Living Room Makeover - Faux Brick Wall Paneling

18 February
The living room makeover has begun!!

I posted my design mood board and the before pictures here: Living Room Makeover - Before Pictures and Mood Board.

One of the things on that mood board was some old crumbling bricks that I want to recreate. The long wall that runs the length of the living room and dining room is getting that treatment.

My dad came to help me with this part of the project and to start we needed bricks!

Installing faux brick wall paneling


Supplies


I taped where the studs are on the ceiling and the floor so that when we got the panels up we would know where to put the nails.

Marking the studs

Houses are built with either 16" centers or 24" centers. This means that the distance between the center of each stud is either 16" or 24" each.

My house has 16" centers so once I found one stud I was able to measure over 16" from the center of that to the center of the next stud. I tested it with a nail here and there to make sure I was hitting the studs.


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To begin the process of recreating that beautiful, aged brick I started with faux brick paneling.

I found these Kingston Brick Hardboard Wall Panels at Home Depot for $25.97 per panel.

They come in 4' x 8' sheets. My walls are just shy of 8 feet so we had to trim each panel a little bit.

We cut a couple and then leaned them up on the wall with chairs bracing them to see how they fit.

test fitting brick paneling

Here is my dad using the brad nailer on our first panel. We also used construction adhesive on the back of the panels.


Now, my original plan was to cut out every other brick along the edges and then fit them together like a puzzle to help eliminate the seam. We decided not to do that because the seams matched up so nicely before we installed them.

I must pause and give a little nod to houses built in the 1960's... NOTHING is level or straight and no matter what we did they would NOT match up like that when we installed them on the walls! Grrr.

So, it's a good thing we opted not to cut out every other brick because that would have been an even bigger mess trying to fit puzzle pieces together that just won't fit because Satan himself is in charge in the background...

Ohhh, you think those are going to line up?? Mwuahaha!!!😈 You think your seams will be straight and invisible?? Mwuahahahahahaha😈 NOPE!.... Sincerely, Satan!

This was the worst one. It's ok though because I'll be doing something called a German Schmear technique with drywall compound and I think I can hide all these little imperfections in the end.

Installing faux brick wall panels

Making progress!

faux brick paneling

brick paneling installation

faux brick panels

Even with the uneven seams I still think it looks pretty cool already!


I'm excited to get started on the German Schmear to get that old world feel! Here is the mood board with that brick inspiration again!

living room makeover mood board

Cost breakdown:

7 Kingston Brick Hardboard Wall Panels @ $25.97 each - $181.79
4 tubes of construction adhesive @ $2.57 each - $10.28
Total - $192.07

**UPDATE - see the finished German Schmear technique here: Living Room Makeover - German Schmear Faux Brick Wall.

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  1. Thanks Vikki! Yes, it is such a life saver (and money saver!) to have a dad that is so handy!

    Tania

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  2. Nancy CarrollFebruary 18, 2018

    Lookin' good so far! The schmear will really brighten it up, i think! And hopefully hide little "issues".

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  3. That looks amazing!! and how smart of you to mark where the studs were before starting. Aren't Dads the Best?!!!! Looking forward to how your schmear technique goes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, it's looking pretty good!

    Tania

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  5. JoElle @ A Crafty CompositionFebruary 18, 2018

    Genius! I never would have thought to use the brick paneling to do the schmear. Can't wait to see it when it's done. Love daughter/dad projects - looks like you two are a great team.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amanda WallaceFebruary 19, 2018

    Here I thought my house was the only one designed and built by Satan. Glad to know you have the same struggles as me with redo's in a Satan designed home. Did the same brick board in the kitchen, only white washed it instead, absolutely love it. Cant wait to see how your wall turns out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi JoElle! Yes, my dad and I work really well together, he's awesome :o)

    Tania

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lol, you are definitely not alone!!

    Tania

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you! The schmear turned out pretty good. I'll be posting about it soon!

    Tania

    ReplyDelete

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