Affordable exterior painting solutions to give your home a classic, rustic look

Have you ever seen a rustic home while walking through your neighborhood and thought, “How can I make my home look like that?”.

Rustic homes have a warm and welcoming look, and tend to be a very popular style across the country. I’ve personally worked on a few of these homes, and I have to say, there’s something quite special about them 🙂

That said, giving your home a rustic makeover may sound a little hard and costly. 

Luckily, you don’t have to make any structural changes to your home or shell out thousands of dollars to achieve this effect. You can achieve the same vibe with a few gallons of exterior paint!

Here are a few ways you can give your home a rustic look with affordable exterior painting techniques 🙂

Whitewash your home to create a clean and natural look

While simple, a good whitewash can give your sanctuary a natural and airy feel. 

Whitewashing is easy on the wallet too! All you need is a few gallons of water-based white paint and patience. You may also need a brush or a paint roller to apply the paint on your exterior walls.

Once you have everything you need, mix the paint according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are freestyling the mixing process, make sure the paint is neither too thick nor too watery.

Now apply the paint on your exterior walls using straight, downward strokes. Use an old cloth to wipe off the excess paint after completing one section. Repeat the process until all your exterior walls are covered. 

If you want, you can also use an acrylic paint sealer to waterproof the walls.

Once you’re done, your home should have a beautiful whitewashed look!

Give your home a natural wood grain finish

In my opinion, natural wood grain adds a sense of originality and nostalgia to your home. That said, I know that incorporating real wood into your home can be costly and time-consuming.

The next best thing is a paint job that creates an illusion of natural wood grain, and it is also one of my favorite painting styles! You can give your exterior walls the beautiful look of natural wood with just two different paint colors.

You’ll be using two shades of brown for this look, and you need the paint to look the right shade of brown with the natural light since you will be painting your exterior walls. So, before you get started, pick the right paint for the job.

Start by priming your walls. Once you have primed the exterior, mix two coats of brown paint—preferably dark—and apply it to your wall. 

Then, mix acrylic glaze with some white paint and add it to a tiny section of your painted wall and drag a combing tool through the glaze mixture to get the wood grain look. Finally, use a rocker tool over the combed area to get the look of knotholes.

Once you’re done, your exterior walls will have a natural woody look 🙂

Achieve a rustic look by distressing paint

Distressing paint is a great way to give your home a rustic look, and it’s very, very easy to do 🙂

You’ll need to paint your exterior using a base color of your choice. As a rule of thumb, pick a warm or earthy color, like brown or blue-grey, to achieve that perfect rustic finish.

To give the walls a faded look, sand down certain areas of your exterior walls after the base coat is dry. Alternatively, you could also use white paint to achieve this look by adding a feather stroke effect on certain parts of the walls. 

Once you’re done, apply an acrylic paint sealer to protect your paint job!

With affordable exterior painting tips, your home is now a rustic haven!

Giving your home a new look doesn’t have to be expensive. Even with the simplest paint techniques, you can make it a rustic wonderland!

Good luck!