Some of the bricks on Nancy’s midcentury fireplace are discolored…the spotting almost looks like burns, she says. She has original photos of the 1950s study – says that the color change has occurred over time…and that it does not look good.

Does anyone know what may be causing this? Is there a way to clean the bricks? Or should Nancy paint over the whole installation? There is painted brickwork in other parts of the house… What do you think, readers?

Related posts:

• Nancy’s yellow bathroom
• Chris’s painted fireplace
• Michael’s au-natural fireplace

Above – Grasscloth in Pam’s living room. Perhaps add this to Nancy’s husband’s den as well?

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Our good friend Sue recently surprised her husband Pete with a weekend at Field Farm, a mid century home turned boutique B&B in nearby Williamstown, Mass. Pete was turning 50 – so I guess “mid century” was the theme! David and I went up to visit and of course, went gaga over the place, a 1948 Bauhaus-inspired masterpiece with a separate guest house, Folly Farm, which is its own amazing story.

Today – I want to focus in particular on the fireplace, which is so clever and wonderful. It’s quite a simple affair – one course of field tiles around the firebox, all set against fine wood paneling. But the tiles — all funny little animals of, I presume, the surrounding forest. Quite whimsical and engaging. Of course, the fireplace is a focal point – and you know me, I love that it does not take itself so seriously among all this Very Serious Modern Architecture. Wait til I show you my photos from the original little guest house – equally engaging – fine architecture, but not so much attitude. Phew! Thank goodness!

All about Folly Farm from the website of its owners, nonprofit Trustees of the Reservation:

Featuring an unparalleled view of Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts’ highest peak, the Guest House at Field Farm is a refreshing change from your usual bed & breakfast. Edwin Goodell, Jr. designed the 1948 Bauhaus-inspired house for Lawrence and Eleanor Bloedel, avid modern art and furniture collectors of the time. Modern artwork adorns the interiors, and the surrounding landscaped gardens boast thirteen sculptures, including works by Richard M. Miller and Herbert Ferber. The house itself is almost a museum of modern furnishings, featuring reproduced Eileen Gray tables and George Nelson saucer pendant lamps in the Master bedroom, and a Noguchi coffee table, Kagan sofas, and an original Eames chair in the living room.

The Guest House is situated in the middle of Field Farm, 316 acres of conserved land with four miles of trails that can be enjoyed by foot or cross-country ski.

This patchwork landscape features cropland, pastures, mixed forest, marshes, and a stream and pond. The Folly, a three-bedroom, pinwheel-shaped shingled guest cottage, designed in 1965 by noted modernist architect Ulrich Franzen, overlooks the pond and still contains furnishings designed by Franzen. Tours of the Folly are offered to B&B guests June through October upon request.

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Hi Pam,

I love your website.  It is truly one of the most valuable resources for a mid-century home owner…keep up the amazing work!

Anyway, I’m writing to ask you a strange question, and any answer you may have will assist me in making some decisions with regard to a future restoration project in my 1958 living room.  I am wondering if you have any ideas about how often (if ever) roman brick fireplaces were painted in the 1950s.  Was it a fairly common practice to paint over the bricks as soon as they were installed?

Normally, I would just assume that a previous owner painted over the brick years later to change the look.  However, over the last several months, I have noticed that every roman brick fireplace I’ve seen in homes throughout my neighborhood is painted.  Same color, same texture, everything exactly like mine.  Could this paint be original to the homes’ design, or did painting one’s fireplace become such a big trend later on, that everyone was doing it.

I live in Spokane, Washington.  The fireplace photo I’ve attached was taken quite awhile ago, but should give you a pretty good view of what I’m talking about.  The other two attachments are pictures of “roman bricks” (actually, I snagged one photo from 1951 Ranch Redo’s site).  Apparently, they were a fairly popular brick choice in the 1950s, although this popularity may have been pretty specific to the Pacific Northwest, I’m not sure.  Every fireplace/chimney in my neighborhood (a housing development containing homes built exclusively between 1955 and 1963) is constructed of these bricks, and every one that I’ve seen is painted white, exactly like mine.

Strange question, I know, but thought you may have some info.  Thanks so much, I’m excited to see what you may be able to find out.  Take care.

Chris

It’s nice to hear from you, Chris, with this interesting question. Hmmm. I am not sure of the answer. I will keep an eye out when looking at periodicals from the period. Meanwhile, initial thoughts:

• My first inclination at a response is: No, they were not originally painted. I would normally guess this because (1) there definitely was a trend to ‘bring the outside in’ in the postwar period…(2) they liked mixing textures…(3) I think I’ve seen many more examples of un-painted fireplaces from the period rather than painted ones, and… (4) people were penny-wise…
• All that said, I agree that it seems more than a coincidence that all your neighbors have the exact same paint-job down to the look and texture. So it could well be a local design preference, or a quirk of the builder.
• More: Also, I can’t say that the photo of the exterior bricks you sent makes the bricks look all that attractive for an interior installation. Standing back and looking at the brick on the exterior of your house, would you say that it would look good, unpainted, inside? Maybe this is a key to the puzzle. To be sure, people in the 50s greatly preferred brick homes. It was a big selling point. So maybe these bricks were less expensive…but still could help increase the home’s value…but inside, they had to paint them.
• As for the possibility that the painting came later – I don’t know enough about what trends swept through the country post-1965. Again, even so, it would seem strange that every house latched on, and with the identical paint job.
• Finally – it sure is nice looking! Why haven’t you sent me more pics of your house? Tell us more!

Sorry I could not be more definitive in my help. As I try to say often, I am not an academic expert, just an enthusiastic blogger.

As usual – I welcome all readers’ thoughts on this!

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