Industrial and Rustic Charm: Home Brick Wall Designs

I like seeing brick walls in a room. They add rustic charm, character, makes a space feel cozy, and becomes a decor feature in a space. But having an interior brick wall can be hit or miss, as it is better suited for some rooms vs others. Also having an entire wall in exposed brick can overwhelm the design and look of the room. So here are some design notes and advice when it comes to having an exposed brick wall in a room.

The Size of the Room

From the images in the mood board above you can see that almost all of the rooms that have exposed brick walls are not your average sized rooms. Exposed brick walls are better suited for rooms that are taller, double height or 1.5 in height, vs normal rooms. Having a brick wall is bit of a feature piece, and you need space to let it really shine.

A kitchen (1) or bathroom is a good space to have a brick wall, while double height bedrooms and living rooms will look good too.

Less is More – A Feature Piece in the Room

If you look at pictures that have brick walls in their natural color (red), you won’t find just plain solid brick walls. Having a wall just of red brick will be overbearing – and will dominate the look of the room. So you want to mix up the design of the wall.

One way to break up a brick wall is to have wainscoting, like the bottom black wainscoting in the bedroom in picture (2).

Use columns, or frame a portion of the brick wall texture. Mix up textures. Mix in plastered sections, or even fabric (3), to tone down the rustic nature of the brick wall.

Have some parts of the wall plastered and painted, leaving space for a little of the rustic exposed brick – just like in picture (4). You don’t want to over do it. Be selective, and place the brick wall in a feature area, such as a kitchen backsplash (5), the headboard wall of a bedroom, as a room divider (6), or as a background for shelving (7).

The Importance of Color

The color of the brick you use will really determine how the room looks and feels. Have a look at the kitchen in picture (8) – see how the wall blends with the decor and style of the room (from the floors to neutral colors of the table, cabinets, and chairs). Imagine how the space would look if it had your typical red brick – the color would dominate the space.

You can get bricks in all shades of red, from bright glossy reds, to more natural hues. You can also get concrete bricks too. You’re gong to want to use a color that blends well with the design of your room.

You can always paint over the bricks. Having the bricks painted over tones down the rustic nature of the design. White brick wall interiors are popular, as most walls are white – but you are left with a nice subtle brick texture just like in picture (9). Going with black creates a luxurious rustic style (10).

How to Build Your Own Interior Brick Wall

There are two main ways to create an interior brick wall design. If you have indoor brick walls, then you can strip back the plastering and expose the old bricks.

Another way is to use thin slices of brick to create a faux brick wall. You can get these thin slices as individual tiles pieces, that you attach DIY to the wall. Or you can get large panels that interlock to create panelling for the wall.

Other Design Notes and Ideas

If you do have a decorative brick wall in one of your rooms, highlight this decor feature by fitting down lights to the ceiling – pointing towards the bricks
Don’t forget you can play with patterns. Check out the herringbone fireplace design in picture (11)
By using exposed bricks as a design feature in a room, you are creating a rustic/industrial/natural design style. So the other decor pieces in the room should blend well together with this style.

Image Credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

Other rustic decor mood boards: