Exposed brick, interior wall - Limewash or distemper on ?

[AMc]

Hi, we're at the decorating stage in our vinery which will be used as a living room. There is a large exposed brick wall which was previously painted with modern emulsion over an older finish, probably limewash. The flaking paint was removed and is now mostly bare brick.

Our surveyor's schedule says "Existing lime washed wall finishes - apply minimum 4 coats lime wash."

The plan was to lime wash with the colour 'slaked lime' from Little Greene, but their product advice says

Surfaces - Lime-based, cob houses or porous exterior surfaces. The chalky finish is unsuitable for internal surfaces.

http://www.thelittlegreene.com/product-advice/
Little Greene do the same colour in distemper.

Is limewash going to be impractical?
Would distemper be better?

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[Gervase]

It depends how much 'living' you're going to do be doing in the room. Limewash can have a dusty finish, and if you brush against a limewashed surface you're likely to end up with marks on your clothes. It's also not washable, so if something marks the surface or stains it, it can't be cleaned off. If either of those points causes concern, then a distemper or clay paint might be more appropriate.
That said, if you mix some linseed oil or casein with the limewash, ensure you apply it as thinly as possible and keep it slightly damp while it carbonates, then dusting can be kept to a minimum. In its favour, no other finish gives the same effect as limewash, and no finish is as cheap (which means that if you do get marks on the wall, it's simple enough to slap some more limewash over them).
It's perfect for ceilings, however, as the chances of getting stuff on your clothes or marking the ceilings is pretty slender (unless the sort of 'living' you envisage is pretty wild!).

 

[AMc]

ensure you apply it as thinly as possible and keep it slightly damp while it carbonates, then dusting can be kept to a minimum.

That's another worry. Given the ambient temp in there today is 23oC and it's not sunny. Not sure how long I can delay until we decorate as we have to finish this room to move into the rest of the house.
Is distemper any more tolerant of fast drying?

 

[Gervase]

Humidity is the main thing - it doesn't matter if the room is warm provided you keep the humidity up. I find using a mist spray a couple of times a day is more than enough.

 

[AMc]

Good to know!