My Plans to Lighten the Brick Floor in My Foyer
A round up of whitewashed brick floors that have inspired me to paint mine.
Brick Floor in Foyer
Here is what the brick floor looks like from the second floor.
The front entryway of my house is a 2-story open space with a staircase and railing with lots of white balusters across the second floor.
Do you remember when I painted them? EVERYTHING used to be brown. I named the post with the tutorial on how I painted the balusters: How to Paint Staircase Balusters Without Losing Your Mind :-)
The space has come a long way, especially after we created a closet under the staircase with a hidden door to access it.
Back in the summer, I painted the sideboard a navy blue. I love the color and it added a needed pop of color to the large open space.
I also love the brick floor, but would like to make the design layout of the bricks have more impact. I got an idea on how to do this when we were finishing up creating the hidden door under the staircase.
When we sanded the walls, it created a lot of dust. I liked the way the white dust settled into the recessed mortar areas between the bricks.
So much so, that I started to look for images in Pinterest and Instagram on how I could paint the brick. I am thinking about adding lime or whitewashing over the mortar lines so they are a subtle white to look something like the brick floor in this room.
Or like this brick floor.
I don’t think I will add as much white to the bricks themselves…
Source
…but more to the mortar like I was whitewashing the grout on a tile floor.
I think the white will add just enough accent to add impact to the brick layout and more character to the floor overall.
Floor Decor for a Brick Floor
Many of you have suggested I add an area rug to the space. This does look nice and adds a layer of texture and color.
I have played around with a few area rugs over the 3 years we have lived in the house, but ended up removing each. We walk across the space from kitchen to bedroom and back. All the rugs I have tried look great, but they end up becoming a tripping hazard. A few were too thick and the front door would get caught on them when being opened. Plus, we don’t use the doors to come and go… everyone enters our house through the garage or lake side of the house. At these doors I have door mats to wipe our feet.
We found the rugs a nuisance. So function has won out over pretty.
In the fall, we added new darker flooring to the master bedroom. The golden wood floor in the kitchen will be getting refinished a darker color very soon. It will be nice when all the flooring will be a similar darker shade that will make the rooms flow better into each other.
With all the floors around the foyer finally the same shade, I think adding white to the recessed mortar areas will make the floor pop, making it have more visual impact.
