How would your home interiors look decorated with faux brick wall panels? They would look fabulous, of course! But maybe you aren’t convinced that faux brick wall panels are the way to go. The designers at Ninth & Vine can help you see the light. Below, we list six ways faux brick is better than real brick when decorating your home.
1. Real Brick Is Heavy; Faux Brick Is Light.
Industrial décor is all the rage these days, and it’s easy to capitalize on this style with bricks. One reason for the popularity of industrial décor is that is has a vintage feel to it, hearkening back to the industrial period. For a look to catch on and become popular, it has to be old enough to seem cool, but not so old that it feels ancient.
When you’re planning an accent wall in your home, you want it to radiate strength and give off the feeling of a 19th or 20th-century factory or warehouse in the garment district. In fact, lofts became popular living spaces in New York in the 1960s when housing was at a premium. People began renting out lofts and living in them because they couldn’t find or afford traditional apartments. Suddenly, the trend was stylish, and to this day, developers are snapping up former factories and school buildings and turning them into chic apartment buildings and condos.
Assuming your home was not formerly a garment factory, you will have to improvise. While it’s not unimaginable to use real brick around a hearth, if you were to build an entire wall in your home out of brick, it would be extremely heavy. If you were not planning to putt the wall in the basement, you would likely need an engineer to come into your home and certify that the structure is strong enough to support a real brick wall.
Faux brick is a much lighter alternative — no engineer needed.
2. Installing a faux brick wall is easier!
With our lightweight panels, installation is a much easier process than putting in a real brick wall, especially if you opt for the peel-and-stick option. You can do it yourself in an afternoon by following our online video guides!
3. It’s Hard to Hang Décor on Real Brick; It’s Easy on Faux Brick.
If you have ever tried to hang a picture or another item of décor on a brick wall, you know how hard it is. You need a special drill bit to bore into the mortar, and while you’re doing it, you have to hope that the surrounding brick doesn’t crack. Replacing a cracked brick isn’t layman’s work, so you’d either have to hire a professional or look at a cracked brick forever after.
You’ll need the right anchors and hardware for the size hole you drilled, and you also must be prepared to clean up all the mortar dust you get on the floor. You’re not always able to hang your décor exactly where you like either, because you can only bore into the mortar, not brick.
With faux brick wall panels, you can just drive a nail or screw right though it as you would drywall, plaster or any other building material. As long as you can attach your décor to the underlying dry-wall, you’ll be good.
4. Real Brick is More Expensive Than Faux Brick Paneling.
Not only is real brick more expensive, but unless you’re a mason, you’d have to hire someone to build your brick wall for you. While real brick is cheaper than real stone, it’s still more than twice as much as a faux brick wall, at $15-$30 per square foot. That’s $2,000-$4,000 for a 20-by-7-foot basement wall, and that’s just for the brick. Your price will increase dramatically when you add on the cost of paying a brick mason.
5. Ripping Out Real Brick Is Messy; Ripping Out Faux Brick Is a Breeze.
What if, down the road, you want to redecorate and get rid of your brick wall? Ripping out a real brick wall is hard work, and it makes a huge mess. You’ll need a sledgehammer to break up the brick, you’ll get dust everywhere and you’ll need to make lots of trips to carry the heavy bricks out of the house.
Most municipalities don’t let you put bricks out with the trash; you’ll have to transport building materials to a dump or transfer station, and you’ll likely have to pay to dispose of them.
When you think about how much you paid to have the brick wall, it can be distressing to know you have to pay more to get rid of it. Plus, the wall behind your former brick wall will need to be rebuilt with drywall or whatever building material is in your home.
If you ever decide that you want to tear out your faux brick wall, it comes down quick and easy with no mess.
Decorative Wall Panels from Ninth & Vine
Are you ready to install your faux brick wall now? Maybe you’re still looking at our shiplap boards and our faux reclaimed wood wall paneling. We understand — it’s hard to decide which would look best in your home. But we’ll let you in on a little secret — you can combine all three types of wall panels for a fabulous new look!
Put the faux brick wall in your basement, the shiplap boards in your hallway and dining room, and the faux reclaimed wood in the bedroom or living room. You’ll bring warmth, style, texture and visual interest to all your rooms. You can transform your entire home in a weekend.
Browse our website for decorating ideas and order your faux wall paneling today.