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Hawk-n-Trowel - Hawk & Trowel - Index

32 ◆ www.Hawk-n-Trowel.com ◆ Spring 2008
◆ The Last Lath
Walls of Steel
The earthy glow of Venetian plaster
might seem out of place in a kitchen
full of sleek steel appliances and bold
red cabinets, but for artisan Kevin Walsh,
owner of Walsh Decorative Finishes in
Sarasota, Fla., that was just part of the
challenge.
Th e clients were looking for a brushedsteel
look that would complement their
stainless steel appliances. Walsh’s job was
to make sure the fi nish colors were cool and
neutral so as not to compete with the warm
red of the cabinetry. To accomplish that, he
turned to FirmoLux, an American importer
of Italian plasters, and its Grasso di Calce
plaster.
Grasso di Calce, also known as
Grassello Veneziano, consists of 98 percent
natural materials, including lime and
marble, and is hand-applied over primer
in two or three coats. To get the look of
brushed steel, Walsh used three coats of
Grasso di Calce, layering grays under a top
coat of white.
“Because the Grassello provides such
translucence, I lay in my darkest values fi rst
and then add lighter values,” he says “I like
showing some depth.” After burnishing
the plaster for a soft shine, Walsh applied a
fi nal wax coat.
Walsh says the most exciting part of
the project was how easy it was using the
FirmoLux plaster. Having tried many other
plasters, most of them synthetic, Walsh
found that the natural lime plaster was
easier to work with and produced a more
natural fi nish.
✆ (941) 915-8749
˛ www.walshwalls.com