There has been a resurgence in plaster in general, not just Venetian plaster.
Recently, there have been technological advances in the composition of lime plaster that have made it much easier to use. So it’s becoming more prevalent and more and more people are getting exposed to it.
I also think there is an enduring and increasing appreciation for natural materials in design. There’s a growing focus on blurring the architectural line between indoors and out. Lime plaster is quite literally stone on your walls.
What colours are most popular? I like earthy tones: white, beige, gray, brown, and black. But my favorite is white.
The specification is a timeless Venetian Plaster finish to the main entry foyer and the main living area in the interior of a large family home. You can create you own colour or choose from a range of standard colours.
One of the special challenges with this project was to deliver a consistent traditional finish across the frameless concealed doors. It’s a look mastered so beautifully by Vincent Van Duysen, where the interior doors blend into the walls seamlessly. To achieve that uniformity, you need to install your doors with kerf jambs instead of the traditional jambs that require moldings. The end result is a sort of visual silence.
The texture of a plaster finishes is built up over two to three coats and each wall is an entirely unique expression of the craft. We needed to ensure the movement created during application was consistent across the walls and the doors.
It would have been easy enough to remove the doors and do them separately however this would have creates a noticeable change in the movement of pattern and colour between the walls and the doors. For consistency we left them on and carried the finish around the sides and tops of the doors to avoid any visual dissonance.
The finish coating we used is a protective wax for interior surfaces and finished with a light buff to give a soft natural sheen.
