Limewash & Whitewash Timber Floors

What limewash does to a floor

A limewash is a white or off-white pigment carried in a liquid that is worked across the sanded boards and then wiped back. The pigment stays in the open grain and in the softer early wood, and comes off the dense surface. That contrast is the effect: the grain pattern reads white against a lighter, cooler version of the original timber.

It is not paint and it is not a stain. A stain colours the whole board evenly. A limewash deliberately sits unevenly, in the grain, which is why it looks like weathered coastal timber rather than a painted floor.

The sealer decides whether it stays white

This is the part that goes wrong on other people's jobs. A limewash sealed under a solvent-based polyurethane will go yellow, and then keep going yellow, until in three years the floor is a dirty cream. Every limewash we do is sealed with a non-yellowing water-based coating, no exceptions.

The first coat also has to be applied without dragging the pigment around. Rolling a wet coat over fresh limewash can pull it out of the grain in streaks. It is a careful, unhurried first coat and then the build goes on normally.

Which timbers take it well

Tasmanian oak, American oak and European oak take limewash beautifully: open grain, pale base, plenty of contrast. Cypress pine is a favourite on the Coast and handles it well, though the knots stay dark and that is part of the character.

Spotted gum and blackbutt can be limewashed and look striking, but they start much darker and redder, so the result is a soft grey-brown rather than a true white. We always do a sample board on the actual floor before you commit, because photographs of other people's timber will mislead you.

Living with a pale floor

Pale floors hide dust and show hair. Dark floors do the opposite. A limewash is very forgiving of the fine sandy grit that comes into a Gold Coast house off the beach, which is a real practical advantage, but you will see the dog's fur.

Maintenance is the same as any water-based floor: vacuum, damp mop with a neutral cleaner, felt pads under furniture, and a screen and recoat when the sheen dulls in the walkways.