How To Whitewash Wood Walls With Diluted Paint

Posted in DIY Home Decor
I couldn't wait to whitewash my walls and I'm so glad I did. Nothing fancy needed for this DIY project. If you have white paint, you got whitewash.

I’ve always loved the look of whitewash wood and shiplap. I just never could seem to find the right wall in my home for this project. Last year my hubby and I finished out an accent wall in my studio office using wood fence pickets. After pricing the shiplap, I was like… umm no. It was just a small wall and it turned great. The flooring and ceiling are plywood for now but it works.

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How To Whitewash Wood Walls

I should have done this a long time ago! Whitewashing my wood walls was so easy.

Here is a list of the supplies you’ll need to whitewash wood walls.

The Wall

How to whitewash wood walls using diluted latex paint.

Let’s start off with the trim around my window. I painted one coat of Zinsser’s BIN Primer on my window trim. I wanted the trim to have a solid coat of paint to stand out and pop out against all that whitewash on the wood. The wood fence pickets (less expensive than shiplap) I used around the window would definitely need to be sealed to prevent the wood tannins from bleeding through. After applying two coats of primer on the window trim only, I painted the trim with the Sherwin Williams Extra White interior paint. So bright a cheery!

I painted primer on the window trim and painted it with the same paint before we tackled the whitewash on the wood walls.

Did you notice cool wood decorative piece above the window??? I rescued it from an old buffet table. It fit over my window perfectly! Like it was made for it. It added just a little additional decorative touch to the window.

This what the wall looked like before the whitewash. The window trim was painted with Extra White by Sherwin Williams.

Protect Your Floor Before Painting

I used painters tape to protect my flooring while whitewashing the wood walls. Now, before I begin my whitewash wood project, I know I will need to protect my floor. I recently painted my floor and the last thing I want is to have to repaint it. That’s a job! Painter’s tape can be your best friend when painting baseboards. I simply ran a strip along the floor of the baseboards first, and then secured my sheet/dropcloth to the tape. You may not need this extra step, but my floors are not smooth (gonna get carpet someday) and this step created a smooth surface for the tape to adhere without slipping. Also creating an extra barrier to stop any paint from seeping under the tape.

Whitewash Wood Paint Recipe

To whitewash wood, all you need is a good latex interior paint. I like Extra White by Sherwin Williams. To make a whitewash is very simple. I used latex paint and diluted it down with water. That’s it! Nothing fancy. I used a mixture of 3:1. Three parts water to one part latex wall paint. This is not a rule, but a guide. It depends on the amount of transparency you are looking for. More paint and less water = more coverage. I mixed the paint and water in a small plastic bucket and used a foam roller to apply it to most of the wood walls. The paintbrush was used to cut in the areas that the roller couldn’t reach.

How to whitewash wood using latex paint. #whitewashThe results are GORGEOUS! Using a watered-down version of latex paint allowed the beautiful wood grain to show through. I couldn’t be happier with the results of the whitewashed wood.

The Stunning Look Of A Whitewash Wall

Look at the whitewash I did on my wood walls. I love how my office looks now!

Post update: 2020

It’s been a few years since this post and may things have changed in this room. It started out as my studio office and now it’s a guest room for family and friends. Here is the most recent look of my modern farmhouse room and those fabulous whitewashed walls.

Nothing says farmhouse like whitewashed walls.

And no doubt that the decor of the room will change again. I love to redecorate! But one thing that will remain the same are the gorgeous whitewashed walls.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me and my walls. Got feedback? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. Have a super week!

Until the next project… xo, Do

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How To Whitewash Wood Walls With Diluted Paint

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