Just as you can limewash your own walls, you can also give your solid wood cabinetry a cerused finish. However, the technique works best on ring-porous woods like red oak, white oak, ash, elm, and ...

Known in Britain as ‘limed oak,’ the finish was popular throughout the Art Deco era and employed by notable midcentury modern pioneers including Jean-Michel Franck and Paul T. Frankl.

Five hundred years ago, craftsmen repurposed ceruse and applied it to wood surfaces, which led to the discovery of a new, decorative floor and furniture finish.