baaatelier

Architectural finishes

Roman clay walls in Los Angeles

A lime-based clay finish troweled in several thin passes and burnished by hand. Matte, warm, and full of movement — the surface most people mean when they say they want plaster walls.

What it is

Fine lime and marble-dust plaster, tinted through the body rather than painted on the face, applied in two or three passes with a steel trowel. Each pass is burnished while it sets, which is what produces the soft sheen and the tonal drift across a wall.

Where it works

Living rooms, bedrooms, entries and hallways; feature walls and whole interiors. It takes a sealed top coat well enough for kitchens and restaurants, and we specify a harder-wearing sealant where a wall is going to be touched all day.

What to expect

Sample boards in your own light first. Then substrate preparation and priming, base and finish coats, and a protective seal. A feature wall is usually two to four days on site including cure time between coats.

The colour range

Roman Clay in 26 colours

Rendered, not photographed · indicative only

Tinted through the body and burnished by hand. The tone drifts across a wall, which is the point of it.

Whites & lime4

BoneWarm off-white; the one most people mean by “plaster”#E6DFD1
Plaster WhiteThe palest we mix; still not a white paint#EFEAE0
ParchmentFaintly yellow, like old paper#E9E1CE
Salt FlatThe one cool white in the clay range#E8E8E2

Sands & clays6

OatSoft and dry, good in north light#DDD1BC
Raw SilkBarely there, with a gold cast in the afternoon#D5C6AE
LinenCooler than Oat, and calmer#DED4C4
AdobeThe colour of a sunlit garden wall#C2A88C
DuneMid sand; the safest warm wall in the range#CDB89A
CamelMid sand, more yellow in it than Dune#C9B393

Blush & rose2

Blush ClayPink held back by the clay; reads neutral by day#DCC4B8
Terracotta RoseDusty rose with the earth still showing#C29A8C

Earth & rust5

TobaccoDeep enough to read as a material, not a paint#9D8366
SiennaBurnt orange held back by the lime#A97C58
RustOxide red; strong in a small room#96604A
UmberDark, matte and enveloping#6E5A44
CocoaMilk-chocolate brown, completely matte#7E6752

Greens3

BayGrey-green, almost neutral#8C927C
CypressDeep and dusty, not a forest green#5F6B57
Olive ClayWarmer than Bay; sits well under brass#8F8C6E

Blues2

Denim ClayGrey-blue — the only cool wall in this finish#7E8794
Slate ClayPale grey-blue; only just cool#9BA2AA

Greys & stone2

Ash ClayThe cool end; pairs with concrete#B4ADA2
FlintDarker than Ash Clay and still warm#9A958D

Deeps2

PeatNearly black, still warm#4A3F33
Bitter ChocolateThe darkest clay we mix#3F352C

Every colour here is the studio’s own, and every swatch is drawn from its hex value rather than photographed. Screens differ, and so does the light in your room — we make sample boards on site before anything goes on a wall, and that is what the colour is decided from.

Where we have used it

Clay & CalmRoman Clay Feature WallClay & CalmThe Dark HouseLiving Room & Feature WallThe Dark HouseNysa BotanicaFloral Studio & Plant ShopNysa BotanicaAsado GauchoRestaurant & CateringAsado Gaucho

The other finishes

Limewash·Marmorino·Intonaco·Microcement·Tonachino·Béton Ciré·Stone Effect·Venetian Plaster·Tadelakt·Travertine Plaster

Ask about Roman Clay →