The last few months, I’ve been working on a Tuscan lime plaster interior in a beautiful custom home tucked away in Burnaby.

I’ve gotta say, the architecture blows me away. It’s my first plaster project in the area, and the home definitely ranks in the top 5 fave homes I’ve worked on. With curved walls, dominant archways, stunning distressed-wood doors, what didn’t I love?

I was brought in to install a 4,000 square-foot Venetian Plaster effect. I’m nearing the 70% completion mark. Things will move along really quickly in the next few weeks, though.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s going on.

The materials of choice this time are Stucco Italiano and Intonachino lime plaster.

I choose to seal my Venetian plaster projects with penetrating sealer. This helps to repel moisture and oil. If you’re getting a great finish, shouldn’t it be protected for you to enjoy for decades? Yeah, I think so too.

Once the sealer dries, I’ll go over it with golden heavy-bodied glaze tinted to a light raw umber.

If I don’t do this overglazing step, the Tuscan plaster style looks too new and fresh — like the photo on the top left shows.

While I believe in sealing all my plaster, it’s really necessary if glazing Tuscan lime plaster. Why? It’s thirsty like you wouldn’t believe. If it’s not sealed before glazing, a catastrophe can happen. The raw umber glaze would stain the surface beyond repair — blotchy and horrible. The wall would need redoing from start to finish, and who wants that? I’ll get it right the first time.

This is also where being super-prepared before getting started means everything. If that glaze hits an unsealed wall next to the project, it could be a domino effect of colour catastrophes, so care always needs to be taken.

Check out these snapshots of some of last week’s great work. Catch you next time.