Gretchen Overman Designs - Telling YOUR STORY

TAMING OF THE WILD!

Santa Fe, New Mexico
PRIVATE RESIDENCE

This was a project of taming some very wild, structolite plaster walls. The plaster hue was too pink for my clients, and the texture too rough. Rather than paint over the plaster, I decided to wash over it with something resembling a traditional lime wash over adobe. Plaster has the feel of adobe... very earthy and solid, so a finish that looks like lime wash seemed a perfect solution. I custom-mixed a wash made of paint tinted to match the mid-tone of the plaster, diluting it with Okon, which is the typical sealer used on plaster walls. It was the semi-transparent and artistic application of this wash that allowed the beauty of the plaster to remain, while taming the wild pattern and color scheme.

RED WALLS! WHAT TO DO?

Aside from the rough plaster walls, my clients also disliked the previously deep red foyer walls and fireplace, which were done in Venetian Plaster. I chose an earthy taupe Venetian Plaster, (shown in the photos above and below), and covered the previous red hue. I enjoy applying Venetian Plaster, because the finish involves using a trowel! It's satisfying and rigorous upper-body exercise to knock down the plaster while applying the final coat. The finish of the plaster is burnished with a trowel, and then polished with very fine sand paper. As opposed to the old red finish, the new Venetian Plaster tones are soothing, and coordinate with the newly toned-down walls of the rest of the house.

TIP:

The artwork and furnishings of this home are striking enough on their own,
so rather than compete for attention, the new, muted color scheme creates a beautiful backdrop for the homeowners' treasured pieces.

Years of repairing flaws in plaster walls has given me various sets of skills that allow the beauty of the finish to remain while getting rid of any unwanted aspects such as cracks, chips, nail holes, water stains, and just plain old bad texture. This house-wide project had very gratifying results!