Paint Color Too Dark. How Do I Lighten The Color Of My Wall?

by Kelly
(Gretna, LA)

I painted the bottom half of my dining room wall a color called Jupitor's Glow. It is too dark and shows every imperfection in the wall. What can I do to lighten this up?

Answer:

The best way I know of to lighten your walls is to do a colorwash over the existing paint.

A colorwash is probably the easiest faux finish (decorative finish). Simply purchase a quart of paint in a light color, i.e., a beige or cream color, and mix with a gallon of faux finish glaze. I prefer to use Behr brand glaze. Mix the paint and glaze together thoroughly.

Using a paint brush, apply the glaze over the existing paint using medium, random strokes. You will be able to see these strokes on the finished wall, but they will add a unique textured look to the walls. You will see the paint color underneath, but the glaze will tone down and lighten the color of the original paint.

Hope that helps! Happy decorating, and have fun painting!