How to Limewash Brick Exterior-A Complete Makeover

A WHOLE NEW EXTERIOR MAKEOVER WITH CLASSICO AVORIO LIMEWASH AND FRESHLY UPDATED PAINT COLORS

Every house that I drive by now I think, That house would look AMAZING with limewash brick!! What a super easy way to update the exterior of your home!

After 5+ years of orange, brown and cream, I was ready for a change. Who wouldn’t be with those colors!? Crazy that I LOVED the look of the exterior of our home back when I chose those colors. But I did! And now I don’t. How our tastes change!

So, at the beginning of spring, I started dreaming of an exterior home makeover. A somewhat EXTREME exterior home makeover. One that involved painting our brick. Well, not actually painting it, but doing a limewash treatment on it.

I’ve been eyeing limewashed brick exteriors for a while now on Pinterest. I finally gained confidence in trying my hand at it when I learned that it can be washed off within five days of applying it. I decided upon Romabio Classico Limewash Avorio White. There are many colors to choose from, but knowing I wanted a more true white, I went with the Avorio White. Ordering it online through Amazon allowed me to order it in a smaller size rather than the 4-gallon containers they sell at the Home Depot. I probably could have gotten away with one 0.67 gallon container, but ordered two just in case. The total square footage of brick that I was limewashing was 523 sq. feet. A 0.67 gallon of Romabio Limewash covers 450 square feet. The coverage that you get from it is really dependent upon how thick or thin you mix your paint.  (Affiliate Links)

Following the instructions on the packaging, I measured out the water and slowly started adding it to my limewash mixture, stirring as I went. I ended up using about 6 cups of water. I stopped adding water when my mixture was thicker than paint, but thinner than glue. A happy medium between the two. It’s really a trial and error, getting it to the consistency you want. Just remember, you can always add more water but can NOT remove water. So err on the side of less water.

I found that it was easiest to pour my mixture in a large 5-gallon bucket to work from. This also allowed me plenty of room to dip my huge Romabio Mortar Brush into….which I highly recommend! This brush is the beast–covering a lot of surface and really working it’s way into crevices. It makes the job easier and faster. (Sorry for the dirty brush picture, but my friend is currently using it and this was the shot she sent me)…

I chose to start my project on a smaller wall, knowing I could wash it all off if I needed to….

I have to admit, I was a nervous wreck taking that first swipe of paint. But the entire wall was covered in no time and I was all in. After waiting about 20 minutes, I used a hose on the “Jet” setting to wash some of the limewash off….

I wasn’t wild about all of that exposed brick in the picture above, so, I went over it with more limewash. That’s the beauty of this technique, you can’t really mess it up. You can always add more or take some away (or all of it, if you absolutely don’t like it). After adding more limewash…

I decided to let it sit for a lot longer (about 45 minutes) and then instead of using my hose to remove it, I used a large sponge and just worked at the areas where I wanted the distressing to be. I found this method to be SO much easier. A little more time consuming, but it gave me the results I was looking for. I worked my way to the other end of the house…

Exterior Brick Limewash Materials Needed:

Romabio Limewash       (affiliate link)

Romabio Masonry Brush     (affiliate link)

Garden Hose

5-gallon bucket

Large sponge     (affiliate link)

Exterior Brick Limewash Technique Step-by-Step:

1. Using a hose, wet the brick down.
2. Keep the brick that you’re painting wet, and paint a large section at a time.
3. Let it dry for about 45 minutes–working on other sections while it’s drying.
4. And then “randomly” distress each section.

The whole process took me about 7 hours….all in a day’s work. 🙂

Our house was a bit of a hot mess for a few days….

I’m sure we were the talk of the street…wondering what the heck we were doing. Until the painters came and my vision started to take shape….

I am so loving the paint colors we chose. (Colors listed at bottom of post) They go perfect with the limewashed brick….

I’m amazed at how much our landscaping pops now…

This faux window has always stumped me. I love the look of it, but could never figure out how to make it pop, until my sister suggested adding some hardware to it! I LOVE IT!! And have even had people ask me if the faux-window has always been there. 🙂 (Here’s the link for the Carriage Handles I bought)    Affiliate link

Decorating my front porch was so much fun! Look for that in an upcoming blog post….

Thought I would make that faux window pop a little more. Look for the flower box plans in an upcoming post too!!

And every home looks great with an American Flag!!   Affiliate link

I couldn’t be happier with how this all came together. I feel like I’m driving up to a different house…

If you are on the fence about limewashing your brick, I can’t recommend it enough!! Driving around town now, I’m constantly seeing past people’s natural brick and envisioning how amazing it would look limewashed! One of my best friends loved it so much and saw how easy it is, she’s currently limewashing her brick! It looks amazing!!! (Check back soon for the finished look, as I’ll be posting pictures as soon as she’s finished). But for now, here it is as a work in progress….

One more look at our BEFORE….

And AFTER….

As always, please comment below with any questions you may have. You can always DM me on Instagram too, if that’s easier. I love helping people step out of their comfort zone and realize just how easy this stuff is!!

Until next time,

Happy Building, Friend!!

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Other great outdoor posts:

Craftsman Garage Doors-Get the Look Without All the Costs

How to Build Board and Batten Craftsman Shutters

PAINT COLORS USED:

Sherwin Williams Kings Canyon

Sherwin Williams Classic French Gray

Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

Marquee Ultra Pure White

Romabio Avorio White Limewash      (Affiliate Link)

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