Whitewash or paint, suggestions?
Whitewashing walls- we purchased a cottage which has natural wood walls. The cottage is fairly dark being natural Douglas fir boards. Not wanting to loose the character of the wood. Wanting to lighten it up a bit, we having been thinking of painting the walls or whitewashing the walls. My wife thinks the whitewashing is out and not up to date as painting the walls. What is everyone’s opinion. Any ideas of how to do the whitewashing will help. Thanks.
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Hi Peter,
White-washing is back in! However a lot of people today use a mix latex paint and water instead of actual white wash. Here's an article with good directions. The reason I say that is that the mixture of paint/water is sort of up to you and the final look that you want. I'd suggest trying the mix on an extra piece of wood if possible or maybe try it where no one will see it. Wishing you the best. -Linda
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-faux-whitewash-90390.html
If you whitewash you will see the grain of the wood. If you paint, this will make a solid color surface with no grain showing.
I agree with Linda- whitewashing is back in! It's a great way to keep the character of the wood but still lighten the space. Here's another good article for you to check out: http://mamasdance.com/how-to-white-wash-walls/#_a5y_p=5734586
Yep, I’m in agreement with whitewash .... we white washed our cottage. I just used a latex paint with water added. Play on scrap wood to get your ratio. For our out door project I used 1-2 paint/water. (The paint was a heavy floor porch paint very thick!)
Whitewash allows you to see the grain while lightening the color. I could not paint it with regular paint if it is real wood.
White washing is actually making a comeback. Its super easy to do. My suggestion would be to use Dixie Belle in Drop Cloth and then water it down to make it more of a wash. I am going to attach a picture of a fireplace (before and after) that was white washed. I know its not a wall but similar so you can see what it can do. Hope that helps! - Teri www.dixiebellepaint.com If you ever need help or have any questions you can feel free to call us at 813-909-1962 during business hours. We have a full staff here eager to help you!