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Finishes · No. 01 of 11

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.

Architectural finishes26 colours

Plate 01Roman Clay, the surface up close
Plate 02Detail 1
Plate 03Detail 2
Plate 04Bone
Plate 05Adobe
01

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.

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

02

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.

03

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.

Pigment being folded into lime putty, seen from above
Plate 06Pigment folded into lime putty, mixed by hand

“Every colour is mixed here rather than bought off a card.”

The colour range

Roman Clay in 26 colours

Rendered, not photographed · indicative only

Whites & lime4

BoneWarm off-white; the one most people mean by “plaster”#E6DFD1
Plaster WhiteThe palest we mix; still not a white paint#EFEAE0
ParchmentFaintly yellow, like old paper#E9E1CE
Salt FlatThe one cool white in the clay range#E8E8E2

Sands & clays6

OatSoft and dry, good in north light#DDD1BC
Raw SilkBarely there, with a gold cast in the afternoon#D5C6AE
LinenCooler than Oat, and calmer#DED4C4
AdobeThe colour of a sunlit garden wall#C2A88C
DuneMid sand; the safest warm wall in the range#CDB89A
CamelMid sand, more yellow in it than Dune#C9B393

Blush & rose2

Blush ClayPink held back by the clay; reads neutral by day#DCC4B8
Terracotta RoseDusty rose with the earth still showing#C29A8C

Earth & rust5

TobaccoDeep enough to read as a material, not a paint#9D8366
SiennaBurnt orange held back by the lime#A97C58
RustOxide red; strong in a small room#96604A
UmberDark, matte and enveloping#6E5A44
CocoaMilk-chocolate brown, completely matte#7E6752

Greens3

BayGrey-green, almost neutral#8C927C
CypressDeep and dusty, not a forest green#5F6B57
Olive ClayWarmer than Bay; sits well under brass#8F8C6E

Blues2

Denim ClayGrey-blue, the only cool wall in this finish#7E8794
Slate ClayPale grey-blue; only just cool#9BA2AA

Greys & stone2

Ash ClayThe cool end; pairs with concrete#B4ADA2
FlintDarker than Ash Clay and still warm#9A958D

Deeps2

PeatNearly black, still warm#4A3F33
Bitter ChocolateThe 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, so 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

Clay & CalmRoman Clay Feature WallClay & CalmThe Dark HouseLiving Room & Feature WallThe Dark HouseNysa BotanicaFloral Studio & Plant ShopNysa BotanicaAsado GauchoRestaurant & CateringAsado Gaucho

The other finishes

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

Ask about Roman Clay →