The brief
A single feature wall that had to do the work of a slab of marble without the weight, the joints or the cost of a book-matched stone installation.
The owners loved the look of veined stone but not the idea of a pattern that repeats or a wall broken into panels. They wanted movement that felt geological - and unique to their room.
What we did
Marmorino Classic is a lime and marble-dust plaster that takes a burnish beautifully and it can be veined while it is still workable. We built the field in a pale limestone tone over several coats, then drew the veining through the wet top coat in a single continuous pass - a technique that cannot be paused and restarted, which is precisely why no two metres of the wall repeat.
The veins were pulled diagonally to follow the light from the window, so they catch as you move across the room rather than sitting flat. A final burnish brought the field up to a soft, honed-stone sheen while leaving the veining slightly more matte, which is what gives it depth.
The detail
- Multi-coat marmorino field in a pale limestone tone.
- Veining drawn through the wet top coat in one continuous pass.
- Diagonal vein direction set against the room's natural light.
- Burnished field, matte veining - depth without gloss.
The result
The client has a wall that changes with the light and improves with age. Marmorino is lime and marble, so it breathes with the building, resists mould and takes on a soft patina rather than wearing out, and because it is applied by hand there is nothing to peel, fade or de-laminate. It is finished to be touched, which in this house it is every day.
