Hi Debra….
I wanted to seek out your advice as I have a 1950′s cape house and the upstairs is all beautiful wood paneling that I would like “pickled” or white washed, however, I my Husband had already primed it because I was going with a butter yellow look for the Master. This is the look that I want now, but again the primer is already on. Is there anything I can do to make it look like the pic below?Â
Thank you!
Oh my! Well, he was just trying to help, right? 
 It’s okay.
 It’s okay.There are two ways you can resolve this. But before you do he needs to go ahead and finish priming it all. We need the base to be all the same so the finish looks all the same.
Okay. Once all the primer is on and set here is what you can do:
#1 – Wash over it with a light wash of caramel color paint. Take paint and water it down and add in glaze so you can work it and then paint it on in the direction of the wood grain. So…from your picture it looks like an up and down motion…not side to side. You can use a car wash sponge and then a rag to wipe it off. You can do one layer and see if you like it. If it is tooooo lite for you then add another layer.
Option 2:
You can sand the paint/primer off in uneven layers. More on the edges. More there and there. So the brown wood underneath barely peeks out.
Also…check out these articles. They might help:
and
and
How to create a Faux Driftwood Finish
and finally…
Whichever way you go. #1 or Option 2 you’ll need to finish the walls with a nice sealer like Polycrylic. So that you can wash off hand prints and stuff without messing up your finish.  You can get it in a matte finish or a gloss finish. Whatever you like.
 You can get it in a matte finish or a gloss finish. Whatever you like.Hope this helps.Â
