Another brick in the wall

I've always dreamt of a home with a warm cozy study, where I can plonk myself on a couch with a book and my regular cuppa joe. To make that happen in our tiny apartment in Mumbai, we had to get a little innovative. We decided to break a couple of walls and convert our second bedroom to a bar cum study, and of course scoured through various books and the internet for ideas, instantly falling in love with the old school brick look.

Since the New York loft or warehouse style apartment started to greatly influence interior design almost twenty years ago, bare brick walls have been a long sought after feature in modern homes. It oozes quality, solidness and style and like slate, contrasts unbelievably well with soft furnishings or other natural elements such as wood.

Featured below is one of my favorite singer Michael Stipe's New York apartment. I totally love the deep red walls stretching down to the rich wood flooring, and lovely large windows letting all the light in.


Lighting a brick wall
To make the most of a bare brick wall, spotlights should be positioned above and angled down onto the wall in order to really show of its texture. the beauty of a brick wall is that the red tinge of the bricks actually add warmth to a space and really sit well next to delicately patterned curtains or settees. And half-walls make areas appear larger than they are, dividing space without interrupting lines of sight.

Where to buy?
Half brick can now be purchased in most DIY stores which basically allow us to create a brick veneer over an existing wall and enjoy the same effect for a fraction of the cost. We bought the bricks for our study at Vakola, Santa Cruz. You will find dozens of brick and tile shops in this area, and the rates are very very reasonable.

So once, you have your 'bohemian' exposed brick wall, it's time to let your imagination be your guide into decorating it. As for us, we are going to hang a couple of vintage poster prints, an acoustic guitar, and a dark wood book shelf. It's fun and exciting, and I'm so looking forward to doing it up!