How to cover exposed brick and make it a useful wall?

Oh Wow! That is so beautiful! That’s how it always goes isn’t it? I love it but you have to live with it!

I believe that you can put furring strips up by using a masonry bit and masonry anchors. (In the mortar joints)

Drywall can be attached to the furring strips and a ‘regular’ wall built.

I hope that helps

😊

I am with Kim, stud it out and cover it with drywall. If you can go that route you can also have some electrical added if you need it.

Could you faux paint bricks on the siding at top of wall and then create a faux window where the shelving is? Lots of ideas for both on Hometalk and Pinterest. Would love to see how you solve your dilemma. Thanks.

Why would you want to paint or cover a brick wall...it's beautiful and adds charm to a room.

you want to cover the brick 😳

You can install some open shelving to make the wall more useful to you. Figure out what shelves you'd like and take measurements so you can use a concrete drill bit to drill the mounting holes for the screw's to go into the mortar between the bricks. Planning is the key. You can choose from a variety of styles depending on the look you want to have....such as a rustic dark stained look, or bright white open shelving similar to what you show in your pic....or you could install bookcases by measuring carefully and using a concrete bit and screws to insure the units are securely attached to your wall. The combination of brick and shelves could look very nice and provide you extra storage for books, decor items plants and whatever else you'd like to show off. Enjoy your progress in making your wall more functional for your family.

If they are taping and mudding, but not painting, it should come in under $500. It depends where you live.

I would get several quotes from licensed and bonded contractors as well as recent references for their workmanship and business ethics.

😊

I think the reason you find this wall irritating is the lack of symmetry. I suggest you buy an additional strip of vertical trim that matches the ones on the side of the shelves. Install it to the right of the existing to create a space equal to the inside demensions of the existing bookcase. Buy a couple of sheets of drywall, cut one to fit the inside of the shelves and cover them up. Use the second sheet to cover the brick in the 'new' section you created. That will give you a symmetrical area behind your sofa and you won't have the expense of taping and mudding drywall. Just putty the holes in where you attached the drywall. They I would dry brush paint the remaining brick, leaving some of the brick color exposed. As for the soffit eyesore - I would install a narrow shelf at the bottom, supported by small corbels, add a piece of narrow board to the front of the shelf (2" baseboard works great!). Use this area to display a collection of plates, wicker trays, etc. You could even put in rope lights behind your edging piece if you like! Paint this area to match your wall. Lastly, if you have painted your wall white - consider painting your ceiling a light matte blue for contrast (actually I think your new wall and shelving would look beautiful painted a light neutral gray!). One other point, if you think two big sections of drywall look odd, you can add two more vertical, evenly space pieces over the drywall to create four equal sections, etc. Until your vertical backdrop behind your sofa is visually appealing to you. Once that area is to your liking, you can hang a large picture over the sofa.

Hi,

Arrange them to look out to the patio and beyond, or around the TV. or /fireplace.

Hello, you can add in a few studs and put some drywall over the, or wall panels. Toy may want to think about adding faux bricks to the drywall once you cover the window. Hope this helps with a suggestion