How to: Textured "limewash effect" cream wall

After my last post, I felt the bug to create more backgrounds, so I decided to make yet another back wall. Originally, I wanted to make a geometric design using pastel colors, but I thought it might not be very versatile. So I decided to go with a textured wall. I did make one a couple of years ago, using a very light gray color, and I've been wanting to make a warmer-tone version for quite some time. The process for this wall is very similar to the one in my original post, but I'll still share as much information as I can about the process. 

First, we cut and prime our walls. I had already done this while I was working on my previous post, so I'm already starting a bit ahead. Once the primer has dried, it's time to choose our base color. I want it to have a warm tone but be very light, so I chose Light Buttermilk by Americana Acrylics, which is a creamy color with a yellow tone.

Then, I took a white acrylic and, picking up very little paint with my brush, started gently brushing it on the wall. I used a paint with a thicker consistency  and also a brush with stiff bristles. It's not very visible on camera, but check out my other texture wall tutorial for better photos. 

A while back, I watched a video of a girl making a faux lime wash wall, and she used three colors to create the effect. So, I thought it would be a good idea to darken up the light buttermilk color. I added a drop of Burlap to give it a brownish tone. Using a sponge, I gently spread it on the wall. I immediately thought it looked like dirt, so I lightened the color more and sponged it very gently, going back and forth with the mixture, white acrylic and Light Buttermilk. It does look very subtle, but I didn't want it to look too obvious either. Spoiler alert, after taking the photos, I thought it was too subtle and added a bit more of the dark color. 

Let's take a look at how it looks with some furniture and a few dolls. In this photo with Rosie, it does look very subtle. I can tell that it's not a flat color, but it's barely noticeable. I also feel like this photo is very bright, and that might be taking away some of the details. 

In this photo with Blake it looks a bit warmer, but I like the effect. 

After taking these photos, I decided to add a gentle touch of the darker color. I was still very subtle with it because, again, I didn't want it to be too obvious. I was almost certain that the difference was going to be almost imperceptible on camera, but I felt like I needed to add a bit more color.

I changed the decor up a bit to know which ones were the new version. In this photo of Chloe you can barely see the texture.

I've been a bit conflicted with this wall. On one hand, I keep comparing it to the first one that I made, and clearly the other one has more texture. Maybe it's just that those colors contrast more. On the other hand, however, on some of those faux limewash walls, the texture looks very smooth and subtle, and I think this looks closer to that. I think I'm going to conclude that I like the effect, even though it didn't turn out 100% like I expected.

I have many more ideas in mind for this bookcase room and, while I know I won't have time to make all of them before school starts, I would like to, at least, make a couple more. One of the main issues I see with my backgrounds is that they sometimes look too flat, so I want to try adding more texture to them, either by trying techniques like this or by adding 3D elements. I want to try to make a board and batten wall next to see how it would look in my scenes. I also need to make a side wall in Light Buttermilk and Purple Petal, so I can take photos from further away with these walls. 

For this series, I've decided to create a new tag called Mix and Match Bookcase, where I will group the posts dedicated to making different walls and accent elements for these bookcase dioramas. That way, it will be easier for you to find these posts if you ever decide to do something like this in the future.

For the next couple of weeks, I will be taking a little break from the blogosphere and social media. Mr. Monster and I are on holidays, and we will be busy doing things and also spending some quality time together. So, I won't have much time to check out your blogs, and my replies to your comments might come a bit later than usual. I've left some posts scheduled on Instagram, but I just won't be interacting much there either. 

I hope you're all having an amazing summer and I'll be back as soon as possible.

Monster Crafts

This post was first published on themonstercrafts.blogspot.com. If you see it published elsewhere, it's been plagiarized without my consent.