Faux Brick (Our Kitchen Solution)

Hey There!

I've been wanting to share this with you for awhile.

So, We live and love our life in this 175 year old Church/School house here in Ohio. We love this place as I said, but there are just some things with an old place with lots of character that pose some issues.

We purchased this dwelling when it was just at the end of being renovated by the previous owner. He did a beautiful job of opening it up and creating some space, but I longed for some of the sweet character of a historic home that was edited out of the reno.

One of my loves is brick. I don't believe there was ever brick in this place but it was about to happen because well, we love it.

Here was where we began...plain gray drywall and cherry cabinetry. Neither of which I would have chosen, but, not wanting to paint these cabinets just yet, I knew that brick would warm it up and relate to the wood of the floors and cabinetry.

After researching, we felt that even doing a brick veneer could add some weight and create other issues so I began to do research. There is a lot of examples out there....Here is mine. I'll share what I discovered.

Supplies,

*Long Level *Painter's Tape (Narrow)

*Measuring Tape *Pencil *Spatula

*Drywall Compound (LIghtweight)

*White Latex Primer *2" Paint Brush

*Acrylic Craft Paint colors

Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, Brown, Black

*Paper Plate *Smaller Round Brushes

*Optional - Clear Sealer (Brush on)

First, I went out in the yard and got a real brick from the landscaping and measured it. It was about 8" long and 3" wide so that was what I went with.

*I began by creating a straight line using my long level. Don't trust that your house is level. If it's not, you can fudge a bit, but create a good level line visually. I started at the backsplash and went up. I measured up 3", marked it in a couple spots and drew a line with the level.

*I taped all the horizontal lines first....measuring each line from the previous taped line.

Once they were all done, I then measured and placed a vertical piece of tape every 8"

This created my brick pattern and when it's all taped, you can get the vision of the taped lines being the grout.

The next step was so fun

*Get your Lightweight drywall compound and a flat spatula and begin to smooth on the compound into the brick spaces.

Leave high and low spots, divots and peaks. The more texture gives the final result the character. You can use plastic forks and other tools of your imagination to create texture. It's kinda fun!

*After you have each brick covered (Just go to a zen place), You can begin to gently pull the tape off to reveal your brick while the compound is still wet. This gives you the opportunity to shape any edges etc.

Take a moment and just appreciate the look. I must tell you that I left it this way for a few days, but depending on the thickness, it should dry in 24 hours.

*TIP* If you touch it and it feels cold, it's probably not dry just yet.

*I primed my brick texture with a flat primer before moving on to painting the brick.

SO, Here is where I began to contemplate...Do I want red brick?, Whitewashed? A Farmhouse look? A warehouse loft Look? The possibilities are endless. All I knew was that I wanted to have the experience, being an Artist, of creating a realistic looking red brick, but I loved the whitewashed look.

Here's what I did...

*I put several primary colors on a paper plate to create a palette. I used Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, Brown, White, and Black.

*A fuzzy little brush, even a stencil brush would work and I promise anyone can do this.

* I made sure the darker colors were dabbed in the divots and just dabbed in the paint and with a stippling motion, I covered a brick, then moved on to the next, doing a different color combo each time. The brick took on the reddish brown tones due to mixing all the colors together as I went along, but it still maintained variety in each brick. So fun!

Don't worry about that grout area.

Whatever your wall color is, you'll change that grout in the end.

In the meantime,

Just enjoy the journey. You will notice changing things up as you progress.

If you have any perfectionist tendencies, this should pretty much take care of that. lol

Don't forget to create darker and lighter spots and work with those deep divots with the darks, even black and high spots with the lighter brighter moments.

It'll begin to look like a real brick in no time.

You got this!

Now, you are ready for grout.

I even got crazy and added texture to that.

*Choose your grout color

I chose a darker gray that I had on hand and took a brush that would fit into the space between the bricks ,

I added some sand to the gray paint in a cup and brushed that mixture into the spaces even getting a bit messy and going up on the brick in spots.

I have to say that the brick, as it was, was a bit dark for my taste so I decided a whitewashed vibe would be good for us.

When all was dry, I took some white paint that I had leftover from another wall project. This was Sherwin Williams Alabaster wall paint.

*Pour paint into a roller pan

- use a regular roller, keeping the paint load on the dry side meaning just load it and roll it in the pan to make sure it's not drippy and get as much of it out as possible before going to your brick

*Lightly with little pressure, roll over the texture of your brick hitting those high spots.

I found that being a bit here and there with the transparent and opaque areas gave it more interest and I liked the look of the Alabaster paint so much, I carried it onto the walls.

Make sure you step back and treat it like the art piece it is and look for areas that might need a bit more wash.

*for those areas, I changed up the texture by not using the roller and picked up the spatula again, dipped it into the paint and troweled it on like you would plaster.

All in All,

I loved the whole process!

You can use your artistic license as I did and change it up and be creative as you go, but you really can get a good textured brick look and up the visual value of a room, an accent wall, or any little spot that needs a little somethin- somethin.

for very little money, I might add.

This is a lot of look for the effort and expense.

I even did this in a Client/Friend's home recently. See that post Here

It can take on any vibe you truly want.

*TIP*

Search Pinterest, get ideas, collect photos of brick that you like and spaces that have the brick that you are drawn to.

*Be flexible and know that, in the process, magic happens and just push through and create the home in which you want to live your best life.

*Never let the excuse of cost, weight of the project, or the word..."can't" stop you from giving it a shot.

Feel free to reach out at Tina@TinaLawver.com

and I'd be thrilled to answer any questions you might have.

P.S. We are more creative than we know.

Blessings, Tina

Care

Just today, a fellow artist reached out to me and said "I know you are struggling..."

We are followers of each other and we are encouraged by each other's creativity, but we have never met in person.

We cheer each other on with comments and various emojis. Many are the relationships that occur because of social media, responding to images, and the safe distance, hands off "sharing is caring" culture.

To go a step further takes courage and I was a recipient of that today when I heard the ding of the DM notification.

The connectivity of the spirit of people has never ceased to amaze me, but the boldness of a person to reach out and ask is rare.

My immediate thought was "have I been obvious" for whiny is not my typical MO, but then my second thought was....How kind.

Our interaction was short, but meaningful. She had no idea that receiving a word in that moment was special and timely, but what I know is that God knows what you need exactly when you need it and He'll even use someone who you've never met to give you that little lift.

Blessings,

Tina

From a Blank Canvas

As an Artist living a creative life that carries with it all the obvious definitions and the surface expectations those titles have, I've been amazed and moved again by the unexpected.

When standing before a blank canvas with the seed of an idea, an inspired thought, a word, an image, or maybe even a combination of all of those things, it's the beginning of a journey that I know will end with an image that holds each experience. The hope is that the piece will carry with it a living message. What I can't and don't want to control is how someone will receive and relate to it.

and that's the beauty, the gold, the magic of it all. That's the goodness and what encourages the continuation of this artful life.

"Receiving the Assignment"

(Prints Available)

It's about relationship.

The relationships that have been built are priceless to me.

I am blessed to say that I have several stories like this that I could share. (insert humbled tears here)

I was in a difficult place last Summer. It's my own fault. I was on a track to take on a great challenge, but instead, I made the choice to do something good. I chose good because it was easier, because it made sense. It wasn't a bad choice to open a gallery with several talented artists, but it was off track from the calling on my life.

Just a few months before that, I had done a solo art show at a local gallery that was on the main street of town. Hanging in the window during that show, was "Receiving the Assignment", the painting shown above.

I was standing in the "good" choice mentioned before, the multi artist gallery in an alley with a cool vibe. I remember feeling off that day, but still completely committed to honoring the choice I had made. In the spot strolled this lovely lady who asked, "Is one of you Tina? I said, "that's me!" With tears in her eyes, she shared with me how many times she drove past the window of Love's Gallery on the square to experience that painting. She shared with me what that piece meant to her. She wanted to meet me and see the piece in person.

A great connection that began a wonderful friendship all started with a painting. Really, it all started with a blank canvas and an inspiration.

Monica's journey converged with mine and art was the crossroads.

I could argue that if I hadn't chosen the good choice of being where I was that Summer instead of the great path I'm on now, that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to have that encounter with Monica in the alley that day, but we'll never know for sure.

All I do know for sure is that today is a great day, today is a blank canvas full of potential.

blessings, Tina

prints of "Receiving the Assignment" are available Here