Good afternoon, Friends!
Thank you for stopping by today!! I am so excited to share a company that has literally transformed our home, Romabio! Our home is made of solid brick, which is very beautiful but its natural color just wasn’t for us. It was dark and didn’t show off our 1920’s bungalow in all its glory. I started researching ways to brighten our home last summer. First I thought of painting it white, which was doable but not exactly the look I wanted since I loved the look of chippy- aged paint but I didn’t want to have to wait years to achieve it! Next, I looked into the German schmear technique and although it was super beautiful I read a lot of reviews that spoke of how time consuming and detail oriented the process was. This is when I stumbled upon the masonry limewash process, specifically Romabio!
Romabio Classico Limewash is unlike traditional paint mainly because you don’t have to fully commit to completely painted brick, and you still get to achieve that old world imperfectly perfect feel, which I personally love so much. Whitewashed brick has such a charming Old World feel with a freshly painted look, the best of both worlds! You can update your home while still keeping the warmth of the brick exposed. A win, win in my book!
I will be sharing more about the application process in a follow up blog post, but for now I want to answer a question I have gotten asked a lot. What color Romabio Classico Limewash did we use? Since Romabio has a variety of gorgeous colors it wasn’t an easy choice. We had a few samples sent over and tried them out in small patches on our garage. I wasn’t too worried about testing out the colors, since limewash is super easy to tweak, remove or adjust for up to 5 days after its applied. How awesome is that?! Here is a look at all of the limewash options below, can you guess which one we chose?
Avorio White
Bianco White
Cristallo White
Nube Gray
Riposo Beige
Toscana Beige
If you guessed Bianco, well then you were right! I went with the most crisp limewash shade offered and I do not regret it one bit! I love the way the dark brick peeks in from underneath the fresh white. It gives both an updated and an old look at the same time, like I said before it’s one of the best things about this product! I am thrilled with how it turned out!
Our door was originally white with the dark brick and then I painted it navy. I never loved the look on our home but I made do with what we had. Once our home was limewashed we painted the door Wrought Iron black by Benjamin Moore. As for the cement steps, they were very stained and dingy so a few years ago we decided to paint them white with cement paint. We kept them this way up until a few weeks ago when we made the leap to paint them with black cement paint. I LOVE the contrast between the white house and the dark entryway! This look by far has been my favorite!
As I was snapping these pictures the sun was bouncing off our home after a rain shower. Our home seemed to be glowing, and as I snapped away a rainbow formed right next to me! I am telling myself it was a thank you sign from this old bungalow of ours! I just adore how far this old home has come with some imagination and a whole lot of love! (aka work! ha!)
Stay tuned for another blog post coming soon containing all the information about the application process itself! It was such a joy working with Romabio, if you are interested in lime washing anything from the exterior of your home to a fireplace I wouldn’t go anywhere else! And awesome news, you can grab this product at Home Depot! So very convenient!! Plus, one thing that makes my husband so happy is that the paint is organic and toxin-free. The helps keep the lawn and plants healthy and gives me peace of mind since when my girls are outside playing they aren’t inhaling any volatile organic compounds that are in nearly every other type of paint. Make sure to visit their website for additional product info and while you’re there, make sure to say hello to our girls who are pictured roasting marshmallows in front of our freshly lime washed garage last summer! 🙂 As for now, its off to ride bikes and hang enjoy the day! Thanks for stopping by!! xx
AFTER ROMABIO LIMEWASH:
This transformation is amazing, love the the lime wash. And the floor painted black, I never would have thought of that! Did you make your mat? Also would you mind sharing where you got the potted tree? If it’s faux, that is…I do not have a green thumb.
Hi Merri, Rob here. Thanks for commenting. SQ picked the black and it’s pretty cool. Hides dirt a lot better than the white we had. She didn’t make the mat. I’ll ask. The tree is a gig from home depot. 🙂
Good morning Rob and Susan. Can you share where you purchased both the doormats and also their sizes? Thank you both.
I have the same question!
Love the limewash! Am considering this look for our red brick home. I am curious…how long has it been since you painted the house and how well has it stood the test of time and weather? Have had several painters respond to this process with skepticism and I’m nervous to take the plunge.
Hi Amy,
Rob here helping SQ keep up. We applied the lime wash last summer and it looks great. It’s held up very well. The wash isn’t actually paint, which would chip off over time, but rather a “stain” that absorbs into the brick. So I imagine the painters are basing their opinions on what they know and are simply not familiar with Romabio’s product. If you go to their site it actually explains how it works much better than I just did. 🙂
Rob
Where did you get the white planter from?
I too would like to know where the doormat is from!
Please let me know where you got the door mat from.
Hello! It was from Home Goods! We will be linking more soon!
Hi! I am deciding on the color of Limewash for my house. I need to match a contractor siding vinyl that is a standard beige/off white. It matches BEHR 23 Antique White. Which Romabio Limewash will match? I know to buy a quart to color match… just can’t buy all of them! Maybe you could help me narrow it down to one or two and I can just order those! Thanks for your input. LeAnn
Did anyone ever find out where the mat is from?
Hello it was from Home Goods! We’ll be linking more soon!
Can you share what your siding color and door color are? I’m trying to match siding to Romabio Limewash currently! 😉
Thank you!
Hi there! Unfortunately, I don’t have exact names, but Susan color matched the limewash to get the white for the siding. As far as the door, she used a true black paint. Sorry I don’t have the details!
Hi we are thinking of doing this exact paint scheme on our new to us brick farm house and I was wondering if you had the products you used for the black concrete and patio with a DIY steps for that as well?? The transformation is amazing !
Hi there! Yes, the Romabio Limewash in Bianco was Susan’s favorite! The porch they painted with THIS Romabio Chicago Ink paint. Hope this helps + Good luck!
Do you know the color of your front door in this picture? I don’t believe it is still wrought iron as wrought iron is bluish Gray. Thank you for your help.
Hi Melody! The front door was painted black. We’re not sure the color off-hand but definitely painted!
Researching Romabio solid paint for a new build brick home in the Chicago area. Our builder isn’t familiar with it. Do you know if the company will supply addresses or references? It’s a big investment and we’re trying to be smart consumers!! Our local paint store wasn’t that helpful when I asked. Thank you for any help!
Hi there! You can ask them if they’ve heard of limewash. That’s another name for it!
In the blog post above you mention samples you had sent over… Can you tell us where you obtained the samples? I am hoping to try the Avorio, Blanco, and Nube Grey… I cannot seem to commit without seeing them.
We received them directly from Romabio, so I would reach out to them! p.knight@romabio.com
Do you have the links for your decor? I think it mentioned you’d provide them and maybe I’m missing that?