Plaster Is Here to Stay — Here’s Why Designers Are Using It Everywhere

If you've been scrolling design accounts lately, you've noticed it. That soft, textured, lived-in look on walls that makes a room feel like it's been there for a hundred years. That's plaster. And whether you're seeing it as a limewash finish in a kitchen or a hand-troweled Venetian plaster in a dining room — it's everywhere right now, and for very good reason.

Here's the thing, though. Plaster isn't a trend. It's actually one of the oldest wall finishes in the world, and it's making a major comeback because people are finally realizing that a wall can do more than just be a backdrop. It can set the entire mood of a room.

We've been using plaster finishes in our projects for a while now, and every single time, it's the detail clients can't stop talking about. The dining room in our Lookout project, the range hood in Rustic Refined, the dark roman clay study in Cowboy Cool — plaster has become one of our go-to moves for adding warmth and depth without adding visual noise.

So let's talk about what plaster actually is, why it's worth the investment, and where we think it's headed next.

Portola Paints Piano Room Limewash featured in The Lookout Project | Photo: Ashley Sullivan Photography

Limewash vs. Venetian Plaster — What's the Difference?

These two get lumped together a lot, but they're different products with different applications.

Limewash is a paint made from slaked lime. It's thinner, easier to apply, and gives your walls a soft, chalky, almost suede-like finish with beautiful natural variation. The color shifts subtly depending on the light, which is part of the magic. It's a great entry point if you're plaster-curious but not ready for a full commitment. One of our favorite sources is Portola Paints — their limewash formula lets the lime gently bloom on the wall, creating movement and depth that you just cannot get from a flat latex paint. The color we used in The Lookout? Piano Room by Portola. It's this warm, earthy greige that reads differently in every room depending on the light. If you're exploring limewash colors, Portola's sample jars are a great place to start.

Venetian plaster is the real deal — a true lime-based plaster that's applied in multiple thin layers with a trowel and then burnished to create a smooth, polished finish with incredible depth. It's thicker, more labor-intensive, and the result is a wall that almost glows. Think old European villas. That luminous quality comes from the lime reacting with carbon dioxide in the air as it cures, essentially turning back into limestone over time. It's a living finish.

Roman clay falls somewhere in between. It's applied with a trowel like Venetian plaster but has a softer, more matte finish. We used a dark roman clay in the study of our Cowboy Cool project, and it gave the room this moody, enveloping quality that paint alone could never achieve.

Roman Clay featured in Project Cowboy Cool | Photo: Ashley Sullivan Photography

Why Plaster Is More Than Just a Pretty Wall

Here's where it gets interesting — and where plaster really separates itself from paint.

It's naturally antimicrobial and antifungal. True lime-based plaster has a high pH level that makes it inhospitable to mold, mildew, and bacteria. In a world where we're paying more attention to what's in our homes and how our spaces affect our health, this matters. If you've ever dealt with mold in a bathroom or a musty closet, you know.

It contains zero VOCs. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds — those are the chemicals in conventional paints that off-gas into your air for years after application. We're talking formaldehyde, benzene, acetone. Plaster doesn't have any of that. For families with allergies, asthma, or chemical sensitivities, switching from synthetic paint to a natural lime finish can be one of the most impactful changes you make in your home.

It actually purifies your air. This is the one that surprises people. As lime plaster cures — a process that continues slowly for years — it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and locks it into the wall. It also regulates humidity naturally, keeping your indoor levels in that sweet spot between 40 and 60 percent where mold and viruses struggle to survive. Your walls are literally working for you.

It's part of the healthy home movement. You may have heard terms like "building wellness" or "green building" — the idea that the materials in your home should support your health, not compromise it. Plaster fits squarely into that conversation. Low-toxicity, breathable, naturally resistant to the things that make indoor air quality poor. It's one of those rare cases where the most beautiful option also happens to be the healthiest one.

Plaster Range Hood in Project Rustic Refined | Photo: Ashley Sullivan Photography

Where to Use Plaster Walls in Your Home

The short answer? Almost anywhere. We've seen it — and used it — in kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, primary bathrooms, and bedrooms. It works beautifully as an accent wall or as a full-room treatment. Designers like Amber Lewis have made plaster practically a signature, using it throughout kitchens, living spaces, and bathrooms to create that layered, collected, old-world feel that so many homeowners are drawn to right now.

Plaster pairs especially well with wallpaper, too. That might sound counterintuitive, but a plastered wall next to a beautifully papered wall creates this interplay of texture that feels rich and intentional without being overdone. Both finishes have made a strong comeback, and they complement each other better than you'd expect.

And in wet areas — bathrooms especially — plaster makes a lot of sense. That antimicrobial, antifungal quality we talked about? It's doing real work in a humid environment, absorbing excess moisture and helping keep your walls healthy.

Dekton by Cosentino in Albarium featured in Project Black Oak | Photo: Emily Hart Photography

The Next Chapter: Waterproof Plaster in Showers

This is where we get really excited. One thing we're about to try is putting waterproof plaster directly in our showers — and we think it could be the next zellige.

The technique is called tadelakt. It's a traditional Moroccan waterproof lime plaster that's applied in layers, compressed, polished, and then sealed with olive oil soap and beeswax. The result is a seamless, waterproof surface with this incredible organic depth. No grout lines. No tile edges. Just one continuous, sculptural wall that feels like it belongs in a centuries-old hammam.

Tadelakt requires a skilled artisan — it's not a DIY weekend project — but the payoff is a shower that looks and feels completely different from anything tile can offer. And beyond the beauty of it, you never have to worry about scrubbing grout again. That alone is worth the conversation.

We've already been moving in this direction. In our Black Oak project, we used Cosentino Dekton in a finish that replicates the look of plaster for the shower walls — that same soft, luminous quality but in an ultra-durable, zero-maintenance surface. It's a great option if you love the plaster aesthetic but want something practically bulletproof in a wet environment. Large-format slabs, minimal seams, no grout to speak of.

Whether you go with true tadelakt or a plaster-look surface like Dekton, the point is the same: the bathroom is catching up to the rest of the house when it comes to texture, warmth, and character.

Roman Clay featured in Project Plaid | Photo: Ashley Sullivan Photography

Plaster Is the Future — Whether You're Ready or Not

I'll be honest with you. If you think plaster isn't for you, it's coming anyway. And I say that with love — and with a little Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada energy. The design world has moved past the era of flat, lifeless walls. Texture is everything now, and plaster is the most timeless, most beautiful, most health-conscious way to get there.

It's not about being trendy. It's about choosing a material that has literally been around for thousands of years because it works — for your walls, for your air quality, for the feeling of your home. That's the kind of design decision that ages well.

If plaster has been on your radar — or if this is the first time you're really considering it — we'd love to talk about how it could work in your space. Whether it's a limewash accent wall, a full Venetian plaster dining room, or a waterproof plaster shower that makes you never want to leave, we're here for all of it.

Book a consultation and let's figure out which walls in your home deserve to do more. We have a feeling you're going to love this one.