painting

Sue
by Sue
I have just painted my new laundry room yellow. The yellow is so much brighter than I wanted. I would like to tone it down some. Been thinking of something that would give a vintage white washed feeling. Help please...any suggestions or ideas would be great.
  9 answers
  • Cynthia Cynthia on Jul 20, 2013
    Dry brush it with white in x strokes.
  • Sue Sue on Jul 20, 2013
    I thought about that. Do you water down the paint? Is there a special kind of paint I should use?
  • Mary Insana Mary Insana on Jul 20, 2013
    You can water down white latex paint and wash it on. Take a bucket and a rag or sponge and just like you would be washing your walls wash the pain ON. If it looks too heavy wipe more off, if its not heavy enough put more on after it drys. Make sure you put rubber gloves on. You can use any color but a cream or white will tone it down. You can also do a technique I used in our bedroom once. Take a plastic bag, the type from the grocery store and wad it up in your hand like a rag, dip in a glaze and pounce it on over the existing color. Pounch in random so it doesn't look like a pattern unless you want it to look like a pattern. You can tape off lines and do a stripe which would look pretty cool. Remember to wear gloves.
  • Sue Sue on Jul 20, 2013
    Thanks Mary. I tried a few techiques today to see how they would look. I think I will wash it on.
  • Mary Insana Mary Insana on Jul 20, 2013
    You'll do a great job. Show us the results.
  • Sheryll S Sheryll S on Jul 21, 2013
    Start in small or short segments and work down.... white wash is drippy and will dry so quick and leave drip marks..... so be careful and work in short sections going down. I know, just did this. It is better to do over a few times to get the look you want than to have drips that you have to scrub out.
  • Sue Sue on Jul 21, 2013
    Sheryll, Do you water down the paint & does the cloth you use need yo be damp? I tried in a small space...but I don't think I used enough paint.
  • Sheryll S Sheryll S on Aug 05, 2013
    I used about half water & half paint, but I did more than one time.... I kind of played with it each time I put a coat on. I tried to weather some of the pine planks and oh boy, that was a FAIL!!! I also tried staining some of the planks (again I just hated the look). Vinegar & steel wool makes Pine turn orange..... ugh. Less you want orange. I ended up using a couple of those plank scraps to redo a cheap, unfinished, screen door I put in my kitchen and it is okay in there, cause I have dingy yellow counters in there. I used a combo of flat white ceiling paint and some uh oh blue paint, both latex. A wall is hard to do cause of drips, but if you are doing something you can lay down flat it is easier.
  • Sheryll S Sheryll S on Aug 05, 2013
    I was thinking that you could take a dry paint brush and try that method (you know, take some white paint to go over the too dark or bright yellow?)..... I buy the very cheap paint brushes at the Dollar Tree (if you have those). You have to dry the brush too often for me, but I might do that on something smaller in the near future.