Plaster
Lime and gypsum plaster, mixed in the studio and troweled on by hand.
A material, not a product.
Plaster is the oldest wall finish there is, and it still behaves like a material rather than a product. It goes on wet, in coats, and it keeps moving until it sets. What comes out depends on the mix, the trowel, and the hand holding the trowel.
Plaster and Bas Relief
Venetian Plaster
Decorative Plaster
Venetian Plaster & Lime Wash
Decorative Plaster
Venetian Plaster
Raked Plaster with Metallic Finish
Venetian Plaster
How it’s Made.
A wall is usually three coats. A scratch coat first, then two more worked wet on wet while the surface is still open, and a final pass burnished with a steel trowel.
Colour is mixed in the studio rather than ordered. Bring us the stone, the tile or the paint and it is matched by eye, then adjusted until it reads right in the room it is going into.
The layering is what gives plaster its depth, and it is also the reason the work cannot be compressed at the end of a schedule. Each coat has to be worked within a window, and the window is set by the material rather than by the calendar.
The Finishes
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Polished Venetian plaster. Burnished flat until the surface holds light the way stone does. Smooth to the hand, with depth and movement in it.
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Crushed marble in lime putty. More tooth than Venetian and a softer return of light. Matte through satin.
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Coarser and more open, with a fine aggregate left visible. Reads closer to raw stone than to a polish.
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Slaked lime thinned with water and brushed on in washes rather than troweled. Dead matte, with soft cloudy movement where the coats overlap. It sinks into the wall rather than sitting on it, and it dries several shades lighter than it goes on.
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Worked with the edge of the trowel to leave directional texture. Usually carried with a glaze so the rake catches.
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A metallic glaze worked over plaster. The wall shifts as you move past it, which is the point, and which is why it is worth seeing a sample in the room rather than in a photograph.
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Ornament modelled in plaster and left raw, glazed or gilded.
Request a Sample
We understand the importance of having a physical sample to make informed decisions. Simply fill out the form below, specifying the sample colors and finishes you’d like to explore, and a member of the Studio C team will be in touch to assist you.