Whitewashed Ceiling and Beams

Written by Kelly on October 24th, 2012

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I had not really noticed whitewashed ceilings and beams before my daughter moved into her new home. I had posted pictures of her bedroom ceiling here with wood beams and my friend Nancy @ Sea Rose Cottage wrote in a great comment “A wash of color of the beams may be nice too. French Linen mixed with a little water applied over the surface would give it a driftwood feel. Good luck with the project!”

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Such a great idea! So I started looking around at examples of whitewashed ceiling and beams:

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Then the more I kept reading, the more I began to get confused at all the different terms! Whitewashing? Pickling the wood? I figured out that whitewashing is basically the same procedure as pickling. Whitewashing/Pickling is a technique that allows you to brighten your wood without hiding the grain pattern. The difference is that whitewashing is using pine wood, where as pickling is the same procedure used but on oak wood. Here is a good article from DIY that explains the differences here.

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Note that whitewashing is not to be confused with painted white ceilings and beams:

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The difference is whitewashing uses paint mixed with water. Here is a photo below of a painted ceiling (not whitewashed):

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I think they are both beautiful! I think the question before you decide which would work best in your home is “Do you want a more rustic look in your home?” If the answer is yes, then I would suggest a whitewashed technique:

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Or do you prefer the more contemporary ‘cottage’ look:

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Then the all white painted ceilings would work best for you. Which look appeals more to you? Do you like the look of the whitewashed wood? Or do you prefer the all white painted ceilings? Love to hear your thoughts!

If you need help choosing colors for your home, contact me today.

Kelly

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Posted in color, Interior Decorating, Living Rooms, Paint Color Selection Help |
Tags: whitewashed ceilings and beams, whitewashed or painted?

5 Comments so far ↓

sandra says:

November 2, 2012 at 7:45 am

Beautiful rooms Kelly! I have a brick floor to ceiling fireplace I’m thinking of whitewashing or lime washing. Not totally sure what the difference is.
There are already some creamy “antique” looking bricks present so I thought I’d try that as a first step. Any tips?
Thanks
Sheila @sZinteriors says:

October 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm

I’m definitely more into the whitewashed look… but I do appreciate the look of the painted white, too! Great post
Kelly says:

October 25, 2012 at 3:17 pm

Thanks Jane! I think sometimes people get confused between the whitewash look and paint look. Both gorgeous!
Jane Gianarelli says:

October 25, 2012 at 2:37 pm

Great post Kelly! I love those looks too. So clean, fresh and open. I had a little round kitchen table that I white washed to blend with my pickled wood floors when I lived in Portland, OR many years ago. Still have that table, now it’s black and it’s time to paint a new color.

Nice brush up on the difference of the two. Your photos are beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing!

All the best,
Jane the Snob
Connie@Connie Nikiforoff Designs says:

October 25, 2012 at 11:30 am

OMG! I love all the photos. But then you know my love of white

I have never whitewashed ceilings or anything indoors for that matter. However I did whitewash a decorative garden fence. It turned out lovely because I did want a more rustic look. Later on I decided I wanted it painted and it was very easy to paint over the whitewash.

Whitewashing is certainly a bit easier because you don’t have to worry that you’re getting into every teeny grain of the wood

Can’t wait to see what you two decide to do!