Tag: Stucco Italiano

Progress: Lime Plaster In a Tuscan Style Villa

By on October 1, 2011 in blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Tadelakt, Tadelakt full interiors, Textured Plaster, Uncategorized, Venetian Plaster Full Interiors, Venetian Plaster Vancouver, Wood Graining Vancouver

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

Old World Italian Villa Finished In Tadelakt

By on September 1, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Lime Plaster, Tadelakt, Tadelakt full interiors, Venetian Plaster Full Interiors, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

Tadelakt being used as a distressed old-world finish is not the norm for this material. While my supplier were out of stock I was forced to use this amazing material on a Tuscan Villa in the depths of Langley, Britsih Columbia.

What a treat it has been to learn the advantages of this amazing material and also a client and builder giving me full expresion of my work and creativity.

This is the 1st home I have Venetian Plastered that has 5 Juilet ballconies in the main hall, with one of the most amazing fireplaces I have ever seen. (That to come in the next post)

Here are some pictures from the start of the project

Powder Room Plaster finish

The house is still under major construction and I will share more as I find more time, bare with me the end of the summer is a real busy one.

Thanks for stopping by

Cheers
Darrell Morrison

Tadelakt A Shower To Dream Of In Venetian Lime Plaster

By on May 28, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, Bathrooms, blog, feature, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Plaster Showers, Polished Plaster, Tadelakt, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

If you know me, you know I’m a busy guy. It’s work, work, work, these days, and when it’s not about work, it’s about time with my wife, my girl, and the pups.

Needless to say, like most of us, I seldom get to do the projects around the home that I dream of doing.

That all changed in the last month, because not only did I finally get to do a bit of home reno that my family gets to enjoy, but I also got to try something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time — a heavy-duty Italian venetian plaster treatment to a bathroom shower stall.

This work was done in our main-floor bathroom, which had been wanting TLC for a while.

Doing any project for the first time, especially when it’s a bathroom, can make it hard to estimate all the work involved, so getting a chance to explore the process on my own time was great.

It was a major project by the time I finished, as you can tell by the end results, but what did it take to get there?

Here’s how the Home Shower Venetian Plaster Project evolved, start to finish.

This ’70s bathroom came with tons of cedar, which all had to come down. Luckily, it was installed by someone who didn’t make much effort to do it right, so only a couple nails in each board ensured they popped right off. Removing the shoddy work made investing time in improving the room that much more satisfying.

The first thing I wanted to do was move the shower-head up by about two feet. No one wants to crouch for a shower.

Before now, I never had the need, or an opportunity, to work with copper. I decided I’d take a kick at the copper can instead of calling a plumber, and working with the pipes was easier than I expected. I might do the odd fix-it job here and there now, but I’d certainly never do my whole place.

Next, I installed plywood. I’m sure some of you building guys out there are wondering “why not concrete board instead of plywood?”

It’s a preference, really. I find plywood’s just easier to work with, and it comes in big old 4×8-foot sheets, making for less cutting in some situations, but, most importantly, I find plywood’s a big help when it comes to installing lath. (Shown later.)

Next up was installing the water-proof membrane. Obviously a quality project is needed for a shower, and I used a local company’s product, called, “SuperSeal” you can learn more about it here.

Continue Reading..

The Return From Banff Back To Local Vancouver Projects

By on May 2, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

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?

Venetian Plaster Project Walk Through Video

By on April 3, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Full Interiors, Venetian Plaster Vancouver, video

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.

Grandview Business Center, Italian Lime Plaster Interior

By on March 21, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Full Interior Projects, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

Here, have a look at South Surrey’s Grandview Business Centre, which you’ll find nestled behind Winners in the Grandview Corners Mall.

Starting any day now, we’ll be installing natural lime plaster throughout this high-end office building’s common areas, including the bathrooms.

Landing this project was a super-proud moment for me, because it’s my largest commercial project yet, and it’s yet another client who cares about craft quality, so it’s exciting to be a part of this.

Besides that, though, it’s really close to home, and I know I’ll be able to take my daughter there and show her that this is what Daddy does, because it’s a public space.

I’ll be blogging about the experience here, so please follow along as we transform this space from floor-to-floor, trowels in hand, as we take ordinary drywall and finish it into a seamless polished lime stone plaster.

Here’s proof Vancouver-and-area isn’t just a rainforest, we get snow too. This is the project under a fresh short-lived blanket of it a few weeks ago.

 

I love watching projects come together, and living so close to this build site let me catch glimpses throughout the early stages.

Here’s a shot of the braces holding up recently-erected concrete panels. Obviously this isn’t your average construction site.

The job required lifting massive tilt-up pre-made panels into place, including one panel 31-feet wide, 58.7-feet high, and a whopping one-foot thick, weighing a jaw-dropping 186,000 lbs.

When I get something wrong on a job, I might have a shade off in colour tinting, or a pit where there shouldn’t be (and, naturally, it gets fixed pretty easily). Could you imagine when guys like the panel-tilters get their jobs wrong? Man, I’m glad I’m a painter.

In an article published October 19th, 2010, by the Peace Arch News, Hannah Sutherland reported there were 26 panels to “tilt up” in this unusual construction project, averaging at 140,000 pounds per panel.

In speaking about the construction method, its “Tilt-Up” assembly, Project Manager and owner of Double-V Construction Shane Van Vliet told Sutherland, “This type of construction is typical, but the fact this is four storeys is very unusual. Four storeys gets to be a little trickier… and more engineering is required.”

A video of the assemby process can be viewed here on the BC Daily Buzz.

Now here’s what the building looked like just recently.

If you’re interested in purchasing space in this soon-to-be-awesome building, learn more about the Grandiew Business Centre on their sales site: http://www.grandviewoffice.com.

Sather residence Banff Italian Lime Plaster Interior

By on January 21, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

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?

After the Venetian plaster finish on the kitchen ceiling got polished off, other teams got to put the beams up. I’m loving the look and the contrast of the smooth wood against the rustic lightly-pitted plaster, but can’t wait to see it stained.

Another shipment of material showed up this week, which meant more walking up hills and stairs covered in snow, hauling plaster supplies.

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

Grandview Business Center, Venetian Plaster Interior

By on December 2, 2010 in Architectural Wall Finishes, Bathrooms, blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver


Guess what I’ve always dreamed of scratching off my bucket-list? Plastering a high-end commercial building.

Soon, I’ll be scratching it off! (Or I can change the bucket list to “super-big high-end commercial building,” maybe. Then, after that, add “downtown”.)

Starting April, 2011, I’ll be starting an amazing adventure with my team as we begin a massive lime plastering project in the Grandview Business Centre in South Surrey, BC.

It’s a great building, an important part of the new “Morgan Crossing” district, which is an area that has just exploded over the last two years.

The mall, The Shops At Morgan Crossing, has great businesses like the Steve Nash Sports Club and a favourite of mine, because we all love a good wine: the “Everything Wine Store”.

Located so close to the mall, the Business Centre’s a great location for professionals looking to be accessible and convenient for clients.

All right, let’s talk project details.

The Builder Double V Construction will be creating the blank canvas for this amazing project.

We’ll be putting lime plaster in all the common spaces (including lobbies, corridors, and washrooms) on the Morgan Crossing Business Centre’s 1st, 3rd, and 4th floors.

We’ve chosen the palette already.

The corridors will be a slightly polished sandy/cream-coloured lime plaster with subtle pitting and black flecks.

Washrooms will be treated with a cement-based plaster that incorporates subtle pitting, almost like a honed travertine, but seamless and free of any joints.

The lobby ceiling will have a shiny finish that resembles the look of polished marble.

I can’t wait to see so much of my work in one place. A lot of what I work on is in private homes, but this will be a project that I can “visit” for years to come — and close to home, too.

Stay tuned while I prepare for this awesome undertaking, because I plan to share the journey with you by blogging the process in words and video while things come to life.

Cheers,

Darrell Morrison

Venetian Plaster Interior Banff, Alberta Week 1

By on November 19, 2010 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Carrara Marmorino, Decorative Finishes, feature, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Tadelakt, Tadelakt full interiors, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

I remember my parents telling me their stories about how hard life was “back in the day,” when they’d have to slog through heavy snow, up snowy hills, all while braving the freezing weather. Now that I’m working in Banff, I can finally tell my daughter the same kinds of stories.

Except that my stories will involve my struggles this week — hauling some 2,650 pounds of Italian lime plaster up a snowy, icy hill, down some stairs to the lower level’s entrance, and all in chilly -14 degrees Celsius weather.

Yep, just another wintery day’s work in Banff, Alberta.

Laying down the base coat

There’s a reason they call short people “vertically challenged,” and my work in Venetian plaster and the constant need to do ceiling treatments means I’m proof of the “challenged” part.

Ladder, please!

I often need a little extra height, and that perfect height still means a world of work but a lot less pain!


Living and working in one of the mildest climates in Canada means I’ve never experienced the difficulties of building in high-altitude severe winter climate like that found here in Banff.

I’m enjoying seeing how different practices are needed for success here, and I’m super-impressed with how the builder deals with nature’s wrath, tenting exterior areas so the work on the home’s landscaping can continue throughout the season.


This is the exciting part, for me! Just last week, the main floor had barely any drywall hung. That was then and this is now! The build team has really pulled together, everyone’s always on the move, and they’re working as a team to get ‘er done. There’s a lot of good nature on the build site, with everyone being very friendly and communicating clearly, all things that are very important to me in a work environment.

It feels wrong to post without sharing another photo of the area. Here’s the town as we head to our lodgings after a day at the job site.

Banff is such a lovely place. I have so much more of it to experience while I’m here, and that’s really exciting. It’s not just a mountain town, it’s a winter wonderland, and it’s feeling like an epic journey’s just getting started. Thanks for following the experience!

Cheers,

Darrell Morrison

This Week’s Banff Trivia:

 

Geologists report that the Rocky Mountains that make up Banff National Park are 45 to 120 million years old. In just the national park alone, one can find more than 1,000 glaciers — but only if they wear really, really rugged hiking boots!

Italian Lime Plaster Interior In Banff, Alberta

By on November 12, 2010 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Carrara Marmorino, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Tadelakt full interiors, Textured Plaster

Early last Monday afternoon, I drove past a sign reading “Welcome to Banff, Alberta.”

Over the next three months, I’ll be working on an amazing, extremely customized home that backs onto Banff’s beautiful Bow River.

Along with everything else that blows me away about this house is the fact that I think it has the most stunning millwork I’ve ever encountered anywhere. Entering this amazing home felt like I’d just walked into some mind-blowing 5-star hotel in, well… Banff.

To add to the dramatic millwork and scenic setting, I’ll be using rich, deep earth-tone colours that complement the amazing nature all around us here in these legendary mountains. The plaster will be a 4-coat slightly-pitted Intonachino lime plaster finish.

The Canadian Rockies, where Banff is found, is known for its stone, exposed rockface, forests, and generally rugged terrain. I think this Italian lime plaster will really rock the Rockies, and it’ll be a commanding, dramatic feature in this impressive home as it stretches throughout the place, on all three levels.

I know this mountain town will be an amazing and inspiring place to work during the winter months. Come spring, if the owner converts the place into a “mountain stronghold,” it’ll be a beautiful place to hole up and easily forget about the rest of the world.

 

Banff is the highest town in Canada, sitting at an elevation of more than 4,500 feet (about 1,380 metres), nestled in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It was declared Canada’s first national park in 1885, and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a protected area of more than 7,700 square miles.

The Bow River, which this home backs onto, originates from the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake. It flows for 587 kilometres, joins with the Oldman River to become the larger South Saskatchewan River, and eventually spills into Canada’s famous Hudson’s Bay, halfway across the country.

CATEGORIES

Contact

Office:: 604.628.7855 | Direct:: 604.779.4233 | 9am to 5pm Monday – Saturday

Name
Email
Message

Thank you! Message sent.
Error! Please re-check that all fields are complete.
©Copyright 2019 Decorative Paint & Plaster Concepts Inc.