Limewash Paint for London Interiors: How It Works and Where to Use It
A practical guide to limewash paint in London interiors: how limewash works, the best rooms to use it in, application technique, maintenance, leading brands, and what it costs to have it professionally applied.
Limewash Paint for London Interiors
Limewash is experiencing a genuine revival in London interiors, and for good reason. Its chalky, slightly translucent finish and subtle depth of colour produce a quality that no flat emulsion can replicate. It suits period properties sympathetically and, when used well, can bring a contemporary space to life in a way that standard paint simply does not.
This guide covers what limewash is, where it works best in a London home, how it is applied, and what to expect in terms of maintenance and cost.
What Limewash Actually Is
Limewash is made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) mixed with water and, in most commercial formulations, natural pigments. It has been used on walls and buildings for thousands of years. When applied to a wall, the lime reacts with carbon dioxide in the air through a process called carbonation, gradually hardening into calcium carbonate -- the same mineral as limestone. This gives a limewash finish an almost mineral quality that deepens and subtly shifts in character over time.
Because limewash is highly alkaline and breathable, it is naturally mould-resistant and allows moisture vapour to move freely through the wall. This makes it particularly appropriate for older London properties with lime plaster walls and solid masonry construction, where trapping moisture with a vapour-resistant paint can cause serious damp problems.
Modern commercial limewashes -- from brands such as Bauwerk, Portola, Keim, and Classico -- are refined versions of the traditional product, stabilised with small quantities of acrylic binder to improve adhesion and workability on a wider range of substrates. They retain most of the character and breathability of traditional limewash while being more forgiving to apply.
The Best Rooms and Surfaces for Limewash in London Homes
Limewash works on any surface that will accept a breathable, water-based coating: lime plaster, traditional sand and cement render, brick, stone, gypsum plaster, and, with appropriate priming, plasterboard. It does not adhere well to oil-based paints, gloss, or high-sheen finishes without thorough preparation.
In London period homes, the rooms where limewash tends to have the strongest visual impact are:
Reception rooms -- the slightly irregular, matte surface of limewash works beautifully in rooms with good natural light, where it creates a shifting quality as the light changes through the day. High ceilings amplify this effect.
Hallways and staircases -- limewash tolerates the scuffs and marks of a busy hallway better than standard emulsion because minor damage blends into the texture rather than reading as a distinct mark. Touch-ups are also easier.
Bedrooms -- the calm, chalky finish suits bedrooms well, and the breathability of the material contributes to a healthy internal environment.
Kitchens -- modern limewash products with a higher binder content are now robust enough for kitchen use, though they should be kept away from areas of direct water splash. A tile or splashback behind the hob and sink is advisable.
Limewash is not appropriate for bathrooms unless the walls are genuinely breathable masonry with no residual moisture. In a typical London flat with a sealed, tiled bathroom, limewash would fail quickly.
Application Technique
Applying limewash is not difficult, but it is different from rolling on standard emulsion, and poor technique produces a patchy, unattractive result. The key points are:
Limewash is always applied wet-on-wet. Unlike emulsion, which is applied one coat at a time and allowed to dry between coats, limewash is worked across the wall in a damp state, building translucency and variation as you go. The traditional technique involves loading a wide brush (100mm to 150mm) and working in broad, crossing strokes -- sometimes called the X stroke -- to create the characteristically uneven coverage that gives limewash its depth.
Multiple thin coats produce a better result than fewer thick ones. Most projects require two or three coats, applied in sequence and allowed to dry between applications, with the final coat occasionally rubbed back lightly with a damp cloth to soften the texture.
Wall preparation is critical. The surface must be clean, sound, and free from grease. Gypsum plaster surfaces should be lightly sanded, primed with a diluted limewash wash coat, and allowed to dry before full coats are applied.
Maintenance
Limewash is not as wipeable as vinyl emulsion. It is possible to clean lightly marked surfaces with a barely damp cloth, but heavy scrubbing will damage the surface. The trade-off is that touch-up and recoating is simple: a fresh coat of limewash applied over the existing surface integrates almost invisibly, unlike most modern paints, which leave visible lap marks when touched up.
In normal use, a limewash finish applied professionally should last five to eight years before a refresh is needed.
Brands Available in London
The most widely used limewash products for professional application in London are Bauwerk Colour (stocked at a number of London trade outlets and directly online), Portola Paints (available through select decorating centres), Keim Innotop and Keim Optil (from specialist mineral paint suppliers), and Classico by Portola. Little Greene and Farrow and Ball both offer limewash-effect products that use a modified acrylic emulsion; these are easier to apply but produce a slightly different result to true lime-based products.
Cost of Professional Application
Expect to pay between £200 and £350 per room for professionally applied limewash in a London property, including materials. Rooms with complex preparation, existing oil-based paint requiring priming, or large areas of wall area will be at the higher end. Contact Belgravia Painters to discuss a limewash project anywhere in central or inner London.