Not Hardwood, Not Tile: Erin Napier Has A More Unique Idea For Your Kitchen Floors

HGTV host and home designer Erin Napier loves hardwood floors, using them in 90% of her renovation projects. It's the hallmark of the "Home Town" television show for Napier and her husband, Ben, to unearth and revive the original hardwood floors of a home. But sometimes, hardwood just doesn't cut it and a more unique approach is needed. In Season 8, Episode 11, Napier calls upon a classic material that you don't often see in modern homes: reclaimed brick pavers.

In the episode, the Napiers are renovating a house that a couple inherited from their grandparents. Instead of keeping the original hardwood flooring in the kitchen and dining room, which Napier said had a "tunneling effect," they decided to break up the room with a stylish herringbone pattern using brick pavers, which were sourced from an old schoolhouse.

The dark brown bricks bring an added coziness and home like quality to the kitchen and dining room. The personalized nature of the brick is similar to Napier's rejection of subway tile backsplashes in favor of hand-painted Italian or Spanish tiles. As she notes in the episode: "I love the imperfection of reclaimed brick, because no one else is going to have a floor exactly like that." This is something homeowners can incorporate into their own space when it's time to ditch their outdated flooring.

Reclaimed bricks have a special quality that brand new bricks can't match. The aged, weathered look of reclaimed brick is a major reason why Napier chose this flooring material for her client's kitchen. Beyond adding a stylish pattern to the floor, bricks bring an additional richness and texture that can easily be matched with other materials. This idea allows other homeowners the chance to bring this distinctive look into their kitchens. 

You can start by looking for reclaimed bricks on community digital platforms like Facebook Marketplace or eBay. Or, search for companies that specialize in reclaiming bricks from old structures like those from Columbia Block and Brick, which is where the Napier's purchased the pavers for the above project. Another great option would be from the experts at Southend Reclaimed, who specialize in reclaiming bricks from the late 19th and early 20th century.

While reclaimed brick can be on the pricier side, the benefits it offers are more than just the added character it brings to a space. Brick is durable, slip-resistant, and eco-friendly as it can be recycled. The downside of this flooring option is the difficulty of installation and the potential for uneven flooring along with discomfort and coldness underfoot. While typically found on exterior bricks, there's also the potential for mold and mildew to appear if the bricks aren't sealed correctly, which is something that can easily be resolved with a good vinegar scrub and resealing.