The magical things that can be created with paint effects!

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Sometimes people ask me about “faux” wall finishes.

The walls in our house are not “faux” anything!  They are lime-washed.

 Lime (which is mined out of the ground); is mixed with natural pigments also mined out of the ground in  Roussillon, France in a way it has been done all over Europe for hundreds of years!

The lime is a natural insect repellent; and this kind of “paint” lets the mortar in old stone and brick houses “breathe.”

(A friend who has a historic  plantation near New Orleans had some serious damage done to her outbuildings by a movie studio painting with modern paints!)

I absolutely love murals;  and I am so lucky to have this one in our powder room.  The animals all around our property are represented;  it makes me happy every time I peek in there!  We always leave the light on, as there is no window!

(Done by Zoe Designs from Massachusetts;  Brooke and Lena)

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There is our rooster!

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 Often, ceilings are ignored and neglected.  I love pale blue ceilings, and use them in much of my work!

It reminds me of the sky! This is pale blue lime wash in the powder room!

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This delightful deer I haven’t seen;  but she may be out there!

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We had peacocks for a while!  They “ran away from home”!

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This is in our master bathroom;  over a bathtub.  From the tub;  I can see the sky and the pale blue ceiling!

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This is a hand-painted tile mural in a niche (painted and fired by Radisha)!

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In a client’s entryway we did this Moroccan ceiling (also by Radisha).

Examples of other works I love!

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This fantastical ceiling absolutely “makes” this awkward space!

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 This wall treatment is like a dado echoing the ceiling!

This is my favorite!  It is like being in a pergola.

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A tent on the ceiling and walls!

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 Another tented ceiling

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 delightful wall mural!
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18 Responses

  1. Inspiring Penny! Love the hand painted tile!!!

    Sally and I saw Doug and Lena just the other day at a presentation on historic Zuber wallpaper we sponsored here in Salem. Wish you could have been there. You would have loved it!

    Love your little ducklings!

    Cheers,
    John

  2. Inspiring Penny! Love the hand painted tile!!!

    Sally and I saw Doug and Lena just the other day at a presentation on historic Zuber wallpaper we sponsored here in Salem. Wish you could have been there. You would have loved it!

    Love your little ducklings!

    Cheers,
    John

  3. One of my most un-favorite things is exposed plumbing under a lavatory, but with this beautiful treatment I don’t seem to mind it at all. That gorgeous crystal embellished flowered necklace is on my post today…to you get the pics of the piece I found for you? xx’s

  4. One of my most un-favorite things is exposed plumbing under a lavatory, but with this beautiful treatment I don’t seem to mind it at all. That gorgeous crystal embellished flowered necklace is on my post today…to you get the pics of the piece I found for you? xx’s

  5. WELL,TODAY I FOUND A BABY DEER DOE!I MAY HAVE TO GIVER HER TO YOU AS THE HUSBAND DOSNT WANT ME TO KEEP!SHE IS ALL OF 3 DAYS OLD!IN THE TENTED PHOTO I HAVE THE SAME CHANDELIER IN MY KITCHEN!SO, ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE THINGS IN COMMON!ALTHOUGH, I REALIZE THAT ISNOT YOUR HOUSE.I READ ABOUT LIME YEARS AGO………AND OF COURSE WANTED TO DO THAT HERE!BUT WE DIDNOT WENT A FASTER WAY!GREAT POST!

  6. WELL,TODAY I FOUND A BABY DEER DOE!I MAY HAVE TO GIVER HER TO YOU AS THE HUSBAND DOSNT WANT ME TO KEEP!SHE IS ALL OF 3 DAYS OLD!IN THE TENTED PHOTO I HAVE THE SAME CHANDELIER IN MY KITCHEN!SO, ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE THINGS IN COMMON!ALTHOUGH, I REALIZE THAT ISNOT YOUR HOUSE.I READ ABOUT LIME YEARS AGO………AND OF COURSE WANTED TO DO THAT HERE!BUT WE DIDNOT WENT A FASTER WAY!GREAT POST!

  7. Hello there Penny! I think that your washroom is my favorite that I have ever seen. That would make me happy every day too. Something made with such love and attention.

    I might have already mentioned to you that when restoring our old house here in Arles, we used limewash extensively, inside and out and oh how the colors caught the light–better than Farrow & Ball! 😉

    What is amazing is that knowledge somehow got lost by the artisans for a while and there are many ancient homes that have been shored up with cement! So they are rotting from the inside because, especially as there is extra humidity as we are right on the Rhone River, they do indeed need to breathe.

    Have a wonderful day,
    Heather

  8. Hello there Penny! I think that your washroom is my favorite that I have ever seen. That would make me happy every day too. Something made with such love and attention.

    I might have already mentioned to you that when restoring our old house here in Arles, we used limewash extensively, inside and out and oh how the colors caught the light–better than Farrow & Ball! 😉

    What is amazing is that knowledge somehow got lost by the artisans for a while and there are many ancient homes that have been shored up with cement! So they are rotting from the inside because, especially as there is extra humidity as we are right on the Rhone River, they do indeed need to breathe.

    Have a wonderful day,
    Heather

  9. I wish I could get my hands on some of the stuff that belonged to my maternal grandparents. You would thoroughly enjoy them. Besides several peacocks (and hen) they had deer plus other animals; some of the scenes represented on different mediums. A brass chandelier with hunting scene (in different metals),china cabinet (inbuilt) back with a mural similar to the one in your powder room. Takes me back in time! I’ll be calling my cousins for pictures…

  10. I wish I could get my hands on some of the stuff that belonged to my maternal grandparents. You would thoroughly enjoy them. Besides several peacocks (and hen) they had deer plus other animals; some of the scenes represented on different mediums. A brass chandelier with hunting scene (in different metals),china cabinet (inbuilt) back with a mural similar to the one in your powder room. Takes me back in time! I’ll be calling my cousins for pictures…

  11. I love, love, love your master bedroom with the beautiful blue ceiling
    and the pink walls too. How do you achieve this?
    Thank you,
    Gloria Krekel

  12. I love, love, love your master bedroom with the beautiful blue ceiling
    and the pink walls too. How do you achieve this?
    Thank you,
    Gloria Krekel

  13. Hi!

    The pigments are from Roussillon; in France they are mined out of the ground.

    (Also available here from “Porter’s Paints”
    I will try to get the website!) mixed with lime and put on to raw plaster with a big brush!

  14. Hi!

    The pigments are from Roussillon; in France they are mined out of the ground.

    (Also available here from “Porter’s Paints”
    I will try to get the website!) mixed with lime and put on to raw plaster with a big brush!