Blatantly honest confession: I’m getting a little ahead of myself in the projects department. Okay. A lot ahead. Because it was like I was in limbo forever with our house on the market, and now I’m like a greyhound out of the gates. That’s how I roll. In my head, anyway. In reality, I’m like a greyhound balancing three puppies on her back, dragging her husband to the finish line.
It is what it is.
Since we’ve decided we’re staying here for a while, not only is there a major purge that needs to take place {reformatting a few rooms and some organization in hopes to lead a more purpose-filled home life…More on that later because I am completely overwhelmed} But there will be a lot of changes taking place to make our home more efficient. I need to get my bootay into gear, and it kind of overwhelms me.
So to distract myself, what I’m really excited about? Pretty new floors, of course.
It’ll be, like, another nine months in the budget department, because there are a few major things higher on the list {cough…minivan…cough} but today I wanted to discuss a few options with you, and get your feedback. (See? I said I was getting ahead of myself.}
Should we do brick? Or wood? OR both?
Because I think I’m craving a little herringbone brick in the kitchen and mudroom…and hardwoods everywhere else. Maybe some grasscloth in the kids rooms in lieu of carpet, eventually. Whatdoyathink?
Jamin isn’t quite sold yet, on the whole brick option. But I’ve heard hardwood is kind of a challenge to have in the kitchen. Any of you hardwood kitchen-ers out there? I grew up with hardwood in the kitchen, and it as never an issue, but I also was oh-so-obliviously not in charge of all the cleanup-age.
I’m sold on brick.
So spill it. What do you have? What do you love about it and what do you hate? If you have wooden floors did you DIY? Where did you get it, if you did? Did you hire a contractor? Was it pre-finished or installed and stained on site? If you have brick, how hard are they to clean? Any herringbone lovers out there? WHAT did you do with your furniture in the meantime? Because right now, I’m, all where’s my wand and I’m ten kinds of wingardium leviosa. It might just be like moving…
So many options…so many pros and cons. Please do tell! It’s research time!
Jennifer Talley says
Save the brick for that farmhouse kitchen you build someday! It is definately beautiful, but remember that you want to appeal to the masses when you market your house again. I think the “average” Alabama buyer would be more likely to like hardwood. Your house is so lovely, but it is pretty customized when it comes to resale. You want to make sure that any future improvements you make on your home will pay off in cash when you resell then you can put what you want in your farm house! Buyers want to envision themselves in your home, and not everyone has your fabulous taste! Stay the course! You won’t be in suburbia forever!
Catherine {Stone and Rose} says
We have barn wood floors throughout our house, including the kitchen, except for the mudroom and the bathrooms. It has been a year and a half and it seems to be absolutely fine and we really live in our house! I love, love, love the brick. It is too gorgeous, but I don’t know how friendly it would be for your little people right now. We have tile in our mudroom and bathrooms and while it is fine for those areas, it is a pretty hard surface to be standing on too long(think peeling potatoes, etc.), never mind if you drop something onto it (think shattering into a gazillion pieces). My vote for you guys would be hardwood and then the brick for the mudroom/ entry.
And your pictures are gorgeous!
Good luck deciding!
Laura D. says
I tend to agree with Jennifer! Brick may be a hard sell in the future unless your home was an old farmhouse. We have hardwood in our kitchen, and I can see how for some people it may be an issue. We haven’t had any (new) trouble yet, but the previous owners of our home had their fridge leak at one point, which caused a substantial area of the flooring around it to get warped. It doesn’t bother us much, however if we had paid to put in the hardwoods I can imagine we’d be much more frustrated!
Danielle says
we have original hardwood in our house (except the kitchen!!!) and it is so easy to clean up. My dining room floor can look quite nasty after a week’s worth of dinner spills on the beautiful hardwood but it cleans so quickly and cleans so well. I also think brick would be too hard on your feet, children running, dishes falling, etc. in the kitchen.
Mrs Mike says
I think the brick is lovely. However, cleaning grout lines is a royal PAIN. I have tile floors all downstairs, and I’m wishing I had gone with hardwood (which we have upstairs) because they are so much easier to clean! Our grout lines are sealed and still require a lot more work to keep clean than my wood floors. Food for thought! 🙂
Brandy says
Go with the brick. It is so very easy to clean and plus….it NEVER looks dirty! We had it in our past 2 homes and LOVED it. We are in the process of putting it down during our upcoming kitchen remodel, and I can’t wait. My friend even put them everywhere on the first floor of her house and loves them. They are beautiful, classic, timeless, and so easy when you have a large family. Go for it. You won’t regret it. They are the easiest floors I’ve ever had. Blessings!
Liz says
Hi, I love the idea of brick too! I have hardwood in my kitchen and I love it. I think using the hardwood and then a stencil on top could be fab! I would also like to use brick in mudroom, but have been having a hard time finding a nice old brick. The new ones all seem so, well, new!
Sharon Kelley says
I have brick in my kitchen–love the look of it, but I find it difficult to clean (the grout) It is a rustic brick so uneven in surface. It does not show the dirt terribly, so that is a benefit. But I have wood in my family room, office, and entry, and it is easy to clean, doesn’t show the dirt, and I love the look of it. I do have dogs, and it shows that wear, but that does not bother me. Wood is more forgiving in the area of dropped dishes, (I did have wood in a kitchen in a previous home), easier and a little cozier on the feet. I always have slippers or flip flops on for my kitchen. Have to say, all the pictures you featured are soooo lovely, would be a hard decision for me again.
Cassidee Drake says
I would have to say the herringbone hardwood is my fave! You could get the pattern you’re into and the update you want!
vanessa says
We have hardwood everywhere in our house except for the bathrooms & kitchen. The kitchen is brick and I love it. I love the way it looks and feels and it gives off a ton of charm. It hides everything and I give it a good scrub once a year other than that it is just quick mops. With that said it is hard for daily sweeping or vacumming with a stick vac. I wanted my grout lines to be a bit more groved than usual because I didn’t want it to look like I used an outdoor paver. When I sweep I have to sweep into the dining room then into a dust pan. It isn’t a huge pain because the room is small but I may not want it for a room the size of your kitchen. Regular grout lines would probably solve that problem. If you are appealing to a mass market to sell your house I would go with wood, it would be cheaper anyway.
Sharna says
Great post! I pinned almost every brick flooring picture! I love the look too and would love to have it in my home.
Laura says
We have hardwood floors in the kitchen and we haven’t had any problem, but we don’t have any children, so not very many messes. I have to admit that I am a little paranoid about “what if’s” what if the dishwasher leaks? what if I spill that pot of boiling water? But I guess it’s all about living on the edge 🙂
I will say that having the Shark Floor Steamer is AH-mazing! Great for wood floors, especially in the kitchen.
I love that brick too, but I wonder if it might be a little more dangerous than wood floors, especially if someone falls down.
waterlooheather says
Lots of eye candy! (Are people still saying that?)
I have hardwood in my kitchen (inherited from previous owners) and I wouldn’t do it again. It shows every smudge and water drop and is highly “dentable” so if you drop that pot or mug you could be looking at a dent. Dents aren’t the worst thing in the world and give it character. Hardwood looks great, but it’s just so precious. Consider a dishwasher or other plumbing leak. Hardwood doesn’t like water.
I’m also loving Herringbone right now, so I’d consider either laying ceramic or stone tile in a herringbone pattern or even hardwood in other areas of the house.
I don’t know what the weather is like in Alabama but I just can’t see how brick would be easy to clean, maintain and be safe/soft for little kids.
Debra Schramm says
We have slate in our kitchen and we hate it. I’ve not found a way to clean it properly and even after it’s been swept and mopped it still looks dirty. I think you may have the same problem with brick.
I was looking through a Lowe’s creative magazine one day and saw a kitchen with cork floors. They looked great and supposedly are easy to care for! Check out cork flooring.
Debra says
this post has to be my favorite because I love, love, LOVE brick floors!! We built a house in 1985 with the herringbone brick floors on the first floor and it was spectacular! But we ended up selling that house for another house we liked!! Altho the brick look is incredible – it seems my back and legs were always hurting.
What a wonderful blog you have – I always enjoy visiting!!
Natasha says
We have tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, carpet in the bedroom and wood everywhere else. I’ve never seen a brick floor in a house before, but I love it. I’d go for brick and wood if I had the choice.
Debbi in Texas says
I love brick but I prefer it more in utiitarian areas. However, slate is my preference. We were able to get a huge! load of antique roofing slate free (i.e., builder completed his job and we cleaned up the leftovers off the lot for free). We did our sunroom floor ourselves. The pattern is more random and not as crisp as a brick. I love mixing textures, so wood floors with brick or whatever would be great.
Becky says
Love the pictures. Some wonderful ideas and inspiration! We have an older home and we refinished the hardwood floors and love them – ‘easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey’ (as the kids would say) to clean them and live with them with kiddos under-toe.
We currently decided to stay in our home, too – instead of selling. Our hopes are to pay off our mortgage and pay cash for our next house. Once we decided to stay here I was like a bull out of the gates too! All these ideas had been piling up in my mind, but why do them with moving on the horizon? I can’t wait to freshen up our home to enjoy in the meantime. I will enjoy watching you do the same.
Kristen says
I’m loving the brick! I’ve only been in one house with it (my grandpa’s) and I do remember it feeling cold on my feet…but that’s about it. We have wood from Empire Today (prefinished). Personally I was super disappointed. It was supposed to be crazy strong, but our dogs nails have done quite a bit of damage. We were also advised against wood in the kitchen (we have tile…but I love the brick idea). I’m glad we didn’t because while we were gone for a weekend we returned to a defrosted freezer, and a soaking wet floor. Good luck with whatever you choose! Can’t wait to see it.
DeAnn says
The brick is lovely and would be wonderful because it would hide a few crumbs and daily dirt; however, if you drop something, it’s toast…broken…for sure; my kids fall a lot, I would hate to think of the owies and bruises that would incur if we had brick floors. Also, I would imagine it would be hard on your feet/knees/legs if you were cooking and cleaning for a long period of time in the kitchen. Maybe stick with it for the mudroom??? We have wood floor in the kitchen and its great. As long as it’s sealed properly, it’s super easy to clean and looks warm and cozy. 🙂 Looks like you have lots of different opinions. 🙂 It’ll be beautiful no matter what you choose!
Tamie Kyes says
The brick is gorgeous, but I agree, I cringe at the idea of my 2 boys crashing in to each other on a brick floor. Can’t wait to see all your projects!
Autumn M says
We have tile in our home in the kitchen and it is very hard on the feet and legs, I can’t imagine brick would be any gentler. We are currently renting in a different city and have hardwood in that kitchen and think it is much better and seems pretty durable. I love the first image you have of the herringbone very neutral toned wood, that would be gorgeous in your kitchen! If you do brick in a mudroom just make sure you do dark grout, light grout in our mudroom has been an absolute nightmare and just never comes clean.
Tiffany says
I think both. I love the brick idea, some really pretty details. But too cold and hard for everywhere. The kitchen and entrance are good ideas because of how durable it is. It may be hard on your feet though in the kitchen, if you are in there a lot… My friend that has all concrete modern home had to get indoor crocs so her feet wouldn’t hurt…
fun fun
holly says
We have had several floorings, so I thought I would come out of lurkdome and tell you about them.
Hardwoods were great. Loved the seamless look all through the house and theyy felt freat underfoot. However we had a minor water leak and we ended up having to rip out all the hardwoods in the kitchen and have all the floors refinished. big pain.
Next we had brick. I liked the look, but that was it. The crevices drove me crazy, to much junk got stuck and you cant really mop them. Plus they have no cushion, so it is hard on the feet if you are standing a lot.
We have tile now and it is ok, but I wouldn’t do it again. If you (or a child) drops something, it will always break. Bummer. Also tough on the feet.
If I could pick, I’d get a distressed hardwood.
the end!
Kari says
We have our whole bottom level herringbone cherry which took six weeks to lay six years ago – we made a mistake though and stained it dark originally and couldn’t see the pattern much! So when I decided to have them refinished we went natural and they are gorgeous – love them and I don’t get tired of looking at them, imperfections and all. I would do something different in the kitchen though as it’s a pain to have wood floors in there – we cook and entertain a lot and its so much upkeep. I think some of those lovely ceramic long tiles that look like wood done in a herringbone pattern would be awesome. Brick, while I love, would be hard on the feet and for dropping things. Just my two cents 🙂 you can email me if you want pics of the floors – I do not have a blog or anything…
Cheryl Curtis says
Personally, I think that you should do a combination of both if that’s really what your heart craves. What matters is that YOU love your home NOW. There will always be home buyers who would prefer a different floor, wall colors, etc. Let them re-make the home their way. You make your home YOUR way. Enjoy it now. We never know how long we will be able to enjoy the moment. Love the home you live in <3
xo
amy jupin says
i must comment! must!
my friend built a house a few years ago. decided on brick in the entry way but it was so hard to convince her builder to do it. something about the weight being way to heavy, yada yada. anyway, she went to a lowes/home depot store and bought boxes of these half-pavers. brick pavers, split horizontally in half. they were hideous orangey pink but she laid them herself and then hand stained them. with regular ol’ furniture stain. and i have to tell you… amazing. the coolest thing in her home by far. she loved them so much she continued the brick into the guest bath (right off the entry) and then transitioned into hardwood for the rest of the house.
mix it up. don’t be afraid. try this method. it was inexpensive and such an IMPACT. don’t save this for another house, a some day house. what i adore about your blog is how you embrace where you are NOW. your home is loved. it shows. and that’s why i keep reading. (plus alabama girls need to stick together.)
🙂
ashley @ the handmade home says
Wow Amy! Do you have any photos of this to share? I’d love to see! {maybe email me! hint hint!!} Thanks for this comment. Make me happy. Haters gonna hate. I think there’s pros and cons to both. We shall see! ;}
Dorothy Pettit says
Would love to have a picture of this. Have a breezeway that I have wanted the half pavers in, but everybody thinks it is a bad idea. Would it be possible to get a picture? Save me, love the idea.
ashley @ the handmade home says
I think if you want it, you should go for it! It’s your home ;} Have you tried pinterest for more images? Sometimes I use them as an image search for things to pop up for me that are more relevant. You may find something great there! I hope that helps!
mary says
I’ve had the wood and I’ve had the brick. Pick the wood-always-hands down. The brick is REALLY hard on your legs to walk and stand on, cold in your feet in the morning, everything you drop on it breaks, and a disaster to even try to keep clean.
Megan Rockey says
We had bamboo hardwood installed about 6 months ago. We bought the wood from lumber liquidators, they had the best price. We really like the floors but because the wood is dark, they show any scratch or Knick which drives me nuts. I do love the bona cleaner for the floors. It does a really good job.
jackie says
Years ago I used to clean a couple of houses, and one had brick floors in the kitchen/breakfast area. Nasty is the only way to describe it. Very difficult to clean. I would definitely go with the hardwood.
Jennifer says
I had a friend who had brick floors and she hated it! Said it was close to impossible to keep looking nice.
I’m a big fan of hardwood floors and put them everywhere in our home except baths and kitchen (it will look pretty in a kitchen but oh so impractical when an dishwasher or ice machine leaks and then you have just ruined your kitchen floors…yikes! I know this from experience!) I highly recommend hardwoods in the kids rooms too, it looks great and so much healthier for them. No dust mites and other nasty stuff you never get clean….just saying
Good Luck with your decision! Whatever you choose will look great! 🙂
Michelle says
I know this was written years ago, but I’m thinking of redoing some floors in our house. What did you go with for your kitchen and how has it worked out for you? We currently have a white ceramic tile with dark grout. It isn’t awful but it seems to attract any and all dirt and grout lines like to collect things as well.
Alissa says
We have always had tile in the kitchen, until this house, where we have wood – I HATE it! I have a toddler and a big dog, and EVERY CRUMB and WATER SPOT SHOWS like a beacon! Granted they are a medium/dark high shine finish, which I’m sure contributes to the issue, but I have to CLEAN IT EVERY DAY:( I have also noticed the increase in scratches (dog nails?) and dents (toddler & clumsy husband) since we bought the house – the previous owners were childless & the floors looked amazing all four times we visited the home (but then the stove/oven was spotless too – maybe they didn’t spend much time in the kitchen:) My friend in Florida has brick in her kitchen and loves it – they do have radiant heat underneath for the “cold winters” 🙂 down there. It is beautiful! Good luck to you:)
Charles Garry says
Brick can be pretty classy… but hardwood is a living thing and can retain warmth much better!
Think about in terms of saving money on heating (stone does not retain heat as well as hardwood).
Sheila says
Have to throw in my 2 cents! We have hand-scraped hickory engineered wood flooring throughout our home, upstairs and main level, except for the laundry room, front entry hall and baths. We had two elderly doggies (since passed away) and now have 7 cats!!! It is 4 years old and still looks fantastic after ALOT of paws and claws running over it. If you go for wood, here are my hard-earned tips: 1)do not pick a high gloss finish…every scratch will show 2)do not choose a dark finish!!!! I know they are currently very popular but they show every speck of dust, fuzz, crumbs, and hair. 3)Go for a rustic style…very forgiving.
As for wear and tear in a kitchen…I have found it much easier to keep clean than I did my tile and brick flooring. Grout=pain in the butt!!!!!! Also the concerns about water leaks in the kitchen harming a wood floor depend upon the amount of leakage. My sister-in-law had a small leak from the line feeding her refrigerator ice-maker. It was corrected and you cannot tell there was a problem. My girlfriend had a dishwasher line break…big problem…but it wouldn’t have mattered what flooring she had down.
If you really love the look of the brick (and I do), just be realistic about it looking “magazine perfect”. No matter how often you scrub it/seal it, the brick and cement grouting is still porous.
Jennifer says
BRICK is HORRIBLE! I have it in my kitchen, and will absolutely disagree about it never looking dirty. It ALWAYS looks dirty. Sweeping it is a pain in the arse, and seriously, I purchased a hardwood floor vacuum just for my kitchen. Still, it looks dirty. The brick floor grout lines destroy mops, laugh at the broom, and scream dirty. I would happily trade my brick floors for anything else. I dream at night of knocking out my kitchen all to the outside, just so that I could power spray my brick floor with a hose… Brick belongs outside…
JessicaD says
I have this in my Kitchen, Dining Room, Office, Front Entry and Back Entry. http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Old-World-Oak-Handscraped-Virginia-Mill-Works-VMOO5/10012266
I love it!!! It is pretty dark. Next time I build (ha) I would not go quite so dark, BUt it is very pretty. It gets raves reviews even from people that don’t love MY style.
Elizabeth says
We currently have hardwoods with ceramic tile in the kitchen. Gotta love hardwoods. Although I love brick, too. I’m from Montgomery, and the house I grew up in had brick in the “den” area and kitchen. My parents liked it and so did I (and I’m only 27, so this wasn’t TERRIBLY long ago). When I was a teenager my mother had this clear glaze stuff put over the brick to make it shiny. She was inspired by our neighbors’ brick floors. I wasn’t exactly involved in the cleaning of the floors, but I would think the glaze made the brick easier to clean.
I know tons of people in Montgomery who have brick floors in their homes, so I can’t imagine that having brick in your house would make it harder to sell later. I think a combo of brick and hardwoods would be awesome!! I wish I had that in my house!
Jaime Truman says
Hi there..
Okay super impressed that every single picture that you have been pinned On my pinterest as my favorites EVER!!!
So I am wanting to do a brick floor and want to do brick tile.. We just bought a house and want to remodel the floors but having a hard time finding the brick tile
Any suggestions
Thanks
Jaime
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Jaime! How much fun is that? I’d love to see photos when you’re done. Unfortunately, I haven’t researched enough about brick tiles…I had assumed if we’d decided to go that route, we would just do brick. So I haven’t investigated…I would try with a local brick company in your town-they should at least be able to give you some leads, if you decided not to go with them. Hope that helps! ;} good luck!
Reclaimed antique wood flooring says
I absolutely love hardwood flooring its so natural and good for the environment. I agree with Jenifer about the brick keep it may come in handy one day
Reclaimed antique wood flooring says
We produce Antique Red & White Oak wide plank flooring reclaimed from historic Limestone County cotton warehouses. We are situated in Elkmont Alabama . Consider us for your Eco-friendly, reclaimed antique wooden flooring.
airbnb cleaning sydney says
Awesome tips, thanks for sharing this article.