We have been working on this Tuscan Villa in the country since last summer. With 3 decks, 30 pillars finished in a smooth polished tri-color Tadelakt. Fiber-crown mouldings installed by us and Lime painted to resemble real limestone and all the exterior walls are finished in Intonachino Italian Lime plaster.
This is how the project evolved while we worked there
Here is one of the projects we have completed over the last year and since we completed this Tuscan Villa in Tadelakt, we designed over 19 different shades and formulations of finishes for this amazing Tuscan villa. The Tadelakt installation was not your normal install, as we created lots of texture and old world charm with the techniques. Working on this project was a true treat as I was able to express full creativity showcasing some of my best work and crazy ideas. Hope you enjoy these photos of a full interior in Ventian Lime based plaster.
Darrell Morrison Lime plaster wall art
Thanks for looking.
This lovely Mediterranean home on the cliffs on White Rock, British Columbia was a treat to work in. Every wall and ceiling in the common areas are treated with an Italian Lime plaster finish. The ceilings hand troweled technique was a lightly textured Intonachino tinted to Cloud White CC-40.
The walls robust in yellow tones keeping true to Mediterranean styling while smooth and slightly shiny brought life to this home.
venetian plaster walls and ceilings by darrell morrison
Venetian Lime Plaster Vancouver BC
This next round of photos is durning the construction of the Mediterranean Villa.
With over 10,000 sq. ft of Natural Italian Lime plaster sprawling through corridors, stairwells and the 3 levels of this home walking through the door you are transported to a far away place in a Mediterranean Countryside.
Thanks for Reading Darrell Morrison
The process, the projects, the finished product: This is an inside look into how I create my Venetian plaster projects, making them come alive.
In this video, you’ll see steps used to create my Venetian plaster projects, including completed project photos of Classic, Carrara, Intonachino and Tadelakt plaster applications.
When it comes to my projects, it’s Stucco Italiano Italian lime plaster that is my one and only choice, and I think this video shows you why. When you think interior stucco think Authentic lime based Venetian plaster.
Venetian Plaster has always been used in Old-World settings like Tuscan Villas, for me though its been a slow start into the Modern realm.
Modern with its clean lines, simple colours and large windows do not usually call for a distressed Old World Tuscan plaster. In 2011 we had two installs of significant modern interior design stature. Keeping to the lighter side of the colour pallet we used a beautiful sand taupe. Here is one of the projects.
What makes me always go back to Venetian plaster is the fact it can be so many sheen’s, from matte to high polish and everywhere in between, its a timeless plaster finish that I will continue to offer in my portfolio.
The Before
With so many colours and finishes to choose from and durability that is far superior to any paint finish, Venetian plaster will be found in Modern and Tuscan homes more and more as the years progress.
Well, we’re already three weeks into our massive Italian lime plaster commercial project in South Surrey, BC.
As you can imagine, a lot of work is going on around us on the project every day, so while we’re trying to keep productivity at a maximum, we also have to keep trade damage to our work at a minimum.
This week, focus has been on the main floor’s lobby, the corridors, ceilings, and that awesome barrel ceiling covered in Venetian plaster.
It’s a big challenge, a ceiling like that, but to know me is to know I love my job.
Everyone around me knows how much I dig the challenges and the change that come from project to project. My passion for what I do and for getting my clients what they want is what makes my work so successful.
This one’s got even more challenges, and people to satisfy, than anything I’ve done because it’s the largest project I’ve ever worked on, and I hope it proves I belong on both the artisan and big commercial side of plastering.
This barrel ceiling’s a huge focal point, so I took extra care and due diligence, as it’s a heavy use area and we want it looking as fantastic years from now as it does opening day.
To get there, I started off by applying a two-coat Intonachino Lime plaster finish, and closed it up with a buffed super-smooth finish.
When you’re talking a “true” Venetian plaster, it’s actually a very thin finish. It can be somewhat delicate, and that’s something to consider on a project like this versus, say, a large home for a family of four. Given the massive building size, and the likelihood of foundation settling over coming months or years, I wanted a thicker plaster, just in case the building shifts any or nails decide to move any, and that extra coverage (and more work) should ensure longevity.
Craziness, I know, but it’s better safe than sorry, and it’s easier to do the job thoroughly the first time than to fix any problems a year or five years down the line.
Make sure your craftsmen don’t just think about how your job looks the day you have to sign the last check. You want them thinking about how that space will work for you over the coming years. Have that conversation with them, if you’re not sure they’re thinking in those terms — because they should be.
Look at this colour depth! This is what happens when I really push the envelope on the “maximum tint allowance” per bucket. Pay-off!
“Wax-on, wax-off.” Laying down the layers, pic by pic:
The end result? A stunning shiny show-stopper.
In this instance, it’s really a labour of love. It’s nine steps from start to finish — a lot of prepping, buffing, and grunt-work. There’s no easy way out on this one, it’s all about pushing through the burn thats the true nature of real venetian plaster.
At the end, all you see is how great it looks, and that’s okay with me.
Cheers,
Darrell Morrison.
Lime plaster has been my choice of material for almost a decade now. Recently someone told me it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient at any trade whether it be carpentry, framing or even a stone mason, the time spent honing that skill will one day make you a tradesman (or tradeswoman).
Over the summer I have been fortunate to work on a project in an Old World Italian Design Tuscan Villa. Breaking into my crate of techniques from WoodGraining, GoldLeafing, Venetian Plastering, Lime Painting and Stencilling. I have been challenged in ways that excite my mind and creativity, opening a new chapter in my life and the world I love to call Italian Plastering.
Here are some photos from this recent journey, the project is still in progress.
WoodGraining base coat
WoodGraining complete
Fibre Crown is a foam moulding used to simulate stone and in most situations is painted with acrylic paints.
Here is a close up of the foam moulding
Lime Painted Fibre Crown Moulding To Simulate The Look Of LimeStone
Fibre crown molding Lime stone 2 before & After
The trip home from Banff, Alberta, was an amazing seasonal drive. As I dropped from the Rocky Mountain highs to the Okanagan, then sea level, I saw things go from end-of-winter to lush and green, full of spring life.
I greatly enjoyed experiencing all four “seasons” this year, thanks to my cold-season work in the mountains and Alberta. It was mostly rain and a really mild winter in Vancouver, not one of our best years, but also not that unusual. It was a good time for a wintery change of scenery, but it’s nice (if a little soggy) to be home.
I’m getting back to making the rounds and taking on local projects. This past week, my team worked on two Valley projects — one in Maple Ridge and the other in Langley. The lengthy drives between home and the two projects took some adjusting, but it’s a great place to drive.
We just finished work on this smaller “feature” barrel ceiling’s plaster treatment. It’s one of those little jobs that starts and finishes quickly.
Italian Venetian plaster like this is where I began working in this trade, and those days kicked off what I hope will be a long and great career. It’s a real treat to work where I got my roots.
Smaller projects like this are always fun, too. Seeing the end result more quickly is a great pay-off compared to the visual impact but long work stint that doing a huge project comes with. I enjoy having a mix of both kinds of jobs.
Decorative Paint & Plaster is back in town and we’re booking clients for the next two years. How can we help you?
When you’re a guy working in the building trades, it’s not very often you get to travel for work, let alone work in a place like Banff, Alberta. This fantastic retreat in the mountains has been a dream-like project for me, and I’m happy to share with you this video of a walk-through of how the project’s coming.
As the build got further along, more plaster work got added to my slate. I love an owner getting excited about my technique and wanting more as the work progresses, especially in a place like this. By the end, Stucco Italiano’s Italian plaster was used throughout, stretching from the bottom up to the third floor.
Please set your viewing to high-def for all the detail!
Take a look at the waxed deep magenta plaster walls in the powder rooms, which includes that awesome entry feature and incorporates those subtle smooth textures across the walls and ceilings, on all floors.
Why would you want to use Italian plaster over both walls and ceilings? You have to consider the characteristics. No paint will match the beauty or durability over the long-term like Italian lime or Venetian plaster, and when you’re creating a mood in a room, why would you neglect the ceiling?
When the colour is fortified right off the bat, as I hand-mix plasters for application, including base coats, it gives a rich layered finish that doesn’t look man-made — it looks like it just belongs that way. It’s natural, rustic, and amazing for creating a mood in big and small spaces.
Lime plaster builds an atmosphere you just can’t get with only paint, and I’m a painter saying that.
When you’re talking about any kind of art or space, lighting means everything, and it’s definitely true with Intonachino plaster approaches I use in my Venetian/Italian lime finishes. As light moves across the room, during dusk through to dawn, and the light shifts from season to season, it changes the way the plastered surface appears, and you’ll always notice something different. It’s almost like your walls are a living part of your space.
This video will provide a perspective on the feel created with these finishes, but if the same video was shot at different times of day, you’d get more a sense of why I say that lightning — natural or electrical — is plaster’s best friend.
It’s been a while since this amazing journey began. Have a look at how far we’ve come, and how this plaster came to life. Click here to see the beginning blog posts.
Another week has come and gone, and I’m a week behind on my blogging — with pretty good reason, too!
My crew has been working really long days and straight through their weekends in order to keep up with production on the house, since the trades are all making huge advances these days, and there are a lot of pictures to prove it.
If this is the first time you’re dropping in to looking at this project, I’d suggest going back to the beginning of this amazing Rocky Mountains Italian lime Venetian plaster project in Banff, right here.
I’ve been loving the level of work from everyone involved in this project. Get a load of this amazing buffalo design in the stone flooring, at the main entrance.
It’s almost like a giant puzzle, isn’t it? I bet there’s a lot of people who’d love to put a puzzle this size together, but I sure wouldn’t. The precision needed to lay this tile is a pretty rare skill, even at this level of the game.
Talk about a mistake getting set in stone… Not for me, thanks. I’ll leave that to the pros.
Here’s another look at the stone buffalo, from the second floor.
A little trivia for you: Did you know that Alberta’s home to one of the two last continually wild North American buffalo herds?
Ahh, the boring world of drywall… but progress here means moving on to what we love, the plastering.
Details are critical with a masterful build like this one, where everyone’s brought their A++ game. Here’s Kelvin getting all those reveals smooth and level. It’s looking great, and we know he’ll keep it up.
The beams in the master bathroom are installed now, getting closer to a finished look.
The outside of this place is getting just as much detail work as in the inside. Here are some shots of the exterior. Now this is some serious craftsmanship going on here.
Here’s one of my favourite areas of the whole build: the back patio, with its massive fireplace.
Can you imagine summer nights, friends, wine, a fire crackling, and those towering evergreens all around?
All work and no play makes Darrell and the boys unhappy. I’m no dummy, we can’t have that! No trip, not even a work one, to Banff, Alberta, is complete without hitting the local slopes. Here’s us, off to Sunshine Village for a little powder action.
Sometimes accidents happen… Would you believe a darn tree just jumped right out at me? 🙂
Thanks for sticking around as my epic work adventure continues.
Stay tuned for more soon!
Cheers,
Darrell Morrison
Office:: 604.628.7855 | Direct:: 604.779.4233 | 9am to 5pm Monday – Saturday