Why Limewash Is A Favorite DIY Paint For Outdated Brick

One of my favorite home improvement products for interior or exterior brick or stone, is Classico Limewash in Avorio White. It's literally the stuff miracles are made of... especially for fireplaces like mine.

If you read my bio, you know that by day I'm the Director of Marketing & PR for Romabio - an American/Italian company that has developed the most beautiful, nontoxic products to transform any home. Classico Limewash is their flagship product, made of authentic, Italian slaked lime from the Dolomite mountains in Northern Italy.

One lazy weekend afternoon last year, my two daughters (with help from their grandfather) limewashed our fireplace and transformed our living room!

It's now, easily my favorite room in the house. It's where we all hang out to talk about funny things that happened during the school and work day, where I sit and knit while the girls study or my husband watches ESPN. Where Pinto creates chaos by parading things he's stolen from our rooms, like shoes or socks, to get our attention. And this weekend, where we've been obsessively watching the Weather Channel to decide on whether we're evacuating or hunkering down in advance of Hurricane Dorian... But I digress. More on that later.

Having the color scheme be so light and airy has really allowed us to want to hang out here more, all together. And that's a true accomplishment with two teenagers in the house. I can honestly say after 8 years of hating and I mean HATING my fireplace, I just love staring at it now...

Don't get me wrong. I love brick. Growing up in CA I didn't see too much of it because it's earthquake country, so everything is primarily stucco. But after a decade living in the deep South, I have become what my daughters refer to as a "brick snob."

There is brick everywhere here - inside and out. Beautiful, antique brick, mixed with modern brick that is manufactured in elegant shades of rust and red throughout this historic city. But in certain neighborhoods, and sprinkled strategically throughout the county, there is plenty of mismatched, pink, yellow, brown or just plain ugly brick, that most of us have had to live with out of fear that common paint would ruin it. Which it would, if you use latex or acrylic paint.

But mineral paint is a game changer! Classico Limewash is the stuff that (renovation) miracles are made of.

My girls used one small bucket of Classico Limewash in Avorio White, RomaBio's handmade Large Masonry Brush, some cotton rags and a water spray bottle to transform this:

INTO THIS:

Probably the best $80 I've spent on my home, EVER.

I love the creamy, chalky, flat finish of the brick.

After time the paint - which is made from aged, Italian slaked-lime from the Dolomite mountains - calcifies to the brick. It still allows it to breathe, but is naturally mold resistant and straight up beautiful!

I also painted white primer on my walls to cover the mustard yellow (I've not yet gotten around to putting up actual interior paint on the walls).

And swapped out my dark sofas.

There was some strategic accessory changes here as well. But the fireplace makeover made THE biggest difference. Hands down.

Check out the RomaBio Instagram feed for more inspiration.

Note: Classico Limewash comes in 7 carefully curated colors - all available on Amazon.com.

What if my fireplace is already painted an ugly color and the brick or stone is sealed?

Great question! And luckily, RomaBio has you covered. You can purchase RomaBio BioGrip Micro Primer (it has to be that primer, not just any old masonry primer). Apply one coat and let dry for about 12 hours. Then use RomaBio Masonry Flat paint in one of 17 or so colors available on Amazon.com.

You'll get that same, chalky, flat finish as with Classico Limewash, but you just can't 'distress' it. It will be an opaque finish. But it will be a beautiful, modern farmhouse finish you won't regret! Check out this blog post by one of my favorites, Jen of Noting Grace. She had a pre-painted sun room and fireplace, and went down this path with amazing results. And we both used the same color.

Best part, is these products are environmentally friendly, and are people and pet friendly too.

Thanks for stoppin' by.

Let me know how your project goes!