Talk about the wall and the finish
Which wall, what sheen, what colour, and whether the room suits it.
What venetian polished plaster is, and when you need it
Venetian polished plaster is a different trade from the rest of this list. It is a fine lime based plaster put on in several very thin coats and burnished with a trowel until it takes on a depth and a sheen that looks like stone rather than paint.
It is a feature finish. People have it on one wall, round a fireplace, in a hallway or in a bathroom, and it is priced and planned as a finish rather than as a way of covering a wall. Fraser trained for it at a Venetian plastering academy, which is where the photograph on this page was taken.
What it actually is
Thin coats of a lime based plaster, applied and compressed with a steel trowel, each one burnished before the next. The depth comes from the layers and from the burnishing, not from a coloured topcoat.
Finishes range from a soft matt through to a high polish that reflects the room. It can be left plain or worked so the colour moves across the wall the way stone does.
Where it suits
A chimney breast, a feature wall in a living room, a hall and stair, a bathroom or a reception area. Anywhere the wall is meant to be looked at.
It is not a finish for a whole house and nobody should be selling it to you as one. The background has to be flat and sound first, so a Venetian job usually starts with ordinary plastering.
Ask us for examples
We do not have finished photographs of this work on the site yet, and we are not going to show you somebody else's wall and let you think it is ours.
Get in touch and we will talk you through what we can do, what the finishes look like in the flesh and what your wall would need doing to it first.
How we do it
Start to finish
Get the background right
Venetian goes on a flat, sound, properly dried base. If the wall is not there yet, it is plastered and left to dry first.
Base coats
The first thin coats, laid on and compressed.
Build the depth
Further coats, each one burnished, building the movement and the depth through the layers.
Polish and seal
Burnished to the sheen you chose and sealed, which is what makes it wipeable.
Three ways to start
Ring, message, or send the details
Ring 07501 844432
You get Fraser. Tell him the wall and he will tell you what it probably needs.
Call nowSend a photo on WhatsApp
A photograph of the wall tells us more than a paragraph of description can.
Open WhatsAppSend us the details
Fill the form in at the bottom of this page with a photo or two and we will come back to you.
Go to the formStraight answers
Questions about venetian polished plaster
Can I see examples of your Venetian work?
Ring or message us and we will go through it with you. There are no finished photographs of it on this site yet, and we would rather tell you that than put somebody else's work up.
Does it suit a bathroom or a kitchen?
It can. Sealed properly it is wipeable and it handles the damp in a bathroom, which is one of the places it is traditionally used. Behind a hob or a sink needs a conversation about the sealer.
How is it different from a textured paint effect?
It is plaster, not paint. The depth is in the material and the layers and it is burnished rather than brushed. Paint effects sit on top of a wall; this is part of the wall.
Does the wall need preparing first?
Yes, and that is most of the work. The background has to be flat, sound and dry. Any ripple in the wall underneath will show in a polished finish.
Get in touch
Ask us about Venetian polished plaster
Tell us what the wall or the room looks like now and we will come back to you with a price and a straight answer about what it needs.
Call us for your instant, no obligation quote
07501 844432. Or send a photo of the wall on WhatsApp.