Biophilic Design: The Greenhouse Office (Brick Floor Update)

Shortly after we constructed our 114 sqft greenhouse-office, I was inside tending to a potted plant by my laptop when a small garden snake slid from the leaves to my hands before dropping down to my boots and sliding beneath the deck floor.

While I’m happiest when blending the indoors with outdoors in our design, I’ll admit that interacting with snakes while going about my daily office work wasn’t exactly my intention. 

For the sake of the snakes and our family’s safety, I realized that we’d have to add either a screen to the underside of the greenhouse deck, or install decorative flooring within the structure.

As I wanted the interior to feel more like a traditional greenhouse settled into the ground (versus the raised format in which it’s constructed due to flood code), I opted for brick flooring. I’ve always loved the organic feel of brick, which is a material that’s long been used heavily throughout our region.

Rather than source traditional thick bricks, which would eat up valuable inches of height within the compact space and add extra weight, we picked a glazed thin brick from Fireclay. 

We selected a hue named “Wind River,” which we chose for the way in which it perfectly echoed the mix of green, brown and grey of the Spanish moss in the grand live oaks overhead.

So while we kept nature out in one way (sorry, snakes - it’s in everyone’s best interest!), we like to think we brought it in via another avenue.

The low sheen on the otherwise muted surface gently reflects the sky, along with the movement of the clouds and foliage in the wind.

And the pattern is the same we used in the bedrooms of the cottage with reclaimed, remnant pieces of wood. These domestically-sourced bricks are rustic in appearance, yet elevated thanks to their lead-free, hand-applied glaze.

So the main question is, of course: why is there no grout? 

The tile arrived in May 2021, but no contractor has ever arrived as promised to lay the subfloor and install the bricks properly since then. Rather than enter into month ten of waiting, our family (including our eager and loving 6 year old) decided to place the floor down ourselves. We figured that the loose installation felt reminiscent of informal brick floors of traditional old greenhouse anyway. Initially the bricks shifted and sang a bit, but they’ve now seemed to have settled. Soil and leaves sweep easily off the surface without much catching, but any little bits of earth that remain behind only add to the organic feel we welcome happily within this special space. 

Perhaps, in another season of life, Adam and I will tackle the formal installation. Or maybe a professional will even show up to help as as once planned! We’re not holding our breath. We’re grateful for what we’ve got: a nature-rich —  yet snake-free and mosquito-free — home office that gently brings the wild beauty of the outdoors in.

Note: Thank you to Fireclay Tile for generously supplying the bricks we used for this project!