When it comes to interior design, the exposed brick walls give a timeless charm that cannot be overlooked. In regards to interior design and in general, exposed brick walls are that feature that instantly makes any interior more unique and individual. Most of them create a historical and workmanship touch, which is reflected in many old industrial constructions, lofts, and country house designs. Such didactic materials as brick make interiors very warm and comfortable because of the rough texture and warm tones of the walls. Exposed brick can indeed be very useful if you want to achieve some particular style, for example, the laconic style or the style of shabby chic. This article covers various methods to make the brick walls more appealing and to complement the overall look at your residence.
Inexposed Brick Walls: A Timeless Feature
Inexposed brick walls are quickly becoming the favorite option due to the fact that they are timeless since they retain part of the history within a building. They are often histories and narratives of the building and its construction and can enhance the theme of the interior design. In today’s houses with smooth-looking furniture and minimalistic interior design, the roughness and irregularity of the brick perfectly complement the surrounding environment. It can add an organic and natural touch to a room, which can be quite refreshing given the overly clean lines and rather clinical look that was a staple of modernist interiors.
Contrasting Colors
This concept means developing a graphical appeal that is engaging and constantly evolving in terms of design. One can underline the natural advantages of covered brick walls and use contrasting colors. It is important to note that the raw brick material tends to give off an earth tone like reds, browns, and oranges. These can be harmonized with other elements within the room or even done in a contrasting way just to produce a good artistic view. For instance, white furniture against the red or brick walls can look clean and perky, brightening the overall feel of the room. This way, each element becomes especially apparent: light furniture against the dark background of the bricks, which is also balanced in terms of design.
However, to compliment brick walls, other equally suitable colors include black and gray that are part of the neutral color bracket as with white. Sitting on a black leather sofa in front of a brick wall creates a stylish and somewhat dramatic ambiance, leading to a proper blend of modern comfort. Likewise, gray highlights like furnishing and carpets also return a neutral balance for the Brick to stand out. They not only give the room a nice finish but also mean that alterations as and when they are needed in the future will also be less complicated due to the neutral color that has been used.
The other technique that works is the use of bright contrasting pallets, which would ensure that a new atmosphere of rallying and liveliness is created. Finally, bright green such as turquoise, Canopy as Mustard Yellow, or Emerald green will create a great contrast against the warm colors of the bricks, making the space more lively and energetic. For example, an elegant turquoise of an accent chair or the sunny mustard yellow of the throw adds the right shot of color to the room. These daring decisions might be especially helpful when it comes to such premises as communicating and entertaining as they help to create a more welcoming and dynamically intense atmosphere.
Touches of Greenery
Bringing the green indoors is a great way to accentuate the rawness of brick walls, and the best way to do that is to add houseplants to your design. Opening existing walls to the greenery of plants is a fresh contrast with warm tones of the brick and accentuates the unity of the interior and landscape. These two features make it possible to have a feeling of the home being more of a soothing place to dwell in. One can put pots on shelves or tables, suspend them from the roof or walls, or install a special plant going from floor to ceiling to get the desired green color.
Besides beautifying a place, plants provide several benefits to people’s health. They aid in air purification through the uptake of pollutants and output of oxygen, making the indoor air fresh. Also, the existence of plants can minimize stress levels and improve the mood of the people around them. Regardless if you prefer to go with the easy-to-care plants such as succulents or ferns, or the flowering ones as the ones in the picture, there is no doubt that the greenery adds a whole lot of welcome warmth to the design.
When selecting the plants to bring into your home, think about the amount of light that comes into the specific room. Indirect light-tolerant plants, also known as low-light plants—the snake plant and pothos plant for instance—should be placed in areas with limited sunlight. Some plants, such as succulents and cacti, need direct sunlight and should therefore be placed in areas that receive direct sunlight. This offers consumers great flexibility when choosing plants since there are products that are closely related to the consumer’s taste and those that are compatible with the consumer’s physical environment.
Warm Lighting
Illumination is significant when working with exposed brick walls since it draws attention to the texture and hue of the exposed brick walls. Especially the warm lighting, as far as they will illuminate the shinning material and warm tone of the brick and provide a warm and comfortable environment to the guests. Here are some techniques that you can use to ensure that warm lighting has been incorporated into the space: recessed lamps, table lamps, standing lamps, and wall sconces. These sources of illumination can gently wash the surface of the brick and, thus, draw attention to its surface structure; it can also provide a homely and cozy atmosphere.
Apart from the main light, you can also incorporate string lights or LED strips to bring that extra charm into your space. These lights can be hung on the brick wall and, if not, behind some furniture in order to have that faint backdrop lighting. Such a type of lighting will be suitable for a calm and unhurried environment, which is comfortable for spending time with loved ones in the evenings.
Another technique that can be suggested is to install spotlights or track lighting to attract the viewers’ attention to the brickwork at different areas of the wall. This should especially prove to be useful should the wall under construction possess some element of architectural interest like an archway or beams exposed on the wall. That way, one is able to enhance the beauty and creativity put into the forming of the elements and, in the process, make the wall the center of attraction in the room.
Soft Textiles
If the exposed brick walls have a somewhat cold touch because of it, soft textiles are a good way to complement the style without losing the industrial edge. Soft furniture such as rugs, cushions, and throws not only afford warmth, but also where the structured brick is rough to the touch, the textiles oppose this. This contrast can give the room more character and help to make it look more complex, which is always a good thing.
For instance, including an expensive area carpet laid down before a brick work to the seating area will make it more homey. Blankets that are thrown on a sofa can bring comfort and colors, so the room appears to be warmer. Second, you can employ curtains to balance the aesthetic of the brick wall and to reduce visibility from people in adjacent rooms. Translucent curtains are used in order to let in some amount of natural light into the room, and at the same time thick curtains are used to provide a sense of richness and glamour.
In choosing the textiles, one should take into consideration the colors of the room and its general overarching theme. Basically, solid colors such as beige, gray, and cream look elegant for space, and big patterns as well as daring colors may provide humor to a room. The crucial point here is to achieve harmony, which would give the necessary boost to the brick wall along with the space in general.
Material Combinations
Another major advantage of exposed brick walls is that it is very easy to incorporate the material with other kinds of materials. This means you are flexible in terms of elements that can be interchanged to achieve a certain look and feel. For instance, brick in combination with wood gives the atmosphere of warmth, which is essential, for instance, in the living room or a country-style kitchen. Brickwork can be combined with wooden furniture, for example, a wooden dining table or wooden shelf – natural and organic elements will look good against the background of a reddish hue.
On the other hand, if you decide to combine the use of bricks with metals, this gives a more contemporary and raw look. Introjections of metallic accessories like lamps, furniture, or separate parts of furniture can give a touch of the sphere and the most contemporary look to a room. For example, a metal-framed mirror or a set of metal bar stools will look fantastic against the rough grain of the brick and give a great contrast of texture and appeal.
Brick can also be combined with glass in home designs. The brick is heavy and cumbersome in its mass, and adding pieces of glass to the room in the form of vases, pendant lamps, or a table helps to keep the amount of solidity in check and introduce the feeling of transparency into the interior. The glazing of the structure also has a reflective layer that can help in increasing the amount of light in the room, hence making the layout more spacious.
Highlighting the Texture
Even the most sophisticated contemporary design is impossible to immure from the rather expressive and, in fact, romantic texture of exposed brick walls. When it comes to the texture in the picture, specific lighting that will cast some shadows is recommended, particularly on the bricks since they have uneven surfaces. For instance, wall sconces or uplights can direct light against the wall, developing liquid effects of light against the wall and improving the texture.
If the brick wall is still in good shape, let it remain so and do not paint it so that people can see the beauty of the material. However, if the bricks are chipped or damaged, you or someone else can clean the surface and apply sealant, which will help to protect the surface and give it the right color. The sealing also provides protection from dust and any debris that might want to settle on the bricks, and therefore maintaining the wall becomes easier. The purpose of the strategy is to maintain the historicity of the wall while turning it into a focal point of your house.
A way that it is beneficial to accentuate the texture is putting the texture beside smooth areas and/or objects. For instance, if you have positioned a stylish brand-new console table in the center of the room, it will look great if you place it near a rough brick wall. The table’s surface will be glossy while the bricks are rough; therefore, this contrast will be enhancing for both objects. This contrast can enrich the design, giving the room a more layered and interesting look which can enliven the space.
Contrasting with Light Tones
For those that do not enjoy the warm, darker look that comes from having so much brickwork, painting the bricks in light colors or choosing light-colored accessories will result in a light, positive, and airy feel. White endowment, wall and trim, and other furnishings and accessories may be used to enhance the warm color of the brick and also make the room look wider. This strategy is most appropriate for use in small houses since the use of light colors will reflect light, hence making the house look larger.
Stuccoing the other walls that are adjacent to the bedroom in white, beige, or any other pastel colors provides a peaceful atmosphere. They can also bring focus on the brick wall to stand out by painting the sides with light colors that contrast with the wall. Besides paints, one can use complete light hue furniture and decoration, including a white-colored sofa, cream carpet, or pastel-colored cushions.
Another measure that can be safely borrowed from the design of rooms with an orientation to the northeast and northwest is the use of mirrors. Mirrors always help to reflect natural light and also make the perception of an enlarged space look more realistic. This can be achieved by hanging a big mirror at the other end of the room to complement it with a brick wall since the reflection of the wall is not only light but also emphasizes work and discoloration of the wall.
Decorating with Artwork
Brick walls are excellent for composing artwork since they create a possibility to reveal one’s preferences relating to the choice of paintings. Bricks have a natural texture and color; therefore, they can add contrast when framing an art piece as it will jump out. Regardless of an individual’s taste for paintings, photos, or collage on the wall, placing frames on a brick wall takes it to a whole new level of creating art on the wall.
In selecting artwork, one must decide whether the artwork is best suited for the color scheme of the room as well as the theme of the room. Black and white photographs will provide timeless and subtle sophistication, while lively pictures painted in bright colors may enhance the area’s dynamics. Another unique idea is to combine various types of art and place them together in a more random and unique way in the hopes of achieving more of a personal touch.
If opting for the brick wall for hanging the artwork, there are some options for hooks that are specifically designed to be securely fixed in mortar. However, you can tilt larger pieces so they rest with the thin edge against the wall or put them on a shelf or ledge. It also becomes more convenient to change the art as it is just hanging on the wire hangers, giving the art a more laid-back look.
Mixing and Matching Styles
There is no strict requirement as to which type of exposed brick wall to use since there are no rigid rules concerning style compatibility that need to be adhered to. Brick walls do not matter their versatility and can be incorporated in a number of decor themes ranging from country to industrial, chic to boho. It is this flexibility that makes hunting for products online fun and stylish since it gives one the opportunity to come up with a distinct style statement that one would like to portray as per their design preference.
For instance, you can adopt the natural-looking wooden table and shabby chairs and incorporate metallic lined chairs and sophisticated lamps. It also becomes possible for a conclusion to have a blend of the old and new to give a uniform and harmonized outlook with the best results complementing the worst. Likewise, this is also true for the texture where a velvet sofa placed with a geometric rug makes for a rich and interesting flow.
It thus means that for people to be successful in eclectic decor, they have to look for a consistency that binds everything together. This could be a color preference, type of fabric, or even an agenda that is implemented within the room. You will also be able to ensure that everything has an order to it and thus be able to ensure that you do not create an environment that is cluttered but rather one that feels put together.
Adding Touches of Greenery
Greenery is a great complement to any interior and especially is suitable for exposed brick walls. The green part introduces the contrast and liveliness to the color range of the room, which is associated with the warm earthen tones of the brick. It is possible to bring plants into your interior in any form, from the potted plants and hanging plant holders to the mounted vertical garden.
Other benefits of plants include enhancing the place’s look so that it is aesthetically appealing, they help to purify the air, and effectively relieve stress levels. It also prevents noise from different activities from penetrating the rooms, interfering with the relaxed atmosphere in your house. Just as it is possible to decorate a room using both giant potted plants and miniatures, every lover of exposed brick insists on greenery as one of the most effective ways to improve the appearance of the walls.
When planting, consider the lighting conditions of the area and the amount of maintenance needed for the plants. There are plants that grow well in areas with little light and do not need frequent care, while others need a lot of light and water. Thus, proper picking of plants that are to be placed indoors will enable an area to be developed to feed the interior greens that shall be compatible with the natural hue in the bricks.
Conclusion: How to Enjoy the Beauty of Brick
Open unbaked walls can be an interesting and rather thoughtful addition with regards to the organization of the space in the house. From country style to industrial and hi-tech, brickwork offers a magnificent note for any kind of internal design trend. From the use of different colors and cozy fabrics to plants and various home décor accessories, people can always ensure that they make their brick walls beautiful and centerpieces of their home decoration.
Preparing your exposed brick walls can be successful provided you use these creative ideas. In this way, exposed brick walls become your home’s focal point that represents your meeting personal style and improving the total atmosphere. No matter whether you plan to redesign a living room, a bedroom, or a kitchen, the alley’s brick surfaces will prompt the ideas. Do not hide the fact that brick carries a rough structure and enjoys its naturalistic appearance to enhance the interiors.
I hope you enjoyed following me through these remarkable tips for the interior design of rooms with orange exposed brick. I believe that the thoughts above helped you to get impressed and to get the inspiration you need to make your home unique.
