Brick World Porcelain Bricks

Brick World Porcelain Bricks

Exposed brick is one of the few finishes that reads as old and modern at once, which is why people keep asking for it in rooms that never had any. Real brick slips are heavy, porous and messy to lay. Brick World is a 3x12 porcelain tile with a brick face: the texture and the colour variation of fired clay, installed by a tile setter in an afternoon.

Two colourways. SoHo is the softer, chalkier face, and London is the harder, more industrial one. Between them the range covers white, black and red, which are the three brick colours people actually ask for.

Where it goes

• Kitchen backsplashes, where real brick would be hard to keep clean
• Fireplace surrounds and chimney breasts
• Feature walls in dining rooms, bars and entries
• Behind open shelving, where a running bond pattern gives depth

Laying it

Running bond, offset by half a tile, is the pattern that reads as brick. A third offset reads more contemporary and hides small variations in the wall. Use a grout close to the tile colour for a soft, monolithic wall, or a contrasting mortar grey for a wall that reads as separate bricks. Unlike real brick, nothing needs sealing and grease wipes off the face.

For a stacked stone wall instead, see Veneer World. The rest of our backsplash formats are in backsplash tiles and kitchen backsplash tiles.