totally depends on the space -- Brick looks great in airy lofts and places with a lot of light. But small, dark rooms can be seriously weighed down by brick. It either works really well, or looks horrible -- there's rarely an in between.

I almost always LOVE it!

There is a time and place for everything. This can be applied to brick, paint colors, whatever.

I agree with myaliya and tara1979 - when it works it works. I just wish people would stop trying to make it work quite so often.

Agree w/MyAliya; sometimes it is great, sometimes it looks awful. Totally depends. Glad I don't have any in my place.

What I always wonder when I see exposed bricks is this: how do you clean them? they are not as smooth as a wall so they must gather dust. You can't paint over them (unless you go for the painted look) so you can't refresh them every now and then. So are they ok for people with allergies?

Mostly it depends on the craftiness of the owner/renter in decorating around it. When large expanses of exposed brick substitute for color (art) and texture, it falls flat.

I agree with medusa12120. And add to that any sort of imitation or faux brick application.

I think while I like the idea of exposed brick there needs to be an element of warmth added to the room either by lighting or fabric texture otherwise I find it brings a coldness to the environment.

I love exposed brick

Love it. Always will. Want it.

Vintage, love it. Always, never too dark...shine a light down from above to lighten it. Right on, Leitho.

I hate our current early 80's brick fireplace, but I adored our exposed brick walls in our old Boston apartment. It definitely depends on the building and space it's in. Also, faux brick is just awful.

Love it. Enough said :)

I like it painted white.

Or black like they do in Amsterdam.

I love it anywhere and everywhere !

I love it in small doses. I saw (somewhere) exposed brick used behind a stove/oven, and the way it was done was gorgeous! It made the whole area look so cool!

LOVE it

love, love, LOVE it! It adds instant texture and life to a room.

Love it!!!

Depending on where it is...LOVE IT!

Basically, I'm just in awe whenever I see people who have really made it work successfully.

I love it in its original, natural condition.

LOVE IT! the vintage exposed brick is why we jumped at (and literally raced to get) this bad boy back in March:

http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/smallcool/2011/entries/1787

It gives our home instant character and I feel like compliments the other natural/rustic decor items we brought in.

I absolutely love the brick wall in my home. It's original to the 1908 construction and is a soft pinky color with beige mortar - it's soft looking, beautiful and definitely what drew me into the place when we were home shopping.

As for cleaning: it does generate a lot of dust and a regular swiffer duster will not work (bricks are too rough to run the duster over). So after dusting the furniture for the umpteenth time in a single week, I decided to vacuum the brick wall (for the first time in the 2.5 years I've been here). Oh my dustiness, I was cleaning the vacuum out for at least twenty minutes afterwards. In the end, it was worth it - it cut down on overall dustiness significantly.

Wish I had it....

love it and personally i don't like it painted over, or painted white - i prefer the rich brick (not fake) with its pocks, divits and imperfections - i agree with littleadelaidekate- it adds a layer of texture and depth to the walls that cant be beat. our 1960 ranch has a brick floor to ceiling fireplace that we love, its adds some architectural detailing that, IMO, the homes stark mid-cen mod look needed for balance.

I've always fantasized about having a house with exposed brick, but alas... just not many of those where I live. Maybe in the future!

Always LOVE it. The earthyness and rawness are beautiful!

Love it!!

I love the idea.
The AT posts where people commented on having centipedes crawl out of it and being able to feel the wind through it really changed my mind on wanting to live with it.

Love it when it is part of the construction. Hate it when it looks like it was applied like tile for "decor".

love it!

Fear it. I lived with a gorgeous exposed brick wall in an old 1890's house-turned-apartment. I froze to death that winter. I see brick walls now and all I can think is "no insulation" and "My god, the humanity!"

Love it!

I think that exposed brick is architectural honesty at it's finest.

Really? Is there anyone who doesn't like it? You just need to know how to use it when you have it. Small or large, dark or light space... it's all in what you do to highlight what you have.

I feel like this got over exposed (I know, shameless) in the late 90's. Like city living became defined in Hollywood movies as having brick walls. But, if anything is done right - it's right.

^^^ agree with Garrett22. Like glass bricks, exposed brick smacks of 80s-90s. I have some in my house. Very lukewarm about it.

love it!

In my case, it depends on the brick. I love the old-looking industrial Manchester type. I do not like the 60s-70s dark type with very marked corners.
I sometimes like whitewashed brick walls.

Pix above: love 1, 2, 4 & 5. I don't like no.3

@cassielynn- painting out the fireplace brick white will really modernize it & will probably help neutralize ur hatred by making it stand out SO much less...

It really depends on your style. I think it would be hard to make something very historically formal with exposed brick since it is unlikely even poor people would have had exposed walls. These days, I think it's great. I have lots of exposed brick/stone and love it. Instantly warms up a space. The only drawback is that it needs to be vacummed every so often because the nooks and crannies get dusty.

I love it. My first apartment after college had it, and my current home has it too. Actually, I think that the exposed brick is part of the reason I fell in love with my current house.

I love exposed brick in big open areas. We have a brick wall in our kitchen that I am in the process of painting because it truly sucks all the light out of the already small space.

exposed brick is beautiful...if it's nice brick. I think the idea is you are preserving and appreciating its aged patina. It's a timeless look. Newer bricks just don't cut it at all.

LOVE IT - when it's real. I'm with the above; fake is creepy.

meh. I think I'm the only one that doesn't like it. It looks cool in restaurants or lounges but not for me in my home. To me its space I can't hang anything on. And I don't like feeling like I'm outside when I am inside.

As long as it doesn't look contrived, it's fine. You can't put a brick wall in new construction and expect it to work, but you can expose original brick in an old building and it adds character to the space -- as long as there is enough light to keep it from being gloomy and as long as the brick wall isn't an uninsulated outer wall.

No, you're not the only one. I used to have a real timber loft and while I loved the old wood, I was not loving the brick so much. Dusty, drafty, buggy, dark. I need light and color around me and to be swathed in brick doesn't do my mood any favors.

However, I have seen it in places where it just looks fabulous and feels good, too, so it really depends where and what has been done with decor. But I won't look at any space to live in that has it.

i have exposed brick in my studio and i absolutely love it. it breaks up the white walls, and there are already drilled places to hang shelves (when i get around to it.)

i think i like the brick because it reminds me of the fireplace at my parents house... gives me that warm/fuzzy feeling to have it there!

I absolutely HATE it! It's so old and farty.

I love it - with the caveat that the brick is nicely lined up like in the first pic – not like the hodge-podge in the second pic.

Love it, sometimes even the fake stuff. Except when it's paired with a color on a neighboring wall that has nothing to do with it.

Holy MAN that first photo could almost be my loft. Crazy. @hotpaprika I am an allergy sufferer and my walls do not gather dust. I guess the thought of it being able to gather dust makes sense, but we don't have that problem. I've owned it for over 5 years and the loft overall does get pretty dusty.

Brick is one of my favorite wall/siding materials, but I have to agree that in small, dark areas it just adds an oppressive feeling (though sometimes painting it white helps).

Hate it. Tolerable if grey/white rather than red, or if painted. Must be smooth. :|

Have always loved it. And when it doesn't look quite right with the space, sealing the bricks and painting them WHITE is also pretty seksay.

Brick is almost always awesome! It's cheap renter's grade bronze fixtures that can ruin it.

Love it. The original roman brick wall in my little MCM nest adds nice texture, but it is definitely a bit of a challenge keeping the dust off.

I hate it. It is always a deal breaker for me.