Interview with Morgan of The Brick House

Morgan of The Brick House was kind enough to let me pester her for a few days when my Mac was being fixed. Her house is one of those that's too incredible to be real, she's got a great eye for detail and decor. Her blog is documenting the ever changing and growing brick house she and her boyfriend have made their home.

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How long have you lived there (Southern California)? Have you always lived in Hemet?
We've lived here almost three years. I'd never heard of Hemet till we moved. Now I want to move away...


I know you've got Iggy and a puppy on the way, how does owning a dog get in the way of your design? Because of my cats I can't have sheepskin rugs, fresh flowers and I had to get a door for the kitchen because our kitten has a will power/counter problem.

We have cowhides because of the dog. Iggy has destroyed almost every carpet I bring into the house. He's usually pretty good, no chewing, no peeing on the hardwood but he loves to barf and mark cotton rugs. He can be a jerk. There is a gross dark mark on our door from were he rubs his nose looking out the window. It's a dog snot trail.

Did you live in California before? Does the boy have much input in the house goings on? I liked his porch paint choice but that could just be your taste rubbing off on him which is what I suspect is going on with my boy.

I've lived in CA all my life, mostly moved around southern california. Jeremy tends to stay out deciding about things, but certainly has a voice. A lot of this design stuff has rubbed off on him, which he complains about constantly. He catches himself talking about furniture and other seemingly unmanly things to his buds.

Have you always been design oriented? When I was 13 I painted my room slate gray with black carpet and tie dyed my curtains and I thought I was a genius.
I've always been creative in some way. I used to obsess about my room as a teenager and move things around a lot, but I was a mess and somehow decided that maroon, navy and forest green were the height of design. Yuck. I went to art school and have a background in curation so I think my talents always resided in moving things around and placing objects together contextually. Somehow design has grown out of that impulse.

I'm a huge fan of your house, it's like porn for me. You've got this incredible thrifting luck and a gift for making it all work together. 
Thanks! Our house is pretty sexy. The thrifting thing is all perseverance and disappointment. For every one cool thing I find I've spent hours and hours looking at utter crap. You really just have to be relentless. You never know what you will find or how something will quite fit in, so I end up moving things around a lot or reselling things I don't have space for. I'm reticent to pass up a deal.

I totally know what you mean about thrifting. It is essentially sifting through trash to find one piece of treasure. I have a one in/one out rule. A lot of my finds just end up on etsy.

Sometimes I'll ask my husband "what's your favorite spot in the house?" mostly because I'm conceited and like to talk about my awesomeness. Do you have a favorite DIY or spot in the house?
Ha! I'm not sure. I really like hanging out in the living room with folks, but I'm super psyched about the exterior right now. It's in this weird spot where I know it's going to be awesome, but it's going to take so much time and energy to get there. I like this moment, you know, when everything is on the verge of being decided on and anything is possible. I have a lot of fun imagining the end result.

Your kitchen rarely makes an appearance on the blog and I've noticed there's not much on the counters is that intentional?
Kitchen counters? Yeah we get a lot of flack for that. It seems super clear because we don't have much stuff coupled with loads of storage. I put everything away in cupboards. Plus we don't have kids and we aren't gourmet cooks. Simple simple simple, we don't even make coffee. We are freaks.

After the outside is finished what's your next project?

Once the outside is finished I think it may be time to think about the roof. I just don't even want to think about it too much yet...it's going to be a pain. Or the back bathroom remodel. Also will be a huge pain and money eater.

All photos courtesy of Morgan/The Brick House.