Cloudy, Limewash Effect Paint Using Regular Paint (No Limewash Here!)
Have you ever scoured the internet for any possible hacks to your favorite designs and home aesthetics? Did you come up short? Me too!
I wanted to create a dimensional, cloudly, limewash effect on my fireplace but I was finding limewash paint to be so limiting. Is it beautiful? Absolutely! But limewash can be a pain to source, find a large color selection for and a big factor is that if you ever want to paint over your walls, you basically need to re-drywall or plaster them.
For that reason alone (as a renter) I was tapping out on that one!
After some trial and error, I found a simple DIY technique to get a similar effect using regular latex paint that you can get from the hardware store.
What you’ll need:
Regular Latex/Enamel Paint
Water
3” Wide Cut Paint Brush
What you’ll do:
(Optional Prep) Prime the space if your existing paint is in bad condition or has a satin, eggshell or gloss finish. Anything other than matte finish, will make it hard for the new paint to stick to it.
In a paint tray, mix 2 parts paint to one part water and combine the mixture thoroughly
Using the wide cut brush, begin applying the paint to your surface in large criss cross brush strokes. (Similar to if you were using lime wash paint)
Trust the process. After coat one, it may look a little rough. Let it dry and do its thing. Coat 2 is where the magic happens.
Dried Coat 1
After 2 coats of paint, we have created the desired effect! There are plenty of other items you could use, like sponges, but this did just the trick for how dark I wanted this focal point to be. It’s imperfect in the best way! You can see the light spots, especially with natural light. But the dimension it gives in this space is just what I was looking for. Not to mention, which no special materials and on a budget!