Natural brick masonry and materials imitating it, features of use in premises for various purposes. Brickwork in the interior is an interesting design solution that can give any room a bright personality and turn it into a real masterpiece. With skillful use, the rough material intended for the construction of walls is able to create a cozy atmosphere in a home, bring a spirit of mystery and even a certain audacity to it. The arsenal of a good designer is always full of a wide variety of techniques, with the help of which ordinary brickwork can become part of the philosophy of the surrounding space.
Natural masonry in the interior
If the new brick house has not yet been finished, one of the walls of the room can be left in its natural form to create a decorative element of the future interior. To emphasize the individuality and sophistication of the masonry, you will have to work hard. To begin with, the surface of a brick wall must be well cleaned of construction dust and frozen spray of mortar, treated with various antiseptics and a primer, and then varnished or painted. Thanks to the natural texture of the masonry brick, many interesting design solutions can be realized with the help of its exterior finish.
A brick wall can have a rich range of colors, a matte or glazed surface, an aging effect or a perfectly flat surface. All this is achieved by using modern finishing materials in a huge variety presented by their manufacturers in the construction market.
However, it is important to know that clay or sand-lime brick is primarily a product intended for laying walls, and is not initially provided for some types of direct processing. Therefore, painted masonry requires periodic surface renewal to maintain its aesthetic appearance. Tile pigments of various shades are used to fill the joints between bricks.
Below are some tips to help you paint your interior brickwork correctly:
- It is not recommended to paint fresh masonry. The wall material must dry completely, otherwise the moisture coming from the pores of the brick can deform the applied coating.
- Salt deposits on the brick should be removed with a stiff brush and water; acid solutions are not recommended for this.
- For priming masonry before painting, you need to choose a composition that will be resistant to alkali.
- Natural masonry can be made of facing bricks. Then the process of painting it will be greatly simplified.
How to arrange decorative masonry in the interior
It happens that due to the lack of walls suitable for such a decor in the room, brickwork has to be imitated with various materials. For this purpose, wallpaper, special tiles, artificial stone, plastic panels and airbrush coatings are used.
Wallpaper with a pattern
On the one hand, the use of this material may seem like an obsolete finishing method that has remained in the last century, but on the other hand, brick-like wallpaper can become indispensable for budget repairs for decorating, for example, a small niche, and sometimes the entire wall.
Wallpaper imitating the texture of brickwork can be made "for painting" or have a full-fledged printer print. Of course, this option for decorating a room is unlikely to have the effect that can be expected from natural brickwork, but it will certainly attract attention and become an interior accent. By competently selecting other details for it, you can create a single style of the space of the room.
Brick tile
Wall cladding with such tiles is the most popular way to imitate decorative brickwork in the interior. In addition to the similarity of the surface of the material with the texture of natural brick, the tile has high strength, aesthetic appearance, chemical resistance and ease of maintenance. It is resistant to temperature fluctuations, environmentally friendly and hygienic. These advantages make the tiles the ideal wall decoration material.
To install it, you need a special glue, sold as a dry mix. After adding water to it, a ready-made solution is obtained, which is applied to the back of the tile and the wall with a notched trowel in an even layer. Seams between tiles should be no more than 12 mm wide. They are filled with special colored grout or ordinary mortar for joining. The edges of the cladding are decorated with decorative corners.
Fake diamond
No less high quality than a tile is an artificial stone "like a brick". The rules for laying it do not differ from the above method, but this material looks in its own way unique and peculiar. It is indistinguishable from natural brick, but artificial stone is much thinner, lighter and easier to work with.
It goes well with wood and plastic, has low thermal conductivity, high strength and durability. The decorative stone is non-toxic and resistant to temperature fluctuations. You can buy it or mold it yourself in the form of tiles from a putty mixture or gypsum, and then glue it on the wall.
Plastic panels
The brick effect can be created using PVC panels. This is a modern material that combines not only imitating properties and aesthetic beauty, but also environmental safety, moisture resistance, high strength and affordable cost.
Installation of plastic panels does not require careful preparation of walls, special equipment and special professional skills. The products are easily installed using special glue or fastening clamps.
Airbrushing
The implementation of some solutions for creating a conceived interior is not always possible exclusively with the use of the aforementioned materials. Sometimes on the wall you want to see not only the texture of the brickwork, but also other details. For example, doors, windows or part of the roof.
This effect can be obtained using airbrushing. In this way, any drawing is created, starting with the image of a brick wall entwined with grapes, and ending with a picture of the entire facade with a balcony, doors and windows.
The drawings look quite realistic and can be applied to walls made of various materials. To obtain additional effects, fluorescent and luminescent paints are often used, which provide a play of the image depending on the lighting and time of day. For example, a good solution would be to add night reflections of lanterns or glowing windows to the brickwork pattern.
Brickwork in the interiors of different rooms
When using natural or decorative brickwork, the interior design looks unusual and bold, serves as a reminder of antiquity, creating a positive mood and a cozy atmosphere in the room. A good choice of colors and decor of brick wall joints is of great importance. Any room of a house or apartment has a specific function, so they are decorated with brickwork in different ways.
Brickwork in the hallway
Brick in the interior of the hallways lends itself poorly due to the presence of storage rooms and the small area of such premises. In extreme cases, one of the walls can be laid out with bricks.
Another material for decorating the hallway can be a tile imitating brick. It has a small thickness, which is an important point while maintaining the usable area of a small room. Tile adhesive must be selected on a high-quality polyurethane base.
This is especially important in the conditions of the hallway, since the constantly slamming entrance door causes vibration of the walls, which can lead to the collapse of poorly glued tiles.
The simplest option is to stick wallpaper, the pattern of which will imitate the texture and appearance of brickwork in the interior of the hallway.
Brickwork in the living room
In the interior of the living room, a brick wall is an excellent basis for a design in any style. Fans of minimalism can equip the room with strict furniture, avoiding unnecessary decorative elements. Connoisseurs of the "ethno" style interior can decorate the room with decorative vases, photographs, carpets or various handicrafts made with their own hands. Brickwork goes well with classic interiors, harmonizes well with crystal chandeliers, decorative accessories and antique furniture. When decorating a living room, it is important to include imagination, not limited to desires.
Decorative tiles and paper wallpapers can be used as alternatives to natural bricks. You should not try to brick all the walls of the room. If you overdo it, it can look like a warehouse or cellar. A good solution would be to decorate a section of the wall near the fireplace or one entire wall with brickwork.
Brick columns made in the Greek style can become a sign of grace and perfection of a huge living room. They can be used to divide a room into zones or as an exclusive decor.
Beautifully decorated brickwork in the living room interior will emphasize the refined artistic taste of the owners and set up its guests for a warm, confidential conversation.
Brickwork in the bedroom
In the interior of the bedroom, brickwork is quite attractive, while its material does not conflict with the soft tones and texture of textiles. Optimal use of this design does not in any way affect the illumination of the room.
If the bedroom already has a finished brick wall, it can be tidied up and covered with clear varnish. Another option is to paint it in a bright color, this design is good for bedrooms decorated in an eclectic or Scandinavian style. Being in the bedroom, a person is disposed towards comfort and relaxation. Therefore, the walls of such a room are often decorated in soft, calm and restrained pastel colors.
Brickwork in the kitchen
Imitation of brickwork, made of special tiles, looks great in the kitchen. The ginger cladding looks like a country style, and the brick wall, painted in white, somewhat softens the interior design, allowing it to be used in the Scandinavian style of kitchen decoration.
Inexpensive and high-quality finishing of the kitchen space in the "loft" style can be done using facing stone in the form of thin tiles. At the same time, the wall should be perfectly flat. For work, tile glue and joint grout are used. Brick-like tiles can be used to decorate a kitchen backsplash, and to choose appropriate materials for decorating other walls.
With the help of brickwork in the interior of the kitchen, it is possible to create a romantic atmosphere. This design favorably emphasizes the solidity and luxury of the room. In large dining rooms, you can customize one or more walls. This brickwork goes well with wood, metal and glass. Interesting solutions can be obtained by combining kitchen appliances with the background of brick walls.
Decorative brick trim is often used in the kitchen when decorating its dining area. A similar effect can be obtained if you lay out a brick partition separating the dining room and living room. To create the effect of spatial zoning, brick finishing is performed only in one of the rooms.
Advice! Despite the fact that the brick has several standard shades and is suitable for any interior, it would be better to play it safe and pay attention to the color scheme of the room and its design features.
Brickwork in the bathroom
The bathroom has special conditions of stay. Large temperature fluctuations periodically occur here, and high air humidity is observed. Therefore, its decoration with masonry requires the use of special ceramic tiles or natural clay bricks, the roughness of which will create an unusual contrast in combination with the white faience of the sanitary ware.
Bathroom walls, decorated with smooth tiles, look good too. It gives the interior a sense of cleanliness and freshness. In addition, unlike brick cladding, tiled flooring saves precious square meters, which is especially important for small spaces.
If the size of the bathroom allows, one of its walls can be faced with brick. It will emphasize the style and personality of the room. Before that, you should estimate the cost of the material and get acquainted with the photo of the brickwork in the interior of the bathroom of ready-made projects presented on the Internet sites. A successful experiment can be a combination of masonry with a glass partition between the bathroom and the toilet, or the washbasin and the toilet.
If you don't want to mess with bricks or tiles, imitation of masonry can be done with vinyl moisture-resistant wallpaper with an appropriate pattern. They are not so durable, but such a coating can always be easily replaced without much effort. At the same time, "brick" wallpapers often have such a natural look that they can be distinguished from real cladding only up close.
How to make brickwork - watch the video:
A building material that has been in use for over 100 years is now almost a work of art. The use of brickwork in the interior has a special charm and will certainly not be left out. However, for various reasons, such as the timing of repairs, the cost of projects and many others, it is much more common to determine the possibility of using a high-quality imitation brick using ceramic granite or tiles with an appropriate texture. However, it's up to you to decide. Good luck!
