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Painting interior stone walls

12 replies

thetigerwhocametoteax · 20/11/2012 14:40

Just moved into our (hopefully!) forever home - a 250 year old cottage that needs a fair bit of work doing. It has loads of lovely original features including lots of exposed stone walls inside. But in some rooms it feels a bit toooo much. The dining room has 3 exposed stone walls, a stone floor and a dark wood ceiling and feels a bit like a cave at the moment (especially with no furniture!). I am definitely painting the ceiling white but I am tempted to also paint one stone wall white - anyone done this? Do you just clean and apply masonary paint? Or are we better plastering first? Do they look naff painted? Any advise appreciated!

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FlankerMum · 20/11/2012 14:56

Hi
Congratulations on moving into your forever home! We have a cottage built in 1773 which has exposed stone Walls in various rooms. Some we have cleaned, brushed and left natural but others we have painted.

My advice would be to clean, brush etc then paint with distemper paint. This natural paint will allow your Walls to breathe, which is so important in old houses! The finish is gorgeous, quite matt and chalky but with a luminescence that really reflects light well. We chose light creamy shades - Farrow & Ball's matchstick is lovely in the distemper or you can do it more cheaply by getting hold of the distemper in powder form and mix in pigments to your own choice of colour. We did this once to create a lovely red for one wall in our dining room - however, beware as a red can suck the light from an old cottage!

We've spent 10 years renovating our place so ask away if there's anything else I can help with.

Good luck with your new home!

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FlankerMum · 20/11/2012 15:01

Oh, should have also said not to panic if you do go with a distemper. It's strange stuff and looks awful at first, almost egg whitey on top of the stone, especially if you're using the mix it yourself version. You will need at least 2 coats regardless but it really is gorgeous when all done and dry.

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frenchfancy · 20/11/2012 16:43

We've done it with masonry paint. Ten years on it still looks as good as new. I really love the effect.

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Sausagedog27 · 20/11/2012 20:22

Is it listed op?

You will need to use a breathable and traditional paint and shouldn't have a problem. Modern 'plastic' paints might cause damp in the long term.

If you plaster the walls it will need to be in a line plaster as well so that it's breathable.

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thetigerwhocametoteax · 20/11/2012 20:59

Thanks for the replies! Never heard of Distemper paint (thought distemper was a disease dogs got!) but sounds interesting from a quick read on google - Little Greene Co make it and there colours are very nice - expensive though at £50 per tin. Yes the property is listed (grade 2) - need to ring local council and see what we can and can't do as we've only just moved in. Thought that only really applied to exterior changes though? Thanks for the offer Flankermum - we've a lot of work to do and don't know where to start, especially with a new baby and toddler in tow!

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Sausagedog27 · 20/11/2012 22:04

Have a chat with the conservation officer- always good to get them onside. Listing covers everything- inside and out so things like knocking down walls, removing/adding fireplaces etc need listed building consent.

Try the SPAB website for lots of homeowners info.

Congrats on the new baby by the way!

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GrendelsMum · 21/11/2012 08:11

Congratulations on your lovely new home!

It's a good idea to join the SPAB, and particularly to go on one of their 'homeowners' weekend courses - this will probably save you a heap of trouble, worry and expense. If not, there are several useful books you can buy - I think the SPAB do an 'Old Homeowners' Guide' [title?]

It's also a very good idea to check on here about your plans - there are many helpful conservation officers like SausageDog who will give an informal view (e.g. see my fascinating 'Guttering' thread).

I'd be very, very careful about painting stone walls with masonry paint - I have some 16th century brickwork with masonry paint slapped on it, and the result was damp. Old houses need to breath, so you mustn't put on waterproof coverings unless you want an exciting damp problem. It is extremely dull and timeconsuming to remove masonry paint from brickwork, and I suspect it's equally bad or worse to remove it from stone.

Unfortunately owning an old/ listed home is more expensive than owning something modern, so you will need to put aside money regularly for any expenses. You would be amazed how much things can cost and you may or may not have the option to use them (again, see my 'Guttering' thread).