Interior Brick Wall Design: Ideas for Any Room

Brick works best indoors when you treat it as one textured surface and keep everything around it simple: smooth finishes, a limited palette and good lighting. Leave it exposed, whitewash it, or fake it with tile or panels. Any of these can look good in a bathroom, a living room or a hallway.

The ideas below start with the finish you choose, then cover what to put next to the brick and how to handle moisture, which matters most in bathrooms.

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Which brick finish suits your room?

Start here, because the finish decides how the wall behaves and how much upkeep it needs.

Exposed brick

Raw brick has the most character and the most color variation. It also sheds dust and can stain. A breathable masonry sealer reduces both without making the surface shiny. Choose a sealer made for brick and follow the label.

Painted or whitewashed brick

A whitewash or limewash keeps the texture and mortar lines but lowers the visual weight. This is the easiest route in a small room, since pale brick reflects more light than dark red brick. Paint is hard to undo, so test on a hidden patch first.

Faux brick

Brick-look tile, thin brick veneer and wallpaper are interior brick wall covering options for rooms where the structure has no real brick. Tile is the sturdiest choice around a shower or sink. Wallpaper suits dry rooms only.

How do you use exposed brick in a living room?

Pick one wall. A brick wall behind the sofa or around a fireplace becomes the focal point, and the other walls can stay quiet in off-white or soft gray. Brick on all four walls tends to feel heavy unless the room is large and bright.

If your room is small, the same logic applies. Our small living room ideas cover how to keep a compact space from feeling closed in, and the brick wall in house guide goes further on whole-house use.

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Can you put brick in a bathroom?

Yes, with some planning. Use glazed or sealed brick, or brick-look tile, inside the shower and wet zones. Keep raw brick for a dry wall behind the vanity or beside a freestanding tub. Run an exhaust fan or open a window after showers so moisture doesn't keep soaking in.

Brick is also commonly used as an interior insulation question in older buildings. The National Laboratory of the Rockies has a measure guideline on insulating the inside of existing brick walls with rigid foam, which outlines step-by-step design and installation procedures and explains the tradeoffs. Note that covering brick with insulation hides it, so decide between warmth and exposure before you start. For wall work behind a bathroom, I recommend a licensed contractor.

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What looks good on an interior brick wall?

Brick is busy, so contrast helps. Smooth things look best against it: a large framed mirror, a plain wood shelf, a metal sconce, or a single big piece of art. Small frames in a grid get lost against the mortar lines.

• Mirrors reflect the texture and add light, which suits bathrooms and hallways.
• Floating shelves in wood or stone give the eye a clean line to rest on.
• Sconces graze the surface and show off the texture. Warm bulbs flatter red brick, while cooler ones make it look grayer.
• Plants soften the hardness. In a humid bathroom, pothos and ferns cope well. If you share your home with a dog or cat, check any plant with your vet or the ASPCA list before placing it.

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How to make a brick wall more attractive

If the brick you have is dull, patchy or too dark, there are a few fixes, from lightest to most committed.

1. Clean it and seal it. Dust and old stains are often the real problem.
2. Improve the lighting. Add wall washers or sconces so the texture reads.
3. Whitewash or limewash it to even out the color.
4. Paint it a solid color if you want a smoother, more modern look.

Pair the brick with a few materials only. Warm brick looks good with cool gray, white or deep blue. Pale brick pairs well with warm neutrals and soft green. Pick one metal finish, such as brushed brass or matte black, and repeat it on faucets, hooks and frames.

Brick styles and where they come from

Brick walls carry the look of their era. The National Park Service notes that the Greek Revival style was popular in America from the 1830s through the 1860s, while the Italianate style was most prevalent between the 1850s and the 1880s. If your brick belongs to an older house, matching the room to that period is optional, but mixing it with modern fixtures usually looks fresher. See the Victorian rooms post for period-leaning ideas.

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Scale and layout tips

• In a small bathroom, use a lighter wash or smaller brick so the wall doesn't close in.
• Keep about 30-36 inches clear in main walkways so a textured wall never feels like it's crowding you.
• Use brick as a partition or alcove back in larger rooms to define zones, such as a reading corner or a basement workspace. The basement office ideas show how that can work.

As an architect, I'd choose one brick feature per room and let everything else stay smooth. It's the quickest way to keep the wall looking intentional.

Frequently asked questions