How To Lime Wash Walls

lime wash completed on a wall in the living room. the living room has a sofa that you can barely see, a basket with blankets, a coffee table, two chairs, and a checkered rug.
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f you haven't seen my Fall 2022 One Room Challenge debacle, I recommend you catch up. I don't think I've ever had a more pitiful showing for a project. Nevertheless, I am much closer to finishing the room (with mostly decor pieces left). I'm in a much better position to show you the room, and I am ready to explain how I lime washed the space. Get excited. The lime wash was pretty easy using the method I used. There is another lime wash I've seen that looked less straightforward.

Here is my pitiful showing of a one-room challenge reveal. As you can see, we’ve come a long way. 

lime wash completed on a wall in the living room. the living room has a sofa that you can barely see, a basket with blankets, a coffee table, two chairs, and a checkered rug.

Why Lime Wash

Look, I wanted gorgeous, flowy movement on my walls; I wanted texture and visual interest. I know I’m likely to change my mind in a few years, and I didn’t want to have to sand the wall AGAIN. If you didn’t know, I redid it once – I had done the modern board and batten a few years ago, and, well, it didn’t fit the vibe, so it got decommissioned. The redo included a patch job and a sand job that was undoubtedly terrible for my lungs, and I’d never do it again. NEVER.

No doubt this was factored in when I was deciding on what wall treatment to go with. Initially, roman clay was my number one option. It hit all my prerequisites above but after I sanded the wall smooth, it suddenly felt incredibly unappealing knowing my mind would change eventually. Enter lime wash for the win.

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lime wash can of paint and brush

How to Lime Wash the Easy Way

The simplest way to lime wash is to buy lime wash paint. I used Color Atelier paint which contains hydrated aged lime in the paint – this is what creates the movement when painting and makes your process a little simpler.

Then you need a block brush to paint the limewash – I bought the brush from Color Atelier because their brushes are designed to work well with the thinner lime wash paint.

Then is the fun part – painting. It is so easy to paint with lime wash. All you do is take your brush and go to town. Warning: do not pre-cut in on the walls. You’ll end up with a stark line you don’t want to have. Cut in as you go so you can blend it in a little bit more and create the movement. Your brush strokes should be random and in varying directions keep going until the wall is covered – but keep rocking those multi-directional strokes.

I did 4 coats on this wall (a wet coat 2 pictured below)- but I recently read you’re supposed to let each coat dry overnight. I did not do that – if I did, perhaps I would have done fewer coats. I did let the third coat try completely and then did the fourth coat – it made the finish feel more fluid. So there is certainly something to be said for the dry time.

You can choose to seal it/top coat it. My family room won’t see enough wear and tear, so I didn’t put a sealing coat on.

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Lime wash brush
lime wash brush strokes
progress of lime wash going onto a wall

Another Option for Lime Wash

Another way I’ve seen this done, without purchasing actual lime wash paint is by using two colours (same colour, lighted to 50% and 75%, respectively) or something similar. I think you can use a regular paintbrush with this technique, but you’d still want to do the back-and-forth, random brush strokes and cutting in as you go. 

Given I didn’t do this method, I would go on the hunt for someone who has to see if they have any tips or tricks for you. 

Either way, TIME TO LIME WASH!!!