Specialty design painting
Venetian plaster and faux finishes
Venetian plaster, faux finishes and decorative effects applied by hand.
This is the finish work most painters do not offer. Venetian plaster is slaked lime and marble dust troweled in thin coats and burnished with steel until it has depth and a soft sheen. Faux finishing is paint made to read as another material, like aged bronze or a glaze settled into carved detail. Both are specified in exactly the houses we work in most.
[[ NEEDS: photos of real plaster work, shot with raking side light ]]
Venetian plaster
Applied with a steel trowel in two to four thin coats. Each coat overlaps the last, which builds movement. The final coat is compressed and burnished; more burnishing gives a polished, marble-like surface. It only reads properly under side light.
Faux finishing
- Glazing on cabinets and millwork
- Aged metallic and bronze effects
- Color washing and soft layered walls
- Wood graining on doors and trim
Where plaster suits, and where it does not
Entries, stair halls, powder rooms, fireplace surrounds, ceilings and range hoods suit it. High-impact hallway walls and wet areas without the right sealer do not. We will tell you if a wall is the wrong place for it.
What does it cost?
Plaster is priced per square foot and depends on coats, sheen and access. [[ NEEDS: price per square foot in North County ]]
Do you do limewash or Roman clay?
[[ NEEDS: confirm limewash or German smear ]]
Backed by our workmanship guarantee · CSLB Lic. #1057752
Free estimate
Get your free estimate
Tell us about the project and Jovanni will call you within one business day. Rather talk now? We are open 24 hours.
- Phone and text
- (760) 852-7398
- [email protected]
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, 7 days
- Based in
- San Marcos, CA. Serving North County San Diego.
- Licence
- CSLB Lic. #1057752
- Follow the work

