When you think of lime, think of the sea. That’s where lime comes from. Lime is made from limestone, which basically consists of the accumulated shells of sea life, compressed by the earth over millions of years into stone. When that is crushed into a powder, burned and then slaked with water, you have the basics for lime paint and plaster.

But here’s the magic about lime: as it cures it pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere(the same amount driven off during burning, so not net gain, unfortunately) and begins to reconstitute it’s composition as limestone. In essence, it returns to stone, which accounts for lime’s incredible strength, durability, and almost ghostly beauty.

Another way to think of lime is to picture the frescoes of the Italian renaissance, or the the old weathered walls of a Tuscany village. Lime has a luminescence that no other materials quite equals. it has been the prize of artisans for thousands of years.

And because of its high alkalinity, it is especially resistant to mold and fungus. In Germany, obstetricians recommend it for nurseries.