Faux Bricks, Caring for Orchids, Safe House NYT House & Home Roundup 2.28.08

Room to Improve: How can I create a faux brick wall in my home? In addition to discussing how to properly use brick veneer convincingly, the article discusses several brands, techniques and new advancements in faux bricks...

If you don't qualify as an Orchid King, here are some great tips and pointers for proper and efficient Orchid maintenance.

A Refugee From Gangland. Margaret B. Jones is a former foster child and Los Angeles gang member. She turned her life around and is the author of the new memoir Love and Consequences. She lives with her daughter in a four-room bungalow in Eugene, Oregon.

(Pics: Michiko Kurisu, Susan Seubert)

Comments (11)

I thought about brick veneer once, for like 20 minutes, then concluded, real-yes, faux-no!

i love the first picture of the apartment. Is the brick in that one fake? If so it looks good from there, but as you get closer it will most likely look horrible.

I went to my sister's house a bit ago and their neighborhood was doing the outside of his entire house in faux brick. it looked hideous. I thought he was taking it down at first and was pretty happy until i found out he was just putting it up...

Funny - even though the top pic is from the NY Times article, it is in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco.

This is just a guess but maybe since this is SF, as cara says, there may be building codes making real brick walls unacceptable or difficult to put in due to earthquake walls.

ooops. earthquake laws.

That's true, art. Same here in Seattle. Masonry structures and hideously brittle and will crumble in an earthquake.

So it's veneer here or nothing.

This is not faux brick. Faux brick is that linoleum that your grandmother had on her walls. This is "real" brick, but only 1/2 to 1/3 the thickness of an actual brick. It is held in place by "real" cement, and has "real" cement grout.

Despite all of the eewws, none of you would be able to discern any difference between a full brick wall or a thin brick wall, if done properly. You may question the reason for putting up a brick wall in the first place since the character of the old, worn brick is what makes exposed brick appealing, but that is a different issue.

I love brick veneers and stone and wood and other veneers. As long as they are quality, why not add some character with color and natural beauty that these products provide. They are great when traditional brick is not feasible or when cost prohibits. Eldorado Stone has some good photos in their gallery and sell veneers
http://eldoradostone.com/brick/

I love the directions about the flowering orchid. My advice, keep them away from my cat, Cashmere. She played with the buds while I was away at work and there went 11 plants! They were only 10 bucks, but oh was I irked when I'd get home. Now, 9 years later, I FINALLY got a purple African violet and she ate one flower and played with 3 buds which she knocked down. Now, there is a little fence around it on the vanity top in the bath. She's a little stinker, but she's so damn cute, you can't get mad!

the stairs in that photo go over the cooking space... including the stove. it's kind of weirding me out, the thought of foot grot in my food...gross.

Also faux brick could be cool. There's this really nice tavern I regular; it's exterior is faux stone. It's just stone tiles with grout being the same colour and texture as a morter. looks great. only way that you can tell it isn't real stone is that we saw the building being built.

http://www.ceramictile.com.cn/exterior-wall-tiles/split-tiles-2.html