How To: Make Your Brick Walls Like BDDW's

We were at a friend's the other night admiring their walls. They looked just like the soft, luscious white/brick walls at BDDW (see above). Our friends surprised us with the information that, in fact, they WERE just like BDDW's. They had not only admired BDDW's walls, they had also asked BDDW's designer, Tyler Hays, to stop by and give them some tips.

We then had the opportunity to meet Tyler at the Arch Digest show a few weeks back and ask him about the recipe. He told us that he had seen it on the site, found it flattering but that it was COMPLETELY wrong, though not as complicated and not impossible to figure out as you might think.

He also said that people come into the shop all the time and ask about the walls (which sort of annoys him), but that he wouldn't give us any more recipe tips than that. AND he also said that it does have problems as it can weep and trap moisture, which requires repairing occasionally. That's the dope.

The recipe here is what we have gleaned from various sources. We think it is worth playing with and perfecting. In the end it provides a really clean, bright surface for your walls, while still showing off the mottled brick patterning underneath.

BDDW Wall Recipe Estimate

1 Plaster
1 Joint Compound

Mix these ingredients together until you have a smooth, thich white paste (proportions may vary). Apply with a cement trowel to your brick wall and create a thin coating over the bricks. Keep it smooth. When dry, sanding is required to wear down the plaster mix and create a super smooth surface. If you sand more you will get more brick shape, less and you'll get a more uniform surface.

This surface can then be easily painted over in one or two coats to finish.

(Re-Edited from 2005-09-30 - mgr)

Comments (5)

Bddw has a great space. Tyler and his entire team are talented and wonderful to work with. Have a little understanding here. It's a showroom for furniture not brick walls. I think Tyler has been more than helpful here regarding these brick walls. Now let him get back to taking care of his business at hand.

I've done brick walls in the "BDDW" style for clients of mine and the easiest method I've found is using a caulk gun and Alex Plus "brilliant white" caulk (found at Home Depot). Squeeze it into the cracks and use your finger to smooth it. You'll need many tubes of caulk, but at a couple bucks a piece it won't break the bank. Keep lots of wet towels on hand to clean your finger(s) and a couple bottles of wine 'cause it's rather tedious work, but the results are totally worth it.

Once it's dry and you've achieved the right texture go ahead and paint it using "decorator's white" flat finish interior latex. A couple coats should do the trick.

Good luck!

The Dangers Of Joint Compound Joint compound is composed of gypsum or sometimes limestone, polyvinyl acetate, and benzene (the preferred solvent). A natural or synthetic starch is used as a binder and mica, clay, talc or perlite is used as a filler. Ethylene glycol helps to control the drying time. Antibacterial and anti-fungal agents are also added. Many of these substances are known toxins. In a Harvard study done for the EPA, joint compound was found to release as many as 25 volatile organic compounds or VOC's. Six of the compounds they identified are suspected human carcinogens. The picture gets worse because the release of these VOC's into the air of your home increases over time. That's right. Instead of decreasing as you might expect, the vapors were found to increase rather than decrease depending in temperature and humidity conditions. Interestingly, the higher the temperature and humidity the more VOC's released. This means breathing the air in your home may increase your risk of cancer - indefinitely.
The Dangers Of Joint Compound Joint compound is composed of gypsum or sometimes limestone, polyvinyl acetate, and benzene (the preferred solvent). A natural or synthetic starch is used as a binder and mica, clay, talc or perlite is used as a filler. Ethylene glycol helps to control the drying time. Antibacterial and anti-fungal agents are also added. Many of these substances are known toxins. In a Harvard study done for the EPA, joint compound was found to release as many as 25 volatile organic compounds or VOC's. Six of the compounds they identified are suspected human carcinogens. The picture gets worse because the release of these VOC's into the air of your home increases over time. That's right. Instead of decreasing as you might expect, the vapors were found to increase rather than decrease depending in temperature and humidity conditions. Interestingly, the higher the temperature and humidity the more VOC's released. This means breathing the air in your home may increase your risk of cancer - indefinitely.
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/QandA/materials/plaster.htm

I had a "modernized" (read uglified) fireplace in a 19th C house. The surround was made of hideous, kind of ribbed, red brick. So I ghosted it with a thin wash of cream latex paint. It looked so good I had to restrain myself from wandering around the house ghosting everything.

I have a painted brick fireplace and I would love it to look like BDDW, but I do not relish the thought of stripping the whole thing (its big!). Can I just use the joint compound/plaster/caulk over the paint? Is any one of these better than the other for over paint?