Example Limewash Projects in Bellevue

Scope of work

Two large sample boards mixed toward the chip and checked on the wall in morning and evening light; light sanding of the eggshell paint; masking the bench, floor and trim; the undercoat; two brushed coats; the color recipe and batch written down for touch-ups.

Project overview

In this example, the owners have a small paint chip in a warm cream and want the hall wall to match it in lime. A chip that size says little about how lime will look across a whole wall, with its soft clouding and the strong light from the window.

Lime dries much lighter than it looks wet, and it shifts with the light. So the color is matched on two large boards first, judged dry on the actual wall, and only then ordered in one batch for the job.

The goal

The goal is a hall wall in the warm cream of the owners’ chip, as it really looks in lime, with a written color recipe for any touch-ups later.

Process

1. A week before Two large boards mixed toward the chip, one a shade warmer, left on the wall for a few days.
2. Five days before The chosen color tinted and ordered in one batch.
3. Day one Bench, floor and trim masked, the eggshell paint sanded lightly and the undercoat rolled on.
4. Day two Warm cream brushed on twice, with a few hours of drying in between.

Planning right

• A small chip is a starting point, not a match. Lime looks lighter and softer over a whole wall, so a large board is the better guide.
• Tinted lime is made to order and cannot be returned once used, so the color is settled before anything is ordered.
• A satin or eggshell sheen needs scuffing with fine sandpaper so the undercoat can grip.

Scope of work

Seams and dents filled and sanded flat; the undercoat over flat paint; two brushed coats with the brush direction planned for the side light; masking of the floor, window frames and the edge of the stone fireplace.

Project overview

In this example, the long wall facing the windows catches low sun every afternoon, and that light shows every tape seam in the flat paint. The owners want a soft, chalky finish that looks good in that light instead of exposing it.

Side light is hard on any finish, so the wall is prepared as if for a smooth coat, with seams and dents filled and sanded flat first. The brushing is then planned for the light, with loose cross strokes that read as soft movement rather than marks.

The goal

The goal is a warm ivory wall that turns soft and cloudy in the afternoon sun, with no seams showing, beside the gray of the stone fireplace.

Process

1. Before work Boards in warm ivory and chalk white, checked on the wall at four in the afternoon.
2. Day one Masking, seams filled and sanded, undercoat rolled on.
3. Day two Two coats of warm ivory, each brushed corner to corner without stopping.

Planning right

• Lime softens fine texture but still shows dents and seams in side light. They are filled before the undercoat.
• Look at the boards at the hour the sun hits the wall. Morning light will not show the same thing.
• A bench or sofa rubbed against plain lime will mark it. Leave a small gap behind them.

Scope of work

Brushing the stone clean; a water-drop test on several stones; protection of the slate treads, caps, paving and planting; dampening and three brushed coats; a return visit 10 to 14 days later for a breathable water-repellent topcoat on the faces. The slate treads and caps stay bare and dark, which helps the step edges stand out.

Project overview

In this example, the steps climb from the street through a shady front garden, and the gray stone walls beside them almost vanish at dusk. The owners want the walls pale enough to mark the way up, without painting the stone.

That needs fuller cover than a soft wash, so the plan uses three coats of bright white, brushed well into the joints. The dark slate treads stay as they are, and the contrast between white walls and dark steps does most of the work.

The goal

The goal is white stone walls that guide the eye up the dark steps at dusk, with the shape of each stone still visible in daylight.

Process

1. Before work Water drops on several stones, and a board brushed with one, two and three coats.
2. Day one Slate treads and planting covered, the stone wetted, and the first white coat pushed well into the joints.
3. Day two Second coat on the lightly dampened walls.
4. Day three Third coat, clean-up and a look at dusk for thin spots.
5. 10 to 14 days later Return trip for the clear water-repellent coat.

Planning right

• Stone has to soak up water for lime to hold. Where drops bead on a stone, it gets more cleaning before any coat.
• More coats mean more white and less stone color. The three-coat board shows how far that goes before work starts.
• We do not limewash the treads or the slate caps. Feet and standing water would wear it off.
• Expect to refresh the lowest courses every few years, where rain splashes up from the paving.

Scope of work

Weekend work only; masking of the desk, floor, window and seating; light sanding and cleaning of the eggshell paint; the undercoat; two brushed coats, with two painters on the curve; furniture back in place and the floor clear by each Monday morning.

Project overview

In this example, the lobby walls are a flat mid gray that makes the space feel cold, and the curved wall behind the desk looks like a blank partition. The firm wants a calmer, softer room but cannot close the office on a weekday.

So the work runs over two weekends. Preparation and the undercoat fill the first, the two coats of lime the second, and the room is cleared and usable each Monday.

The goal

The goal is a calm lobby with a soft gray-green curve behind the desk, finished without closing on a single weekday.

Process

1. Two weeks before Boards in gray-green and warm white, checked in the lobby in daylight and under the evening lights.
2. First Saturday Masking, light sanding and cleaning.
3. First Sunday Undercoat on all walls, masking lifted for Monday.
4. Second Saturday Lime on every wall, beginning with the long curve.
5. Second Sunday Second coat, touch-ups and clean-up.

Planning right

• People lean on the wall beside a reception desk, and plain lime marks there. A clear matte sealer on that strip, brushed on several days after the last coat, suits light colors like these.
• The curve has to be brushed in one pass from end to end. Two painters work it together so the edges stay wet.
• Bellevue’s building code lists painting among work that needs no building permit.