16 Ways To Use Brick Veneer Inside Your Home

When I’m perusing Pinterest late at night when I’m supposed to be sleeping (don’t tell me you’re not guilty), I find that I’m always attracted to images of older homes. Beautiful, preserved stone or brick walls that have either been re-exposed in a renovation or have been there the whole time.  Stone mixed with plaster, crumbling/repaired brick, or even painted brick fireplaces… I love them all. One of the things I have chosen as a challenge for myself in transforming various projects is making them feel like they’ve always been there. Even if they’re new and modern, they should feel homey… like there’s history behind them.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure at the end of the post.

My new obsession is using accent walls of brick veneer to add some age and depth to different projects. It’s smart and it’s classic. Brick has been around in different forms since the dawn of time, and I LOVE it.

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Built in shelves, part of IKEA hack, with Castlegate Old Mill Brick Veneer, dressed with farmhouse candlesticks and preserved boxwood

 

Our first experiment with brick was a complete and total pain in the tail. I, of course, chose a super narrow space to install it, because I feel like Rainman really needs the additional challenge of working in a tight space on top of doing something he hasn’t done before. I’ll do a project tutorial soon, but I’m just not ready to relive that pain yet, nor do I have enough wine in the house to really delve into it.

Anyway, along the way, as I was researching different looks I found some fantastic applications for brick veneer in the house. I’ll share my favorites with you:

As an accent behind builtins or shelves:

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Built in shelves, part of IKEA hack, with Castlegate Old Mill Brick Veneer, dressed with farmhouse candlesticks and preserved boxwood

This is our unfinished builtins project (IKEA hack) with the brick veneer behind the shelves. I love the effect. After researching multiple options, I finally decided on Old Mill, Castle Gate Brick Veneer. I always check a local distributor first, and although he was able to do it for 5 cents cheaper a brick, we had to buy an entire pallet and there was a six-week lead time. In any case, we really love how it turned out, and the Old Mill quality was excellent.

Here are some of the images that inspired me and continue to provide planning inspiration for possible future projects:

As an accent wall in the bathroom:

Image Source Unknown (Instagram Account Deleted)

So, this is a great space. I really like the vanity. But, honestly, without the brick accent wall this room would be pretty vanilla, right? It was a fantastic choice in this room.

In the bathroom with antique fireplace:

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Image from Signature Hardware

There is a lot going on with this bathroom. I honestly don’t LOVE the shower, because I think the “modern” level is overdone and clashes with the other AMAZING elements. The preserved antique brick fireplace is incredible (minus the hearth in the modern tile). The clawfoot tub is equally fantastic. I also love that they refinished what appear to be original wide plank floors. If you look carefully you can see a chandelier in the shower glass reflection…. reinforcing my deep belief that no bathroom is truly complete without a sparkling chandelier. Bravo.

As a foyer accent wall:

From diyfurnituremaven.com

This is such an amazing space. The combination of herringbone wood floors, the brick, the incredibly detailed wood moldings, the classic settee, and of course, the maps. This person might love Restoration Hardware. It’s a rich, warm, classic look and I just adore it.

As a kitchen accent wall:

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From carmenza.spotlife.se

The antique brick really adds interest to this space. I also dig the bank of apothecary drawers and the banquette seating.

For a more modern take on the kitchen with an antique wall:

Image from myhouseidea.com

The scale of this room is part of what makes it so cool (did you see how thick that table slab is???). Doing this wall in brick veneer would be a pricey undertaking.

Over the stove:

Image from housetrends.com

Sigh. Yes, the antique brick surround for the stove wall is happening and in our future kitchen renovation. For real. Don’t you love the beams and the lighting?

On the fireplace:

Image from designsponge.com

This is one of the coolest two-sided fireplaces ever. And I love the faux skin rug. I would’ve loved to see a wide plank, hand finished hard wood with this. It would have been epic.

A totally different take on a fireplace:

Image from betweennapsontheporch.com

This fireplace inspires my inner Hobbit. So much movement, and paired with what appears to be heart pine… what more could one want?

As an accent on window walls:

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Image from Pocket.co

I love brick accents around windows, especially if they are original, or made to appear to be the outer wall of the home. These are uniquely awesome because of their depth- they were able to incorporate a great panelled look on the inside. Really nicely done with superb depth.

Image from Theloftsofgreenville.com

The loft pictured here is incredibly well done all around. They really captured a moody ambiance.

As a column wrap:

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Centophobe.com

My favorite part of this column wrap is that it appears to actually be an original home element. Very cool that they kept it.

As an archway wrap:

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Image from Houzz

The difference in materials on the archway does a masterful job of separating living areas. The flow between spaces here is exquisite.

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Image source unknown

Isn’t this an awesome transition from foyer to living area?

In the dining room:

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Image from emeco.net

This is obviously a commercial space, but what a perfect combination of gray velvet tufted seating, antique mirrors, rustic wood floors, iron table bases, classic artwork, and of course, the brick.

On the basement wall:

Image from howtobuildahouseblog.com

Once again, realize this would be an expensive undertaking. But, the look is so unique. I love it paired here with medium tones in wood flooring and the bright white baseboards.

As a brick ceiling:

Image from ElMueble.com

After a fairly frustrating installation of brick on a wall, I’m not totally sure how one would accomplish a ceiling installation. Nor do I think I know anyone with a marriage strong enough to survive a joint brick ceiling installation. But, if it was possible, the results are breathtaking.

Brick floor inlay:

Image from enchantedhome.com

Isn’t this amazing? I love combining the materials of deep wood tones with the whitewashed-look brick. It is really something special. They accomplished something very similar below.

Image from architecturaldesigns.com

Something interesting to note on the image above is that I believe this is new construction. This is varsity level use of different depths, textures, and finishes to make the house feel homey and not too new. There are three different styles of doors in one hallway and the mixed use of wood floors and brick is cool (though I’ll admit the antique-size brick would have been a visual and authentic improvement). Overall, really well done.

Master bedroom accent wall:

Image from Magnolia Realty, Instagram

I really like the style of this entire space (it’s new/old), classic/eclectic, well done and homey. The heavy grout is very popular right now.

As a staircase brick accent wall:

Image from seabelle.tumblr.com

If I ever walked into this space, it is truly “gasp” worthy. Unbelievably elegant and warm.

Have you used brick veneer interior applications?

Using brick inside offers an opportunity to completely transform the feel of a space. It creates warmth, texture, and depth. Are there other interior brick applications you love? I would love to see pictures in the comments section!

Thanks for joining us and check out more of our fabulous DIY and project blog here!

*Legal stuff:

I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it.  I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.

Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links.  Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.

If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale.  Amazon links are not “pay per click.”  If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.

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The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

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Lights, TV Jazz, showing time!!!!

This is not a staging checklist. It’s a showing checklist. So if your house isn’t staged yet, this article isn’t for you. There are a bazillion staging tutorials out there, but once you’re staged you’re ready for your first showing, and that’s where I come in.

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see the full disclosure at the bottom of the post.

So you get the call from your realtor. Hooray! Showing in the morning! So what now? Panic? No. Pop a bottle of wine? Maybe. Later. But, first…

So, how would I know how to do a fantastic showing anyway? When we sold our house two years ago we got top dollar and had multiple offers. Both times we were under contract in less than a week from the time the house was listed (our original buyers backed out when their co-signer changed their mind). I think that makes me an expert. Or a rockstar. Or possibly just experienced.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

I did a bunch of research and compiled a checklist to use so I wouldn’t stress out on showing days. The second time around we had multiple showings per day. Was I under pressure? Yes. But, cool as a cucumber. I had my list. And I really, actually used it.

Our feedback from the showing agents was overwhelmingly positive. It got a little ridiculous to be perfectly honest. Realtors started showing up with buyers that couldn’t afford it but just wanted to see it. Cause it was really cool inside. So, we became a temporary tourist attraction. Sigh. It’s hard to be so popular sometimes.

The point is, my list worked. And lucky for you, I’m willing to share with you so you can be a calm, popular seller, too. Sit back and wait for the offers to start pouring in.

Printable: The Ultimate Home Showing Checklist.

So here’s the bottom line: You’re selling a lifestyle, not just a house. The buyers are looking at a house, but they’re really taking a peek at your lives. If they want your life, they’ll want your house. Your job is to seduce them into picturing themselves living there, and living your groovy life. You can do it.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

Decide what the coolest parts of your house are and tell a story about them. Control the flow of the house by luring buyers from space to space. If you have great entertaining spaces, set up a party scene. If you have an art studio, make it immaculate and inviting with a blank canvas set up. If you have an awesome movie/media room cue up a Nat Geo HD film that show off the awesomeness of the room and equipment. Here are the basics:

So some of the items on my list are not original. They’re common sense. I’m assuming things are basically clean (I hired maids to come weekly while we were on the market, and I whole-heartedly recommend it). Clean:

Make beds.  I took the opportunity to get new sets during staging.  Overstock usually has some nice, reasonable ones.  It’s a lot of bang for the buck.  If you really want to outdo yourself, shop (or just look at) the Pottery Barn bedding to get ideas for a well staged bed.  Especially in the master bedroom, the retreat feel is important. (I am astounded by the number of beds I see in real estate photos with straightened-ish blankets and not so much as a bed skirt to cover the metal legs. Apparently these people are in no rush to sell the place.)  The cool thing is… you can take new bedding with you, so go for it.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

Pick up.  Nothing screams stress to most people more than an untidy house that looks like there isn’t enough organization/storage space.  And remember, you’re selling a relaxing, organized, and clean house.

Do the dishes.  It’s okay if they’re sitting in the dishwasher.

Sweep & vacuum.  Seriously, leave the lines in the carpet.  It screams, “we keep this place clean and well cared for.”

Wipe and clear the kitchen counters.  Make them shine.

Check bathrooms.  The smell of cleaner is okay.

Mow lawn. Pull weeds.  (Never leave anything that says, “I’m work waiting for you to do when you move in here.”)

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast! Pool is clean, ready for beach towels rolled on the chairs.

 

Specialty items:

Hang fresh towels in the bathrooms. Get bright white, new towels. White towels make your baths feel like a Spa.  I got new towels for staging/showings and threatened everyone in the family about not using them until after the house was sold.  They don’t have to be soft, just new and white.  I bought some reasonable ones here.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast! Rolled towels on shelves add to that luxury feel (see up to the left there?) and fresh, clean (unused!) white towels make it feel like a spa-retreat.

 

Temperature: 70. Crank that AC in the summer. Make it toasty in the winter. It should feel refreshing. It gives buyers a sense that the heat/cooling systems are in good working order.  This is a great time to check your air filters to make sure it doesn’t sound like the system is struggling when it cycles. I use 3m filtrete filters that last three months.  Yes, you can buy them on Amazon, but they’re cheaper from Lowe’s.

Fireplace. Turn it on low. Even in the summer. It creates a nice ambiance and it shows the buyers the fireplace works.

Set the table (Pinterest some cool table scapes and copy them).  Even if the dining room isn’t great, people remember it being “inviting” because the table is set.  It looks like the house is ready to do some entertaining. Once again, you can take this stuff with you. World Market always carries some reasonable, stylish sets.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast! Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

Open the drapes. All the way. Open the blinds flat and pull them halfway up the window. Make sure they’re straight and not lopsided.

Lights. Blazing. Turn them all on and open all of the interior doors. Don’t let potential buyers fumble for light switches or door handles. They should be able to walk through and simply enjoy. (I left a note for the realtors telling them we’d turn the lights off when we got home).  This is not the time to be stingy about the light bill.

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast! Turn All Of The Lights On Before The Showing.

 

Case in point, there are three different lights in this room and no windows.  It is a cave with no lights on- pitch black.  There is a lightswitch for the built in bed over by the bed.  There is a lamp on the dresser.  With the door open and all the lights on this is a showcase. Every kid in the world wants this room.  Fumbling for the lights and trying to see it in the dark would leave the proper “showing” of this room to chance.  Turning the lights on in advance let’s you control the showing.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

Pictures (okay, this is a staging item, but I feel strongly about it. I also apparently disagree with every HGTV host, ever). Only take your family pictures down if they’re in lousy frames and/or you have ugly kids. Be honest with yourself here. People realize that someone lives in the house… isn’t that why companies use models to sell clothing? Think of your family photos as “happy family home” models. I had a cool wall with black and white canvasses full of family pictures. We left those pictures up. They just screamed “we’re one big happy family in our happy family home.”  It’s also a wall-staging item.  Without those our staircase would be empty.

Music. Low volume smooth jazz. If you have cable there are usually music channels included in your package so we had several TVs on with smooth jazz going. That is professional level ambiance.

Garbage disposal. Run a lemon or orange through it right before the showing. The citrus hides any lingering smells you might have missed. If you don’t keep citrus on-hand, you can get a bag of forty garbage disposal bombs from Bed, Bath & Beyond for about ten bucks.

Cinnamon apple glade. A can per showing in a 2000sf house. No kidding. I did a ton of research and apple pie or cinnamon apple apparently puts people in a “this is the one” mindset. I don’t question it.  It worked. Buy it here.

Pool, gardens, and specialty areas should be freshly staged. Wet your decks, exterior pavers, and mulch with a garden hose. They look nicer darker and like you’ve given them fresh attention. If you ever watch hgtv outdoor transformations shows, pay attention next time. Everything is soaked when they do “the reveal”. Get new pool towels and roll them up on your deck chairs/chaise lounges. Open your pool umbrella if you have one and put out the cushions. It needs to feel inviting.

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

Take your animals with you. Hide evidence of them existing. Seriously. Cat litter boxes, beds… etc. Put them in your car when you leave. Nothing deters a buyer with cat allergies more than telltale signs of pets. I was bitten by a jack Russell once during a showing. You have no idea what your pets will do when you’re not there. Nothing like getting sued by someone you were hoping would buy your house because Snooki bit them trying to get into the master bedroom (and no, I didnt’ sue. I just gave them a heads up they might want to take the dog with them next time). Potential buyers may also let your indoor cats outside or your circus dog out.

 

Make sure evidence of animals is gone. Hit areas with telltale hair with tape or a lint roller.

 

Kitchen. Clear counters except your nice knife block. A bottle of wine with a few glasses for later is a nice touch.  (Who’s in the mood to celebrate buying a house???)

 

The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!
The Ultimate Pre-showing Checklist for Selling Your Home Fast!

 

Remember, you ultimately only need ONE buyer. It’s going to be the one that falls in love with your life. Prepare accordingly.

Do you have any niche showing tips that you recommend? I would love to see your tips and questions in the comments section! Thanks for reading and you can find more great DIY articles here.

Cheers and happy selling!

*Legal stuff:

I am honest about my experiences with different products and write because I enjoy it.  I do however, have the opportunity to earn money for my writing, also.

Slavetodiy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links.  Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.

If a blogger links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in the link), and a reader places an item in their “shopping cart” through that link within 24 hours of clicking the link, the blogger gets a small percentage of the sale.  Amazon links are not “pay per click.”  If you click on the product link and stay around Amazon and purchase something else, however, I will get a commission on that sale.

Slavetodiy.com is also a VigLink affiliate advertiser which works similarly.