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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DO IT!!
Beautiful look. I’m thinking hard on the feet. Bare feet. Are you a bare foot girl?
Love the brick look, but it seems so impractical with kids. Everything about your house is beautiful but practical and this just may not be a great decision. If you can be sure they are well-sealed and the grout can be cleaned then go for it though. It’s beautiful.
LOVE the look of brick. I think it just depends on whether you are a clean freak. I have beautiful slate floors in my kitchen. The downside is (and I would think it would be the same thing with
brick) that they are uneven. They are terrible to clean … sweep no way! … even vacuuming is questionable, there are so many nooks and crannies. Also very had to stand on if you are cooking for a long time. Look nice but reall not practical.
If it’s easy to clean, brick it up! The inspiration pics above are lovely! Brick, brick, brick! (Unless, of course, it would be a cleaning nightmare. Then you might regret it every time you try to clean. And that would be sad. And dirty. And sad.)
Go for it! After all, you’re the one who’s always telling us to put things in our homes that we absolutely love, even if others don’t think it’s quite right. These pics are gorgeous – so do what your gut tells you to do.
Definitely Brick! 🙂
yes brick! i love it layed in that heringbone pattern in the third picture. i have zero experience with it though so i cant say how it would hold up to life but it looks amazing.
It is so beautiful, but cleaning grout is a nightmare! Cleaning the grout in our ceramic tiled kitchen floor is the bane of my existence and it’s even sealed. It definitely would look amazing though, if you don’t mind the extra cleaning. Do what makes YOU happy! 🙂
absolutely ! brick! I want to add brick to my kitchen , but, by building a huge fireplace. possibly a working fireplace that I can cook in (for fun, mostly.) Maybe with a place to bake pizzas….ahhhh…that’s my dream. Have you seen Paula Deen’s kitchen? to die for!
GORGEOUS! Just wonder if it’s tough to clean. I would be afraid of stained spaghetti sauce floors 🙂
I know a lot of people who have brick floors in their kitchen. Most of them will have a clear sealant applied over the top which gives it a low gloss but also makes it easier to clean and keeps the grout from chipping out.
The people that I know with brick floors absonlutely love them! Like you said, they have a thick coating of a clear sealant applied over both the brick and the grout. It helps even the surface as well as keep all the crud that builds up on grout. I say go for it. If sealed it is no worse on you feet (or little knees) than tile and easier to keep clean.
My parents lives in a house built in 1832 with an English Basement — meaning all brick floors — so the downstairs Kitchen obviously has brick floors. I love them in their house – they are absolutely beautiful! But there are some drawbacks… if you drop a glass, plate, bowl, etc., it’s history. Brick floors are very unforgiving. They are also cool to cold under your feet all year long. In the Summertime, it’s great, but in the Winter not so much if you tend to go barefoot a lot. And heaven help if you stub your toe… Eek!! Then there are some of the things others have already mentioned… not great for households with small kids – crawling on brick is murder on the knees, bumps on the heads from falls end up hurting way more than on hardwoods (this coming from someone who raised 2 kids that spent a lot of time at their Nanny’s house when they were little) and then even sealed brick can sometimes be a nightmare to keep clean. Sorry for all the negatives because I truly love it in their house! But given the opportunity to do it in my own home, I would pass on using it inside for any room other than a sunroom or screened in porch. 🙂
Ooohhhh… my sister did this years ago in her kitchen and I LOVE IT! She’s never complained. Can’t go wrong!
I love love love the look of it and actually considered it in our kitchen. We ended up just continuing the hardwood throughout. I do wonder if it would be hard to clean. I think I would go for it anyway. I think it adds so much character. Can’t wait to see what you do!
Check out Port Stone! We’re getting ready to do our entire downstairs with it. It lays down just like tile and even has a mesh backing.
I agree with a lot of the other people. The brick is gorgeous, but I think they would be very hard to clean.
I Loved it! You guys have been a HUGE inspiration for my home. I’m addicted to your blog. You guys are amazing!
To brick! Just maybe install a floor heater underneath because those babies will probably get cold when it’s cool outside!
I love the brick, but I must say hardwood is my first choice in a kitchen – NEVER tile. I had tile one time and thought my knees would come out of their sockets! Another option I may look at for the next “redo” is cork – I’ve heard fabulous things about cork and they’re making some interesting patterns now.
Go for the brick! I’ve had brick pavers in my kitchen for 16 years (Old Chicago Brick) and after sealing the grout, it’s not any harder to keep clean that any other floor. Also, I chose pavers that were already sealed so no staining. After all this time, I still love it.
I think brick could look great.
But I have another question. What did you decide to do about the floor in your living room where the concrete foundation was higher than the rest of the living room. At one time you thought this would prevent you from putting down hardwood floors. Did you find a solution?
BRICK!
To Brick! I especially love the herringbone pattern!
Love, love the brick, but how would you clean it and keep spills from absorbing?
I think they would look amazing but as a mother who just cleaned up a very large glass of spilt milk last night from her own wood floor…I wonder how difficult they’d be to clean. To sweep? All those little crumbs? Potential sand?? I feel like such a killjoy…
I say brick! Especially because I remember you saying something about you not cooking a lot. ha ha
I say go for it — I love the look! We have slate tiles in our kitchen, bathroom and entryway that are beautiful and they aren’t difficult to keep clean. They also have the added benefit of not “looking dirty” when they are 🙂
This post makes me want to find floor space that I can use this type of brick on!
I am also in the “it would be hard to clean camp”. This weekend though on the parade of homes in Kentucky one of the kitchens had brick like tile in the kitchen. While you still have the grout/mortar issue the tiles were rustic but sealed for easier cleaning, they looked great.
I love it!
Who cares if your hips will hurt from standing on it, you MUST do the brick! It’s gorgeous, and I need to live vicariously through your brick. 😉
I would talk to people about how it “feels” underfoot. We had ceramic tile in our last kitchen. It was horrible to stand and work in the kitchen. I kept some cushy slippers in the kitchen for all tasks.
I say brick. Your wood floors look great. 🙂
Oooooooo……mmmm….Yes, definitely go with the brick! Now if I can just convince Darling Hubby to do the same……..
I love the look of brick floors in a home – something so urban about it! Go for it!
Don’t do it!!!! We have a brick floor in one of our bathrooms and I hate it! (We did not put it in, house came with this floor) It is almost impossible to keep clean. I would highly advise you against it. Looks fabulous, but horrendous to keep clean.
I vote for brick!
Brick for sure! I love the look, it’s warm and inviting, old charm and beautiful. Just don’t dropped anything breakable.
But really, brick and bring us along for the installation and the know-how, I’d love to try doing that myself, maybe in a much smaller room, like the powder room. Brick…mmmm, yes, brick!
Although it looks amazing. I agree w/ the “hard to clean” thread going on here, and also… might it be cold on your feet? Brrr. Another reason I’m not thrilled w/ tile in the kitchen. Not nice to wake up, grab your coffee and have frozen feet instantly. Maybe it’s just me?!
Absolutely brick!! Love, love love it! (I wanted to write something like “brick is the trick” but thought it might be to hokey!!)
Brick!!! LUV IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Totally go for the brick!!!
(When my husband and I got married, 9 years ago, we were married at and stayed in a great old bed and breakfast that had brick flooring in the kitchen. So so lovely!)
Absolutely love the old brick look. We are also considering that for our kitchen. Would probably have to seal it with a clearcoat, though, for easier cleaning.
Brick looks amazing…however, cleaning would be a pain and not to mention how rough it might be on your bare feet. You’d have to wear socks to keep from callousing your feet all up. And if you drop something you can forget about the chance of it not breaking. Also, as a parent I can imagine there’d be a lot of scraped knees if little ones tripped. Wow, I really sound like a downer. It does look incredibly awesome though so if you want to do it…DO IT! 🙂
love the look – but i think it would be a nightmare to clean… how about slate? large and tapered slate would be beautiful… easier to clean and still give you the texture of stone… good luck!!
I totally say to BRICK IT! That is such a lovely look and it would go perfectly in your kitchen. Have fun with it!
Does anybody know where I can get the white deer head in the last kitchen? It is so neat.
I looooove the brick!! It’s so cozy feeling. do it! 🙂
brick! As far as the concerns with keeping it clean, it would be awfully similar to a slate floor. If sealed properly (you can buy many different types of sealant, some that create a sheen, others that are totally matt), then you can easily mop over it and keep it spic and span.
BRICK!!!!