Cedar has a high tannin content. You really cannot successfully whitewash it as the tannins will bleed through and you get an unappetizing shade of pink as the result. Leave it alone. And those floors absolutely do not work in your home. They clash terribly. You need something like a rustic slate, or just a solid color Marmoleum.

consider getting the ceiling smooth, your walls will look less busy if the ceiling is flat white instead of bumpy.

alternatively, a single wall of cedar, go with wallboard on other walls. also, much larger art either side of the hutch will reduce the cedar to a background. same with furniture a different color than the wall color.

this was my home before I bought it. I do not have that same furniture. every flooring that I like does not look good with the cedar walls which is why I want to change it. Obviously the floor that I picked out does not look good with those walls which is why I want to change it. I don't want to paint solid white over it because it will take away from the rustic wood look. So you're saying that you can't whitewash Cedar?

eventually I would like to add tongue and groove to the ceilings or faux beams. i hate the ceiling the way it is. so i would have dark floor and dark ceiling/beams and white wash or white wall

There is enough wood already. You need smooth drywall ceilings and no beams. And some type of tile floor. Which is why I suggested a natural slate. Go buy a cedar fence picket from your local home improvement store. See how pink it becomes when you try to whitewash it. Bleaching it would be more effective, but that isn't really an inexperienced DIY job. It involves some pretty harsh chemicals. And lots of PPE.

this is what i was hoping to achieve

i have a crawl space and our foundation isnt very sold and i cant afford someone to lay tile through out my house so tile isnt really an optiom for us

I'm guessing the wood in that picture is pine.

This link says they used bluegray to whitewash cedar ceiling

If your foundation isn't very solid, then that is the issue that you need to be concentrating your time and money on. Not décor choices.

The above is knotty pine, not cedar. But, if you hate the wood so much, remove it and drywall.

Sophie we had a huge mold problem due to water damage and both of our bathrooms and hallway got completely gutted. because the hallway connects to the living room and dining room they are replacing that flooring. we've spent $12,000 already by tearing out our driveway because it was pitched towards the house so all the water got underneath the house when it rains and to do that we also had to take out a gigantic oak tree and cypress tree. insurance didn't cover that and they also arent covering replacing the subfloor only the flooring that goes on top. We are going to spend more money out of pocket to replace the subfloor. So we are already fixing the problem. However I don't have extra money to pay someone to lay tile throughout my house. so we are going with a durable laminate

LVT in a slate look would work.

Sophie are you saying their room is knotty pine or the picture I posted? The link clearly says it is cedar.

You are the one that said that your home's support system was inadequate, and did not indicate that you would address it. If you are addressing it, then there is no, problem with doing tile. Tiling can be DIY. You don't need to pay anyone.

Nikki,
Is there an area in a small room rather than main living area you can experiment? Since you are going over another finish rather than bare wood the technique may be different. It may take some experimenting. Worse comes to worse you can paint it white and look like shiplap.

This is our home now. Excuse the mess but we haven't lived here months. The reason why I said adding beams is because we already have two and eventually we will take out that dividing load baring wall so we will need to extend the beam. Another issue is it looks like a wild beast scratched these walls in a few areas. So I was wondering if I should try to send it or apply some wood putty before painting

sand*

I mention this every time comments upset posters when youask for advice it is not always what you want to hear. If the walls were mine I would paint them with a good primer and then use a soft gray paint to give you that white washed look IMO the cedar or pine will bleed through any paint without primer and sometimes it takes a while to bleed through but it will happen.I like the flooring but I think a gray will work beter than white with it. I too am concerned with the mention of the foundation not being solid did you mean not stiff enough for tile or is it really not good period.If just not rigid enough for tile no problem. As designers we often come across clients who want cosmetic changes without thinking of the more important stuff that you don’t see and so often our answers are dealing with that before cosmetic questions and yes we often tell clients how they should spend their budget so a habit that we don’t want to break IMO.

We added 2 cross beams underneath the house with concrete pads and posts every 6 feet. So we made it solid. But the person who built the house used half inch plywood on half inch plywood. The new subfloor that the contractors put in the bathroom areas are solid as a rock and they also shored up some of the boards underneath. So that's what we are requesting them to do in our master and in the dining room and living room where we are taking up the laminate flooring. I think I may just paint it a solid white. The cedar boards are scratched and have splatter marks so I think white washing would be hard to hide all the imperfections.

And personally I do not want tile through out my house anyways

I would not want tile through my house either , but I still think a pale gray would be better thanwhite with the floor, the scratches will just give it a bit of character and don’t forget the primer you need one that is shellac based to keep the wood from bleeding have fun redoing the house after such a horrible start.

I do believe that a coat of shellac will keep the cedar from bleeding, and then it might be possible to do a whitewash. You'd better ask a pro, though, before committing to all that work.

You are in danger of complete wood overload. If you want wood floors, beams, ceiling, and walls, something HAS to give. I'm not talking just whitewashing anything either.

You need to reduce the number of wood surfaces. No wood floors with wood walls. Or, if you choose wood floors, no wood walls. No wood ceilings and beams with wood walls.

Either leave the wood walls alone and eliminate the other wood choices from contention or remove the wood walls in order to have the other wood elements work.

A few suggestions:

• I understand the possible bleeding of the knots on the panels, however, none of the DIY instructions below for whitewashing walls makes any mention of this being an issue, so test test test, because one you shellac, the wood will never absorb the paint or whitewash the same way. Here are DIY sites that will explain the various whitewash process.

• http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com/get-inspired/tips/2013/05/28/paint-it-whitewash

• http://blog.annieselke.com/01decorating/its-a-wash

• https://www.pinterest.com/korisherry/white-washed-paneling-and-ship-lap/

• http://www.maisondepax.com/2014/03/how-to-whitewash-wood.html

• There are different colors of white suggested on each of these sites.

• The laminate floor selected IMO is too dark for such small areas and low ceilings. If there is a hint of a problem with any moisture from below, you will have continuous problems with a laminate floor

• I'm no expert on these new vinyl floors, but that might be a better solution to keep the cost down and the future problems to a minimum. I think a selection in a lighter hue would be a better choice for your home. You could use all the light you can get.

• I would hesitate to add any beams to a ceiling that is already this low, and frankly, isn't there enough wood in the home...........floor walls and how perhaps ceiling? What would also help is to install ceiling fans without light kits. They further lower the appearance of the ceiling. Introduce table lamps to rooms which will provide a better quality of light throughout the rooms.

• Finally, in viewing images of your home, the wall decor is consistently mounted too high up on the walls. It only further reinforces the low height of the ceiling. I have lowered you wall decor on the above image so you can see the difference.

I could never overload with wood. My house could be all wood and I would love it. We live out in the country and we like the rustic look.

I could never overload with wood. My house could be all wood and I would love it. We live out in the country and we like the rustic look. heres some examples of my "inspiration"

I could never overload with wood. My house could be all wood and I would love it. We live out in the country and we like the rustic look.

I could never overload with wood. My house could be all wood and I would love it. We live out in the country and we like the rustic look. heres some examples of my "inspiration"

I like where you are trying to go. I would suggest having the ceiling texture removed. You might be able to remove it yourself by spraying it with water then scrapping down with a putty knife. The smooth finish would play off the texture of the wood.

I hope you will share the results if you decide to whitewash. I am sure they will look awesome.

I would think about painting the floor instead of replacing it. I think the cedar plank walls are gorgeous. I'll see if I can find a couple of photos.

Here are a couple of photos. I don't know if you can paint the flooring that was installed, but that is my vote. Remember floors and ceiling are you 5th & 6th wall.

Look at some rooms by Ralph Lauren. Once you whitewash, you are married to that upkeep.

what is the upkeep for whitewashed walls you refer to? (also plan to whitewash the cedar walls)

You chastise Sophie for commenting yet you solicit comments geez pay for an interior designer and you wont have to insult commenters nor discard suggestions so cavalierly

Ran Di, this post is from 7 years ago, and our poor Sophie is long gone off this forum.