Of all the ways to bring texture to your walls with paint, Venetian plaster is one of the most enduring—and durable. The tactile quality is achieved through a combination of material and application technique: Unlike regular paint finishes, the liquid, putty-like substance is applied to surfaces in several super-thick layers with a trowel and brush. These many layers make the final product much thicker, mimicking natural stone. It also means the surface is incredibly durable—s0 much so that you can even use it outside (but beware the Tuscan trend of the late 80s!).
Despite its think, textural appearance, Venetian plaster is actually soft and smooth to the touch. Plus, it only gets better with age and wear. This makes it a wise choice for kitchens and bathrooms, though it looks beautiful in spaces that aren't super high-traffic, too.
Popularized during the Roman Empire in Venice, the technique was created as an easier, less expensive way to get the look of natural and precious stone using water and limestone minerals. It's best to have it professionally mixed and installed when using the real thing...but today there are several more affordable and easier-to-DIY options. Many contemporary paint brands have finishes that will give you that same natural stone and stucco-like look, from Behr's Venetian Plaster to Portola Paint's Roman Clay paint, which is a natural-mineral based finish that looks much like Venetian plaster, though it's a little more subtle. They came in a variety of tints if you want to experiment with color, too.
On the other, more opulent end of the spectrum, plaster is also great for carving intricate moldings on walls and ceilings. This is obviously different from the typical wall paint application but just goes to show how versatile the material is.
Venetian plaster is also great for achieving a lived-in, mineral-rich look on the walls that you can't quite get from other regular paint finishes. Designers love it for its ability to warm up formerly sterile spaces, thanks to the micro-variations and color that create movement and depth. It's the zellige tile of the paint world, if you will. Read: Its beauty is in its imperfection and it's an age-old craft that happens to be experiencing a major resurgence in the design world today.
Whether you want to give a new build a surge of old-world romance or you are trying to restore a historic space, Venetian plaster and its modern counterparts will get the job done.
Hadley Mendelsohn is the co-host and executive producer of the podcast Dark House. When she's not busy writing about interiors, you can find her scouring vintage stores, reading, researching ghost stories, or stumbling about because she probably lost her glasses again. Along with interior design, she writes about everything from travel to entertainment, beauty, social issues, relationships, fashion, food, and on very special occasions, witches, ghosts, and other Halloween haunts. Her work has also been published in MyDomaine, Who What Wear, Man Repeller, Matches Fashion, Byrdie, and more.
