to soon. They also feel much better underfoot if sealed.
Ok I did not read the previous comments or my first one would have been considerably longer. You don’t lay brick with grout, you use mortar as in an exterior application. You have to seal it! With several coats of poly, satin or matte ,preferably. Ours was professionally installed, if that makes a difference. I never had a problem with keeping it clean or it staining, the opposite actually. Mine never showed dirt. I cleaned it with whatever antibacterial cleaner smelled appealing to me at the time. It does not have the same feel to it as solid brick , namely because it is sealed, that smoothes it out. It felt like any other hard surface flooring. As far as rough on children and your back… no more so than tile. Actually, my children are much more dangerous to the wood, than the brick was to them! Ok, enough, please email if you have any more questions.
We had brick in our old house through kitchen and living room- while it looked really cool- it was very hard on the feet. We had two toddlers at the time- VERY difficult and “ouchy” for the kids to crawl on and play on- my son ended up hitting an edge of the brick and had to get stitches-
I LOVE the brick!! Definitely do the brick!
I’m so excited about your pilot. Can’t wait to see it!
Brick – absolutely! My old house had brick floors from kitchen, family room, hall, laundry room and little bathroom off the kitchen. I loved it. We live in an apartment right now since we just moved across country – but when we can have a house again I will definitely be wanting brick flooring again.
If you spend any time at all in the kitchen I would not brick, although the look is beautiful. I have a large bricked entryway, half-bath & laundry room & although the floor is pretty it’s killer on the feet & not the easiest to clean.
We have brick pavers in a side entry hall and my utility room. Love the look, cleaning them not so much.
Everything you drop will break on brick.
Definitely BRICK!!! Most hard floors will make your feet tired… that’s what rugs are for. 😀
One of the coolest kitchens I ever saw was a kitchen in Kingsport, TN. They had sandblasted red brick in the kitchen that was TO DIE FOR. The rest of the house was drop dead gorgeous, but it was that kitchen that kept me up at night.
GO FOR BRICK!
brick!!
There is so much beauty in the brick!!! The new steamer mop machines would clean and disinfect that floor in no time. I would leave it!!!
The brick is gorgeous but not ideal in a kitchen. Try getting spaghetti sauce out of those grooves.
How can you even ask that? Brick, of course! Can’t wait to see how it turns out – good luck!
The bricks give it a traditional look, which is nice. It would also look nice on your balcony (if any) and other exterior areas.
brick period…….My backsplash in the kitchen is brick…I LOVE it! FYI, there may be some reclaimed brick at Southern Accents. I know there is a guy in Decatur or Hartselle that has some…G will know who to send you to when you start looking!
I like the tile you have but I’ve always wanted brick kitchen floors myself.
I love the brick but used to live in a home with it in the kitchen and it was very (very) cold in the winter. The kind of cold that seeped right through your clothes as you do dishes. Plus when glasses and plates fall they always break. I say it was lovely but never again 🙂
NOT to brick!
Love the look for the entryway! But wouldn’t it be hard on the feet if you spend any time in your kitchen??? I’ve been wondering this for awhile–would love to know thoughts!
These brick floors are amazing! Anything reclaimed is a go with me!
I would go for the brick. We had it before in a rented cottage with a dog and kids, and I was pregnant. It’s not hard to keep clean and doesn’t feel any harder than wood or ceramic. You can practically just POUR water on it to clean it and then mop it up. And those bricks you have shown look like they have a shiny surface, which will make it easy to clean. That’s what we had. I think the rough surface bricks might not work as well. I have had hardwoods in kitchens too but never again. We had water damage from a leaking dishwasher and fridge. I have also had very light colored ceramic tile, which was horrible! It showed every hair. The brick, hands down, was the best.
Hi there Layla,
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on your blog before, although I’m an avid follower! We just went through a kitchen reno, and I thought that I’d share another option with you. We didn’t do brick, but we did do 3×5 tumbled marble tiles that give the same feel, yet are probably more user friendly. You can do the same patterns as you would with brick–love that herringbone pattern! With all the negative comments that I’ve just browsed through, I thought maybe you’d want to consider other options…
I’ll send you a photo of our floors, if you’re interested!
Melissa
No argument here on how rich and beautiful brick floors look. But, beyond keeping them clean, you have to live with a pretty rough surface day in and day out. My sister-in-law went to great lengths to install a brick floor in her kitchen, but our children’s clothes and joints paid the bigger price. My daughters would come home from playing for the afternoon with torn up, holey socks. The knees of the baby clothes would shred when one of our babies would crawl across the floor, and their little hands were just as scratched and scraped. As they got older, my daughters learned real quick how hard and rough a brick floor is when you get tackled by your football lovin’ cousin. I’d recommend a brick floor after small children get out of high school.
Speaking as a mom of five–hard to clean but then again it might be “black hole” flooring (as my Mom calls it) and nothing may show, so you may get away with it.
RCG
I have brick pavers in my kitchen and living area and everyone OOOOHS and AAAAAHS over them. It took alot of convincing to allow my hubby to let me do it because he was worried it would be uncomfortable on his feet but he was wrong and not only wrong but WAY wrong. They’re warm, soft, comfy and AMAZING!
Awesome idea! Do it Kevin and Layla! 🙂
I have had brick floors for 32 years. Love, love, love them! NEVER show dirt, very, very easy to keep!
We put antique Chicago brick pavers in all of our living areas and hallways over 4 years ago. Sealed them penetrating sealer and have resealed the kitchen twice since then. It’s a herringbone pattern. I have a wool braided rug in front of stove and sink to help my feet.
Yes, the grout in the kitchen gets a little dirtier. We have a dark linen grout though. It only looks aged. You can apply stone enhancer to darken all of it after installation. Lots of my family have them in their kitchens. Most use polyurethane to seal the brick. We opted for water base sealers instead. Love them!!!!!! Steam mops clean them beautifully.
We’ve moved 9 times. I lived with wood, linoleum, vinyl, asbestos, tile, concrete, cork, and now brick. Cork in the kitchen is still my absolute favorite, but it wasn’t going to work in our current home.
I think that’d be awesome! but you’d have to be really careful to make sure your floors are level!!
Ooh! I want it for my kitchen. Seriously. DO IT!!!!
The herringbone pattern is gorgeous, but dang, that’s gotta be hard on the feet and back! -Not to mention hard to clean and tough for toddlers, especially if the surface is remotely uneven.
Would it clean as easily as tile?
I am in the process of bricking my floors but haven”t found the right color. I love the floor in the room with the gray barn doors and striped rug. It has a whitewashed look with light mortar. Any ideas what color brick. I showed this pic to my flooring guy but he brought me Old Chicago which has a peachy colored stone and a very dark almost black stone that is throwing me off.
as much as i love brick it’s tough to clean.
dont get me wrong – it looks awesome!!!
just takes a lot of elbow grease to clean it. 🙁
we have slate and love the colors and texture – just despise cleaning it with kids.
I love the brick floors! They are unique and beautiful. Where can you get sliced brick at a reasonable cost? P.S. I love your site!
I just bought a house with brick floors in the dining room, kitchen, foyer, and living room. I love the look, but sisn’t haven’t figured out the best syster for cleaning them.
I would say go for the brick if you can have some people give you ideas on what works best for cleaning. I wonder what other people use?
I love your designs. I was wondering the name/style of door in picture #4 (black door that opens on top and bottom), also the style/name of french doors in picture #5 (big pane doors). It is a lot to try and find these things and I want to make sure I say the right thing. 🙂 My husband and I are building our first home in the Fall.