Dining room wall in a home near Aurora, IL finished in cloudy warm-grey limewash above a walnut sideboard

Accent walls, whole rooms, drywall and plaster

Aurora Limewash: Interior Limewash Walls in Aurora

The soft, cloudy movement of a lime finish on a wall, which flat paint cannot fake.

Aurora and ten towns within 20 miles
Written price before work starts
Licensed, insured local contractors
Historic district rules covered

Aurora Limewash arranges interior limewash for walls in homes around Aurora, applied by local decorative painters. Indoors, limewash is chosen for its look: a matte, velvety surface with movement in it, darker and lighter where the brush went, which changes as the light moves across the room.

An interior limewash accent wall runs $800 to $2,000; brush lime straight onto glossy painted drywall without a mineral primer and it powders off, and you pay for the same wall twice.

$800 to $2,000 for an accent wall

A limewash applicator working the Chicago suburbs publishes $800 to $2,000 for an interior accent wall and $2,000 to $5,000 for a full room. Ceiling height, the number of coats, colour matching, and whether the walls need a primer first are what move it. The decorative skill is in the brushwork, so price reflects the painter's hand more than the product.

Get a price: (630) 528-2808

Signs a room would suit limewash

The room has good natural light, which shows off the movement in the finish
Flat painted walls feel lifeless next to natural wood, stone or linen
You want texture without the cost and weight of plaster
One wall is the focus of the room, behind a bed, a dining table or a sofa

What limewash needs on drywall

Limewash wants an absorbent mineral surface. Bare plaster and masonry give it that naturally. Drywall and painted walls do not, so they are usually primed first with a mineral-based primer that gives the lime something to bite into. Skipping the primer is the most common reason an interior limewash powders or wipes off.

The look is in the brush

Interior limewash is brushed on in overlapping, criss-cross strokes, usually in two coats. The second coat evens the coverage while keeping the movement. Lighter tints show less movement and deeper ones show more, so a deep grey or ochre will look more dramatic than a white. Sample boards painted in the room are the best way to judge it.

Not sure what your brick will take? Describe the house, the brick and the look you want, and get a straight answer on coats, prep and a typical price.

Call (630) 528-2808

Where it works, and where it does not

Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and stair halls are ideal. Kitchens and bathrooms need more thought: limewash is matte and can mark where it is splashed or rubbed, so a protective topcoat or a different finish is often better near a sink or a shower.

Houses and rooms around Aurora

Plaster walls, common in older houses, take limewash beautifully and may not need a primer at all. And indoors there is no approval to wait for: the preservation programs in Aurora, Naperville, Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia deal with exterior changes, and Wheaton's register is a recognition program.

Colour and sampling

Interior limewash is tinted with mineral pigments, which is why the colours lean toward earth tones: warm whites, greys, ochres and soft greens. Painted sample boards, made with the actual product and propped in the room for a day or two, show how the colour moves with morning and evening light far better than a chip can.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to limewash an interior wall?

Typically $800 to $2,000 for an accent wall and $2,000 to $5,000 for a full room.

What are the signs a wall needs a primer before limewash?

It is drywall, it has been painted, or water beads on it. Bare plaster and masonry usually do not need one.

Can you limewash over painted walls?

Yes, with a mineral-based primer first. Without it, limewash cannot bond to the paint and powders off.

Is limewash good in a bathroom?

It can mark where it is splashed. Near sinks and showers, a protective topcoat or a different finish is usually the better choice.

Does limewash look like regular paint?

No. It is matte and cloudy, with visible brush movement that changes with the light, which flat paint does not have.

Often done together

Fireplace limewash

The quickest way to change a room: a soft lime finish on the brick everyone looks at.
Brick paint removal

Limewash cannot bond to paint, so on painted brick the job starts here.
Whitewash brick

The cheaper cousin of limewash, and the one that is harder to undo.

Talk it through before anyone opens a bucket

Say what the brick is, whether it has ever been painted or sealed, and how much of it shows from the street. You will hear what the job usually involves, what it tends to cost, and whether your town needs a sign-off first.