The Trick to Picking Bricks

Saturday morning, Scott and I took a trip to Millard to the Nebraska Brick showroom.  It was time to select brick for the new east "courtyard" wall and for the great room fireplace.  Who would think that so many different colors and textures of brick exist in the world? The brick of noTTafarm's existing 1972 fireplace isn't exactly what we envision for the new elements but we respect that the new brick should compliment it (to quote What Not To Wear . . . "it doesn't need to "match"; it needs to "go".)  After about an hour of deliberation, we came home with three samples to analyze.

Typical of the 1970's aesthetic, the brown/orange brick of the existing fireplace was constructed with a dark-colored mortar.

The samples line up on the east wall of the poured foundation. 

Scott plans on incorporating his stock of Kasota limestone (the buff rock seen above) in both the wall and the fireplace.  The bricks on the left and far right are the same model but with different textures; it was decided that the tones are too dark.  We have tentatively decided on the brick in the center:  Northampton by Triangle Brick made in North Carolina.  It's a great mix of the colors in the existing fireplace, and will add just the right look for the great room.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!