I took a trip to IKEA recently and noticed the badly patched seam in this brick wall on one of their displays and thought, "oh, that's not brick then. duh."
Looks like they could have filled the gaps a little better? But I did like the effect of the texture from the "bricks."
Later I did some digging around the web and I discovered these faux brick hardboard sheets at Lowes. I wonder why I've never noticed these before in the lumber aisle? About $26 for a 4x8' sheet is so affordable! And the reviews are all really positive.
I think with a little effort and some plaster you could make the walls of your bathroom or laundry room look crusty and old like this:
Or if you're on a super-tight budget, I bet you could use the sheets in your kitchen even (painted flat black or white like the IKEA room above, but seamed better, of course!). Have you ever tried the faux brick hardboards? I'm dying to use them somewhere now!
(WHOA, FLOORS! ^^^)