Finishes with the depth of stone, for the Limestone City. Hand-applied lime and mineral surfaces for heritage homes, waterfront properties and boutique spaces.
Kingston's defining architecture is limestone — the 19th-century blocks of the Sydenham ward, the grand houses off King Street East, the storefronts downtown. Before modern paint existed, walls like these were finished with lime: breathable, mineral, alive to the light. When we bring limewash back into a Kingston heritage home, we're not applying a trend. We're returning the wall to the material family it was built in.
That matters practically, not just poetically. Solid masonry and lath-and-plaster walls need to release moisture. Modern acrylic paints seal them behind a plastic film; limewash lets them breathe, which is why conservation practice keeps coming back to lime finishes for historic fabric.
Hand-brushed in overlapping passes, limewash leaves a matte, gently clouded surface that suits Kingston's older rooms the way flat builder paint never can. It flatters uneven plaster instead of fighting it, and its mineral pigments shift subtly from morning to evening — especially in the water light that reaches the blocks near the harbour.
It's VOC-free and low-odour, which makes occupied-home and B&B schedules easy: rooms can often be back in service quickly.
For dining rooms, entry halls and fireplace walls, venetian plaster — lime and marble dust, burnished by hand — gives a depth and soft sheen that matches the gravity of 19th-century proportions. In newer waterfront condos and custom builds, the same material reads as quietly contemporary: one statement surface, no visual noise.
Where Kingston owners add modern bathrooms and kitchens to old houses — or finish new waterfront ensuites — microcement provides one continuous waterproof surface across walls, floors and showers. No grout lines, nothing to argue with the original fabric of the house.
Kingston's inns, restaurants and boutique hotels trade on atmosphere. Limewashed dining rooms and plastered feature walls are durable, tactile and endlessly photographed — we schedule commercial work around your occupancy, in stages where needed.
We work from our Ottawa studio at 2183 Carling Ave (inside the Alteriors showroom) and quote Kingston projects from photos or a short video first — free, with on-site consultations for larger projects.
Yes — Kingston is about two hours down the 401 from our Ottawa studio and firmly inside our service area. We batch site visits to keep travel efficient, which is why quotes start from photos or video: you get a firm number without waiting for a truck.
Lime finishes are generally the conservation-friendly choice for historic masonry and plaster because they're breathable and reversible in a way acrylic films are not. We're happy to detail materials and methods for your heritage consultant or committee.
Most single feature walls land in the low four figures; whole-room limewash varies with size and surface condition. Text photos and rough dimensions to 613-255-1512 and we'll send a free, firm quote — usually the same day.
Share photos of your space and we'll reply the same day with an honest, firm quote — heritage homes, waterfront builds and boutique commercial alike.