Ancient Wall Finish

Venetian plaster and Marmorino use lime based plasters, tinted with color, with a marble powder aggregate added -create an unusual, beautiful flat and durable surface. It is trowel applied and has layer upon layer of depth, highlighting the light and dark tones of a color. After 3 or 4 applications of color the surface is burnished with a trowel for shine and sealed and further buffed with wax. I want to make sure it fits the contemporary situation of the house and doesn’t over “decorate” the core. It needs to stick with our “honesty of materials” goal in the house.
This is the way walls were finished in early Rome and throughout Europe before the invention of paint. I love the surfaces so much – they were suggested to me by my artist friend Elise Wagner who has experience with the medium.
I gave it a try and will create some sample boards, I’ve found a few companies who supply the authentic materials and will color test them on boards. I am looking forward to giving this a try, I wish it wasn’t so labor intensive. First sample, 3 layers of a blue grey, burnished, no wax: