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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We have had brick floors and the things I loved were a) how they looked and b) how they held up—they are easy to maintain and clean. BUT they are tough one little people learning to crawl and walk. They really HURT their knees and toddlers trip and fall A LOT on the uneven surface. And if you cook a lot, brick is tough in your feet and legs. My best solution was to use it in a room that we did not have to stand or have kids crawling a lot in (our sunroom). It gave us the look without the worries.
Let us know what you decide.
Kim
I would brick the kitchen! I have a friend whose father did the entire house and it’s beautiful! It’s super shiny and feels so good on my feet that I thought it was faux brick! I would research what type of thick coating to put on it after it’s laid. Good luck!
My late MIL had split chicago brick in her kitchen and den. Hers had a coat of sealer over it. It had a beautiful shine that she could just mop as usual. The floors were beautiful.
As other readers pointed out though, brick is hard on anything glass that gets dropped, and if you do alot of cooking or standing, brick is like cement and hard on your back/feet/joints.
While I love the look of brick floors, if you have table and chairs in the kitchen, on a brick floor, scooting the chairs back and forth would drive me bananas, as well as being a danger. The chairs would get hung up on the bricks, possibly tipping, and falling on brick (or tile)…well, you get my drift. Plus it’s hard on the feet. We moved from wall-to-wall carpeting part of the country to tile floors part of the country and I can’t go barefoot (or stockingfoot) on the tile floors. I have to wear 2-inch flip-flops in the house now. Hate it!!! lol. Let us know your decision!
I have an 1915 Georgian Revival. The former owners bricked the kitchen and when we wanted to take out the carpet out of the den and back hallway, we were able to find the same brick (actually not brick per se but a concrete product made here in Oklahoma) and finished off the den & hallway. It butts up to our wooden floors in the dining room and just looks gorgeous. I’ve lived on it for a year now and clean up is very easy! I vacuum it and mop with a sponge head mop. It is VERY forgiving as far as showing dirt…..maybe a little too forgiving 🙂 I don’t have any problem standing on it but I do always wear shoes or flip-flops as it is a bit uneven. But I wouldn’t trade it for the look, wear, and ease of care.
My mother had brick in her utility room, kitchen, breakfast room, den and front entry in her home in Texas many years ago. She/we loved them. When she moved from that house she said that she wished she could take them with her. There were 2 adults, 2 kids, a German Shepherd and a poodle living in the house at the time. She loved that they never looked dirty and were easy to clean. I can’t remember if they were sealed or not. I don’t remember them being cold, but then again, in Houston there wasn’t much cold weather. But you might be able to put those awesome under floor heaters under them if that’s a concern. Yes, there are draw backs too, but the look is amazing. I say go for it.
oh gosh brick all the way!!!!!
You had me with just a sliver of the brick picture! Yes!
A brick floor has always had an upper berth on my home dec Bucket List! Herringbone puhleeeze!
I love my brick floor. Love it everyday. It cleans like a dream. We had them when the girls were small and there was not a serious problem with them falling at all. I woud wholeheartedly recommend it if you love the look.
I love the brick!!
Question, What type of flooring did you use in your living/dining room?
I say go for it. I’m thinking about bricking my own kitchen floor. If it’s too hard to clean……well…..just don’t clean it then! Sweep it and go. If it’s hard on the feet – throw on some fluffy houseshoes! It’s such a cool, cozy look.
I love the look of brick in the kitchen. But bear in mind, brick is difficult to sweep and mop. If it’s looks you’re going for…brick has a great wow! factor. Ease of care? Not so much.
I absolutely love the look of brick floors. I love them so much that in my last house I had real used brick floors in the entry hall, 1/2 bath and kitchen.
The down side was that just sweeping them was very tedious as crumbs, bits of mud and any kind of debris was extremely difficult to capture. Using a dustbuster was the best option but, still not good.
Additionally, standing on the floor cooking for a family 3 times a day was exhausting. The hours of cooking a holiday meal was the worst!
The kitchen table and chairs never sat level and the chairs did not easily move in and out from the table.
Also, NOT good when you have toddlers. They stumble on the floor and get plenty of owies!
Yet, I still love the rustic testure and look. I am still contemplating them in our next house.
The issue is always whether it will be form or function!
I did this in our old house in the laundry room. I totally botched the grout, but, with much toil, I fixed my botched job. Let me know how you grout it because I never did figure out the correct way.
As for those who thought it hard to keep clean, it hides dust, but also loses luster after a while. I resealed mine to regain the luster. You definitely need to vaccum these verses sweeping, which is easier anyway–in my humble opinion : )
Brick it…….LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!
I grew up in a house with a brick kitchen floor. My mom put a dozen or more coats of paste wax (good ole Johnson’s right out of the can) on it and buffed it with an electric buffer between coats. It took her a few months til it got to where it was smooth enough and easy to clean. The floors were beautiful and different. Everyone else had the dreaded vinyl! Go for it, honey!
I really love the bricked look especially in the kitchen. It give is a relaxed and inviting feel.
Brick it! We have a brick hearth around our woodburning stove in our living room and the bricks were made in our town years and years ago. Some are quite old. What’s really neat about them is that a few of them say “Streator Paver” on them. Streator is the name of our town. Other ones say “Barr” on them which was another type of brick manufactured in our town. Love having that history in our house.
I think the brick would look amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before and now I think I’m in love…. :: sigh ::
I think the brick would be great in an entry or laundry room or something but there is no way it would go in my kitchen, I’ve switched to cork floors in my kitchen and hope I never have to live with anything else!
To brick or not to brick that is the question…… being from New England the first thing I thought was brrrrrrr – in the winter that could get cold on the tootsies:)
I think the brick is so pretty! Gives it a really nice sort of farmhouse look (a look I love!) We just got wood to replace our kitchen floor,..I wonder if my husband would still love me if I said I changed my mind???
Brick, for sure– it has an incredible warmth and soooo much interest. Go for it!!
I have flagstone in part of my house and I hate it and can’t wait to replace it with hardwood. Sure it’s pretty but it is extremely hard to stand on for periods of time (particularly in a kitchen), difficult to clean because of the grout. You also need to seal it constantly and in high traffic areas the sealant comes off the grout too often. Then dust and dirt settles into the cracks and you cannot merely sweep it out. Your guests will hate to walk on it in stocking feet (as will you) It will wear out your socks and slippers (you’ll always need to wear something on your feet – always!) ANd last but not least it ‘s VERY COLD.
You will regret it, trust me.
I love the look but I am not sure I would want it in the kitchen. I would be afraid I might stub my toe on it but I think it would look beautiful installed. I love the thought of color on the floor.
I think it would look amazing, but hard to clean and since they are porous, it would absorb alot of the kitchen spills. Maybe in a sunroom or laundry room might be better.
Brick. It would look amazing and add warmth and texture.
You may need to consider the structure under the brick. The brick is heavy and if your structure and subfloor has any flex or bounce you will have problems with cracking and settling. Just a thought
I love the look but wonder how it is for standing on while cooking or doing dishes etc. Perhaps having them in the hall off the kitchen is the best.
Love the look of the brick, but I would hesitate to use it in a kitchen. I think it would be hard to clean and the mortar would alway make a mess. What did the owner on Upper Kingston have to say about the maintenance?
Brick it sister.
i think cottage lovers like us have to be careful. as much as i (we) love the look, i’m afraid other potential buyers down the road would turn their noses to the creativity. i’m always for doing what you love but i agree with others on cleaning and maintenance. best of luck deciding!
ashley over @
hookedonhickory.blogspot.com
Brick is so natural and adds so much warmth !!!! Love it
I agree with Jen M. We have brick and it’s not fun to clean. It looks nice, but is a total pain.
Layla,
Although the brick looks beautiful I would say not to brick in your kitchen. I have handscraped wood floors in my kitchen and my feet hurt after standing to long on them. I think I would do the something like the floors that are in the other rooms, maybe painted in a diamond pattern.
I love the dutch door!
~ Amanda @ busydaysworthwhile.blogspot.com
Absolutely brick! My grandmother’s house had brick from the entryway down a hallway and into her kitchen and it was always one of my favorite parts of the house. She had reclaimed brick and it looked fantastic. And of course, it’s super durable, which is always nice :).
There is a fine line between fabulous and functional sometimes! Sadly… the one here is that it looks amazing… BUT… very cold in the winter, grout attracts dirt, dust, oil, and the such like a maniac magnet, rough on little knees crawling around, and rough on the feet. BUT… it works great in a sunroom with rugs and less footware surface and you get the look… or brick a back patio that can be hosed down!!!!!!
Totally forgot to add the option of putting it on a wall! A brick wall in a kitchen screams to me of warmth, love, comfort, style, and total radness!
LOVE IT! What a great idea 🙂
Yes, Follow the Yellow Brick Road !
Brick! I have a friend with brick in her kitchen and I’ve never heard her say a word about it being too hard to clean. And they look fabulous!
BRICK, Baby! You have no choice, really. Do it for me. I’ve always wanted a brick kitchen floor.
Cool, love the look! Might be a bit uncomfortable under foot? Do you happen to know the paint color on their kitchen cabinets? So pretty.
The brick looks awesome. I just finished vacuuming, and I could just see all the cat hair stuck to those bricks if they were in my home. I’m sure if anyone can figure out a way to make it work, it will be the Palmers!!!!!
Don’t forget about the little people you will be adding to your family. Make sure crawling tots won’t hurt their knees!
I love the look of brick. However, I have it in my front porch (enclosed room actually) and it’s very creepy to scrub it. I don’t like the feeling and if it were in a kitchen I would be afraid it would never be really clean. If you decide to do it, even tho the white grout is gorgeous, don’t do it. It will get dark over time, it will get stained with splatters, grease from dropped food, dirt, etc. You really can’t clean that stuff well. So, having it, I would advise, don’t do it. Not in the kitchen, at least.
Definitely brick! My parents have a sunroom with a brick paver floor, and I’ve always said that when I build my own home my wishlist for the kitchen is to have brick floors. And a brick wall for the oven and such, but I’m not sure that’ll happen 🙂 I think exposed brick in a home is gorgeous, one the floor or the walls!
oh, and my parents have lots of sealer of the brick so it’s super easy to clean and the mortar is the original color.
I think that it is lovely… but how would it be to keep clean? My kitchen floor always seems more dirty then other parts of the house… maybe it would be good for the entry way 🙂
LOVE it!
Brick!!! 1) It would look fabulous and have a lot of character. 2) I’ve been toying with the same idea for our laundry room for a long time, and if you did it first then maybe I’d have the benefit of a tutorial- LOL! 🙂
Oh, and total shot in the dark, but do you happen to know where to get the light fixture in the gorgeous foyer of the second photo example?