DECISION MAKING: EXPOSED BRICKWORK

Full disclosure, I started this blog post to put together a little inspiration for the new house re: exposed brickwork, but before I'd pressed publish, I'd ripped a fair bit of plaster off the walls. That's that decision made then.. 

But, anyway, the question I was thinking about is what kind of style do you have to commit to if you're choosing to have exposed brickwork in your home. Depending on the style of building, there's some obvious choices. Industrial has long been the style that has strong links with exposed brick, but, of course, older buildings and a country-cottage style tie in as well. 

Neither of those suit the style I'm looking for in the new property, but can the minimalist, luxe, Scandi influence, along with the traditional nature of the property, marry with traditional red brick? 

Well, I turned to the Insta community for inspiration, and here's what I turned up. Click the pics to head to the sources. 

The reason I'm drawn to this room (which is a suite from the Artist's Residence in London that I really must go stay in at some point) is that none of the furniture feels like it's playing into those exposed brickwork tropes. No squirrel cage lightbulbs, no obviously reclaimed pieces, etc. It would definitely still work as a room without the brick on show, but with it, there's an extra depth and warmth that speaks to me, I also love the contrast between the exposed brick and the cornicing, which is definitely an idea I'm going to steal. 

This dining room, created by US interior design studio Sheep and Stone, is definitely my sort of style, and again, the choice of furnishings doesn't feel lead by the brickwork, but works really nicely with it. 

This location house, called 6ixteen, belongs to an interiors photographer and while it's pretty amazing throughout, one of the best details is this half exposed brickwork with the dado rail running across in tact. 

I definitely wanted to try this as I was removing the plaster from the wall - but, as I got to it, it was clear it was just as simple as half ripping off plaster to get such a neat finish. 

Though it looked okay, I think that with the design I've got planned for the bedroom it would be a little too much of a focal point and interrupt some of the other ideas I want to bring into the space. 

I'm pretty happy with what I found underneath the plaster in general though. I'm going to give it a real gentle scrub with a wire brush to free a little more of that plaster residue away, and then give it a quick once over with a brick sealant to trap any remaining dust in place.

So what do you think? Have you been brave enough to take down some plaster to see what was underneath? Drop me a comment below.