Roman clay walls in Los Angeles

A lime-based clay finish troweled in several thin passes and burnished by hand. Matte, warm, and full of movement — the surface most people mean when they say they want plaster walls.

What it is

Fine lime and marble-dust plaster, tinted through the body rather than painted on the face, applied in two or three passes with a steel trowel. Each pass is burnished while it sets, which is what produces the soft sheen and the tonal drift across a wall.

Where it works

Living rooms, bedrooms, entries and hallways; feature walls and whole interiors. It takes a sealed top coat well enough for kitchens and restaurants, and we specify a harder-wearing sealant where a wall is going to be touched all day.

What to expect

Sample boards in your own light first. Then substrate preparation and priming, base and finish coats, and a protective seal. A feature wall is usually two to four days on site including cure time between coats.

The colour range

Roman Clay in 26 colours

Rendered, not photographed · indicative only

Tinted through the body and burnished by hand. The tone drifts across a wall, which is the point of it.

Whites & lime4

**Bone***Warm off-white; the one most people mean by “plaster”*~~#E6DFD1~~

**Plaster White***The palest we mix; still not a white paint*~~#EFEAE0~~

**Parchment***Faintly yellow, like old paper*~~#E9E1CE~~

**Salt Flat***The one cool white in the clay range*~~#E8E8E2~~

Sands & clays6

**Oat***Soft and dry, good in north light*~~#DDD1BC~~

**Raw Silk***Barely there, with a gold cast in the afternoon*~~#D5C6AE~~

**Linen***Cooler than Oat, and calmer*~~#DED4C4~~

**Adobe***The colour of a sunlit garden wall*~~#C2A88C~~

**Dune***Mid sand; the safest warm wall in the range*~~#CDB89A~~

**Camel***Mid sand, more yellow in it than Dune*~~#C9B393~~

Blush & rose2

**Blush Clay***Pink held back by the clay; reads neutral by day*~~#DCC4B8~~

**Terracotta Rose***Dusty rose with the earth still showing*~~#C29A8C~~

Earth & rust5

**Tobacco***Deep enough to read as a material, not a paint*~~#9D8366~~

**Sienna***Burnt orange held back by the lime*~~#A97C58~~

**Rust***Oxide red; strong in a small room*~~#96604A~~

**Umber***Dark, matte and enveloping*~~#6E5A44~~

**Cocoa***Milk-chocolate brown, completely matte*~~#7E6752~~

Greens3

**Bay***Grey-green, almost neutral*~~#8C927C~~

**Cypress***Deep and dusty, not a forest green*~~#5F6B57~~

**Olive Clay***Warmer than Bay; sits well under brass*~~#8F8C6E~~

Blues2

**Denim Clay***Grey-blue — the only cool wall in this finish*~~#7E8794~~

**Slate Clay***Pale grey-blue; only just cool*~~#9BA2AA~~

Greys & stone2

**Ash Clay***The cool end; pairs with concrete*~~#B4ADA2~~

**Flint***Darker than Ash Clay and still warm*~~#9A958D~~

Deeps2

**Peat***Nearly black, still warm*~~#4A3F33~~

**Bitter Chocolate***The darkest clay we mix*~~#3F352C~~

Every colour here is the studio’s own, and every swatch is drawn from its hex value rather than photographed. Screens differ, and so does the light in your room — we make sample boards on site before anything goes on a wall, and that is what the colour is decided from.

Where we have used it

Roman Clay Feature WallClay & Calm

Living Room & Feature WallThe Dark House

Floral Studio & Plant ShopNysa Botanica

Restaurant & CateringAsado Gaucho

The other finishes

Limewash·Marmorino·Intonaco·Microcement·Tonachino·Béton Ciré·Stone Effect·Venetian Plaster·Tadelakt·Travertine Plaster

Ask about Roman Clay →