“Living with lime-plastered walls is like living inside a Rothko painting,” says interior designer Leigh Herzig. If you want to feel what its like to live inside a Rothko painting, then finishing your walls with Italian Venetian plaster will surely simulate the experience. Venetian plaster has been used to finish walls from around the time of the ancient Roman Empire.

Venetian Plaster made its first comeback with the decorating movement of the ’90s mostly in the form of faux plaster or a simulated painted pattern technique meant to emulate the Venetian plaster pattern.

However, that doesn’t mean that it is bad and we should forget about it. Axel Vervoordt and Vincent Van Duysen are bringing back that amazing home decor look. Plaster is being used in many trendy homes to ultra luxury retailers like Hermes stores for example.

With the advances in technology, there has been a revival in all things plaster, not just Venetian plaster. The composition of lime plaster has been changed and now it’s so much easier to use. So, more people are getting exposed to it, but there is also the fact of appreciating natural materials in design. Everyone is looking to blur the architectural lines between the indoors and outdoors. Lime plaster is literally raw earth material on walls.

The most popular colors are earthy tones such as off white, beige, gray and black. However, the favorite for us and many others, is definitely, shades of white. Venetian plaster is actually a general term, it refers to putty that was made from fired limestone in combination with water.

Venetian plaster is actually a general term, it refers to putty that was made from fired limestone in combination with water. When they are mixed together the lime plaster is the result. When it is applied to walls it gets exposed to air, which has carbon dioxide.

This turns the mixture back into limestone, the same thing it started out as. It’s basically the same stuff that all of our ancestors used in ancient times in places like Greece and Rome. It lasts such a long time, enduring the test of time, both aesthetically and physically.

What sets apart Venetian plaster or lime plaster from all other types of plaster, is that no aggregates are mixed in the making process.

Marmorino and Tadelakt include aggregates like glass, granite or marble. They look a lot like Venetian, but the aggregates add a thick layer and an underlying subtle texture that changes the whole appearance.

The look and feel that Venetian plaster can transform a space into something earthy and soft. Applying thin translucent layers makes an iridescent finish, and this gives the appearance of movement and depth to the walls.

One of the downsides to Venetian plaster is when using an  aggregate mixture, the demand results in higher-maintenance because you can not fix a small area without leaving a noticeable mark. Often times you will need to re-plaster the entire wall to hide the blemish perfectly.

For more articles on wallcovering, visit AlphaBrand.