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Plaster Wall Ideas for the Kitchen

As the kitchen remodel progresses, there is a steady stream of decisions that need to be made. One of those decisions is what to do on the walls. Two things are for sure: 1) I have very little wall space in there, and 2) I want something neutral. After thinking it over for awhile, I’m pretty certain that plaster is the direction that I want to go. I went searching for plaster wall ideas for the kitchen and, of course, that means….Pinterest.

Before we get started, let’s talk about what I mean when I say “plaster”. Most often, people probably think of lime plaster. This is the stuff they’ve been using since ancient times….as in BC. Builders used it to cover stone or brick walls, and later it was used with wood slats and called lath and plaster walls. Usually the first coat (the “scratch coat”) of lime plaster is applied with a trowel. After that dries, a smoother “finish coat” is applied.

Some of the pros of lime plaster walls are:

They are a natural fungicide, so mold won’t grow on them.

They are very hard and durable.

Lime plasters can result in really beautiful finishes.

Some of the cons of using lime plaster are:

It would be a difficult DIY job and most people would need to hire an experienced plasterer.

The material is caustic and can burn.

There are other types of plaster, and nowadays there are even some water-based plasters that do a pretty good job of mimicking the old lime-based ones, but without the chance of chemical burns.?

Here are some of the plaster wall ideas and inspiration that I found:

 

Plaster wall finishes typically have an old-world, European, or historic feel to them. That’s the reason I’m drawn to them!

I’ve done a few (water-based) plaster finishes in my house. In the living room, I chose to do a finish that would mimic an old, crumbly plaster wall. In fact, two older relatives thought that the walls weren’t finished when they first saw them. One of them asked me if it was the first coat (it was actually about the 5th coat!). The other one asked me if I had stripped off wallpaper! ? To each his own, right?!

Here’s a part of the living room wall…..

plaster wall finish

I did another plaster in the entryway. This one has a raised stencil and some crackling…..

stenciled plaster wall finish

And a close-up of the entryway plaster…..

stenciled wall plaster

My most recent plaster finish is in my daughter’s room….

aged blush plaster finish

I bought a few types of water-based plasters from Faux Effects. I’m been experimenting with them to try to come up with a finish that will resemble an old-world type plaster. Hopefully, I will end up with a wall finish that is neutral, but not flat and boring.

What do you think about plaster walls?

In case you missed it, here’s part 1 of the kitchen remodel.

And here’s part 2 of the kitchen remodel.

plaster wall finishes pin

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8 Comments

  1. Wow Carrie – I love them all, particularly the finish in your entry – you are very talented and clearly very patient. A beautiful mottled finish will be gorgeous in your kitchen – I can’t wait to see what you end up doing Samantha x

    1. Thanks, Samantha! Hopefully I can come up with a finish that’s fewer than 5 layers this time:)

  2. You are so talented! I love the different finishes you did—especially the one with the raised design!

    Happy weekend friend!

    KariAnne

    1. Thank you, KariAnne! That raised finish was my favorite one to work on, too:) I so appreciate your sweet comment!
      -Carrie

  3. Hello, I love the raised stencil and would love to do something similar in my kitchen. How did you get the darker colors in some areas and lighter in others? was it more of a stain than paint?

    1. Hello! I have taken some painting and refinishing classes with a product line called Faux Effects, which is what I used for the stenciled walls in my entryway. You could get a very similar look by troweling a light layer of joint compound into a thicker stencil (this particular stencil came from Royal Design Studio Stencils). Once dry (and very lightly sanded if needed), place the stencil back over it and apply a clear, water-based sealer or a gel medium. If you don’t apply a sealer, the joint compound will soak up the color you add next and be very dark. After the sealer is dry, you can replace the stencil and add a light color wash with paint or glaze, wiping back any areas you’d like. You can also sand some areas back to get more light spots. Hope this helps!

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