Black Ivy is a stylish neighbourhood boutique hotel and bar in Edinburgh City Centre.
In 2017 we were asked to take part in a project with 4 other tilers to work on Renovation. The project was to complete over 300 square meters of brick slips. Brick slips, are thin cuts of real brick, where a Brick is run through a cutting machine, often into 3 pieces. Or in some cases they are purpose-made brick tiles, commonly used to replicate the appearance of a conventional brick wall in both internal and external applications.
With the black Ivy the bricks had been sourced from an old railway bridge in Poland. The architects and designers wanted to blend the classic and the contemporary. High end finishes with brutal bareness to create a uniquely designed space, the perfect bohemian escape and base to explore the delights of Edinburgh.
After we had finished tiling the brick slips, a builder and bricklayer were brought in to point the bricks. Pointing is the term given to the finish that is between the bricks or stone used to build your house. The function of the mortar in the wall is to act as bedding between stones and varies from fine joints in ashlar stonework to larger joints in rubble masonry walls. This gives the brick slips the look and finish of a real brick wall. Making it very difficult to tell the difference between a real brick wall and a tiled brick slip project.
As you will see from the photographs above, the brick slips then had two stunning graffiti murals put on them. The world famous Australian street artist Rone was flown over from Australia to complete the project. So keep an eye out for them if you ever pop into Black Ivy for a well-earned drink.
