If you are a homeowner of an older home who wants to add a modern touch to their favourite room, or an owner of a fireplace that needs some sprucing up this is for you!
Whitewashing your brick is an easy and inexpensive way to refresh your living space and add value to your home! Since modern design is geared to neutral, and fresh looks whitewashing can give you an air of openness in an otherwise smaller space.
To get that clean look you only need a few things:
- Protective Gloves
- Paint Brushes
- Paint Tape
- Brick Trowels
- Drop Cloth
- Scrub Brush
- Form
- Mortar
- All Purpose Cleaner or Dish Soap
- White - Interior Paint & Primer
Step 1:
Wipe down your brick! Even though we are painting over the old brick, we want to ensure we aren't painting on top of cobwebs. So give it a good wipe with a bristled brush or dry cloth, then with a damp cloth and some dish soap or all purpose cleaner wipe the whole thing down. Use a different damp cloth to wipe away the soap.
Step 2:
Tape you edges! Using your painter's tape line the edges of your fireplace and the edges of your mantel to ensure none of the white paint gets on there
Step 3:
Mix your whitewashing solution! It's basically watered-down paint. Mix together 16 oz of warm water and 8 oz. of the paint & primer combo (3:1 ratio). Mix it thoroughly with a stick of some sort to ensure all particles dissolve. This should come out pretty liquidy so don't spill! Depending on how much of the brick you want showing through, add more water. If you don't want any brick showing, use less water.
Step 4:
Start from the top! Using a painter's brush that you're not too attached to (this is about to get messy) start painting 1-4 bricks in horizontal strokes. Be sure to get in deep in the mortor and cover all grooves on the brick. It will look rough on the first go, but all great things take work! Keep your sections small, because dripping will happen and you need to be on your A-game to catch those and stroke across them.
Step 5:
Do the Dab! Using a clean, dry cloth, dab the 1-4 bricks you just painted. For a more pigmented white, redo steps 4-5; for a more rustic finish move onto the next section of bricks.
Step 6:
Let dry!
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