Our Specialisms
Polished Plaster in Chelsea
Chelsea interiors are rarely a blank canvas. A Victorian terrace off the King's Road, a Georgian house on Markham Square or Wellington Square, a mews cottage tucked behind Sloane Avenue or a riverside house on Cheyne Walk all come with their own proportions, light and period detail. Choice Finishes applies hand-trowelled Venetian plaster, Marmorino, grassello and Tadelakt that work with those buildings rather than against them, and our polished plaster has already been specified in Chelsea itself, with Marmorino at Daphne's. Explore all our finishes for polished plaster in London.
Finishes: Venetian plaster · Marmorino · Tadelakt · Microcement
Venetian Plaster — Lucido
Polished plaster for Chelsea's terraces and squares
In the tall, narrow terraces between the King's Road and Fulham Road, the staircase is often the heart of the house. A continuous Marmorino finish running from the hall up through four or five floors gives the stairwell a calm, stone-like quality and copes far better with daily knocks than flat emulsion. In the larger Georgian houses around Chelsea Square and Paultons Square, where cornices and ceiling roses survive, we usually recommend a softer satin finish for reception rooms so the plaster sits quietly beneath the original mouldings. Because we also restore cornices and run lime plaster, we can repair the period fabric and finish the walls as one package.
Mews houses and contemporary conversions
Chelsea's mews houses are compact, and many have been rebuilt behind their original fronts with open-plan ground floors and new basements. Here a higher-polish Venetian Lucido on a single feature wall, or a seamless Marmorino across a kitchen and living space, can make a modest footprint feel considered and generous. Where a lower ground floor has been dug out, the plaster is only as good as the waterproofing behind it, so we look at the tanking and the background before we talk about colour.
Bathrooms, showers and riverside homes
For bathrooms we are careful to be specific. Tadelakt, polished with stones and sealed with olive-oil soap, is the traditional waterproof lime plaster and suits showers, wet rooms and bath surrounds when correctly detailed. Venetian plaster and Marmorino are water-resistant once waxed and suit cloakrooms, powder rooms and bathroom walls away from direct water. Microcement is the alternative for seamless floors and wet rooms. Along Chelsea Embankment, where houses face the river and take the full afternoon light, we sample finishes on site so you can judge the sheen against reflected light from the water before committing to a whole room.
A Marmorino finish proven in hospitality
At The Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden we laid a full Marmorino base with a hand-mixed smoky distemper wash for a faded, collected-over-time look. The same approach suits a Chelsea drawing room where a freshly polished wall might feel too crisp beside antiques. See our Ivy Market Grill case study.
How we work in Chelsea
Every project starts with a site visit to assess the substrate, the light and the period detail, followed by on-site samples tinted to your scheme. Our own plasterers prepare, level and prime the walls before the base coats, burnished finishing coats and wax or seal. We give a fixed quote after sampling. Our wider work in the borough, from lime repairs to basement tanking, is on our Chelsea area page, and the full range of finishes is on our polished plaster service page.
Polished plaster in Chelsea: frequently asked questions
Yes. We protect existing cornices, ceiling roses and joinery while we work, and because we also carry out cornice restoration and lime plastering we can repair damaged mouldings before the polished finish is applied. A satin Marmorino often sits more comfortably beneath original plasterwork than a high-gloss Lucido.
It can be, provided the basement waterproofing and the wall background are right first. We look at the tanking build-up and the substrate before recommending a finish, and for lower-ground bathrooms we would usually suggest Tadelakt or microcement in the wet zones.
No. We also work with architects, main contractors and homeowners directly. We can match colours to a designer's samples or help you choose a finish and tone on site.
Get in Touch
Planning polished plaster in Chelsea?
Send us photographs, drawings or a design brief and tell us which rooms you have in mind. We will arrange a site visit and on-site sampling, then provide a fixed quote. Call 07854 393865 or email choicefinishesltd@gmail.com. We typically respond within one business day.