Clay plaster in London

Clay plaster in London usually means the soft, matt, faintly mottled wall finish sold elsewhere as roman clay. Zavoré supplies fine Italian lime plasters that give the same close toned look and suit British walls better, and our own team, who travel from Birmingham, can lay them. Start with a sample board in the colour you keep coming back to and live with it for a week.

An honest note about Roman clay

Roman clay is an American shelf name, not a single material. It covers everything from genuine clay plasters to thickened paint sold in a tub. True clay plasters exist, but unstabilised clay stays water soluble and goes back to mud under a wet cloth. So we do not sell actual clay. In Italy the same finish has long been made with lime, and lime hardens, takes a wipe and can be patched.

What we supply are Intonachino, a fine lime with a light grain, and Stucco Suede, which is smoother and softer. Both are mineral, tinted through rather than coated, and breathable.

Victorian bedrooms, chimney breasts and alcoves

Terraced London houses and flats are full of rooms made for this finish. A Victorian or Edwardian house has chimney breasts and alcoves in almost every bedroom and sitting room, and a soft mottled wall gives them depth that flat emulsion never does. The colour shows two or three shades of itself depending on where you stand and where the lamp is.

It also forgives. Clay look lime is happy over a slightly uneven surface, which makes it sound over old lime walls that will never be truly flat. Earth colours, bone, clay pink, olive and warm stone do the most with it. We tint from an NCS, RAL or fan deck reference so a second order matches.

Where clay plaster finishes work in London

We suggest our clay plaster finishes for these places.

• Bedrooms and quiet sitting rooms.
• Chimney breasts and alcoves.
• Hallways and landings in period houses.
• Old walls that will never be flat.
• Rooms where emulsion has always looked lifeless.

Be realistic about hard use. A matt mineral wall is not wipe clean vinyl. In a hallway with a dog and a pushchair we would still fit it, but we would seal the lower part of the wall and tell you beforehand that the sheen will differ slightly. Greasy marks are the awkward ones, so we steer it away from the wall directly behind a hob. We would not use it in a shower, and a damp wall must be fixed first.

How a clay plaster job in London runs

After a survey of the wall, a primer evens out the suction. The plaster goes on in two thin coats with a stainless trowel, the second worked while it is still open so each pass softens into the last. The skill is in leaving it alone, because fussing burnishes patches and gives shiny islands in a matt wall. Edges at the ceiling need a steady hand.

The sample board settles colour and grain. The material is tinted before it leaves Birmingham, and a London job is planned in blocks of days so the team stays and finishes each wall in order. See our clay plaster installation page for more.

Buying and laying it yourself

This is the friendliest of our finishes to lay yourself. There is no burnish to get wrong and the material is patient. What catches people out is holding the mottle consistent across a big wall. The shop sells Intonachino, Stucco Suede, lime paint and primer with tracked delivery, and trade accounts are available. Send us the picture you have been staring at and we will tell you which product it is.

More finishes in London

If the picture in your head is really a chalky colour wash, read about limewash in London. For a polished wall see polished plaster in London and for stone grain marmorino in London, with Venetian plastering in London covering the family. Water needs tadelakt in London or microcement in London. For modern rooms look at concrete effect plaster in London and liquid metal in London, and for the full list decorative specialists in London.

Questions about clay plaster in London

Do you sell real clay plaster for London homes?

No. We supply Italian lime plasters, Intonachino and Stucco Suede, because they give the same look and live better in a British house. Unstabilised clay softens with water, which rules it out of hallways, kitchens and bathrooms.

What should I send for a Roman clay look in my London bedroom?

Send us the photograph you have been looking at, the wall size and your colour reference. We will say whether it is Intonachino, Stucco Suede or just lime paint, and a sample board settles the colour.

Can clay plaster go in the hallway of a London terrace with children?

Yes, with care. A matt mineral wall marks more easily than vinyl, so we would seal the lower part of the wall and explain beforehand that the sheen will differ slightly there.

Will clay plaster go over old lime walls in a Victorian house?

Yes, that is where it is happiest. It is forgiving of a surface that is uneven but sound, as long as any damp has been dealt with first.

Send us your reference picture and the wall size. Call 07592 929191 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm) or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and your postcode. You can also order a sample board and start from there.