In Renaissance Venice, traders from around the world gathered to poor over rugs, silks, carvings, and spices. These collectible and luxurious items were often displayed against a backdrop of ancient terracotta colored plaster, thereby contrasting the rich look of these exotics with the simple wall backdrop. An ancient-looking plaster wall has simple elegance and can add light and drama to any room.
Venetian and Textured Red Wall Finishes
![venetian plaster](photos/med-460w-250h/plaster-venetian-dark-room-blue-ceiling-128.jpg)
Recreation of an Italian Wall
This finish was created using a joint compound base over plain white wall, which was saturated several times with a terracotta water-based paint (thinned). Allowed to dry, and glazed with an raw umber top coat, which was allowed to dry thoroughly. It was sanded to expose a bit of the joint compound. For more distressing, you can put a bit of wax on the joint compound before applying the finish, and knock it off afterwards, for the look of a truly aged wall.
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Appearance is Highly Dependent on Tools and Plaster Mix
A Venetian plaster effect is created by using real plaster (or a mix with joint compound) on top of your regular wall. The wall is first painted with a base coat (normally a yellow cream) and then topped with untextured plaster. The plaster can be aged further, with "faux cracks" and holes. In addition, the plaster may be left unpainted, or tinted, with a diluted paint top coat. For mid-size or larger rooms, we highly recommend a terracotta plaster coloring applied only below the wainscoating.
![Venetian Plaster Bedroom](photos/med-460w-250h/plaster-venetian-3rd-fl-bedroom-after-109.jpg)
Venetian Plaster Bedroom
Burnished Venetian plaster finishes are available. With those finishes, the final plaster layer is steel-wooled and trowel-burnished, for a glowing finish that still reflects the textural interest made possible only by plaster.
![Terracotta Glazes with Venetian Plaster Finished Rooms](photos/med-460w-250h/ceiling-medallion-terracotta-glazed-001.jpg)
Terracotta Glazes
With terracotta walls, a matching glaze can be lightly applied to other architectura ornament such as this inexpensive medallion.
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![Crackled Glazes for Pompeian Style Rooms](photos/med-460w-250h/crackled-faux-finish-104.jpg)
Trimwork for Venetian Plaster Walls
With terracotta walls, a crackled glaze can be used for Pompeian style decor. Your baseboard should be painted with a light base coat, and a crackling glaze applied. The latex top coat can be in red color to match your walls. A thin crackling glaze coat will result in crackles as shown. A variety of glazes are available, some with faint crackles, and others more prominent.