Our Specialisms
Polished Plaster in Hampstead
Hampstead's houses span three centuries. There are Georgian terraces on Church Row and Flask Walk, cottages around Holly Walk and Well Walk, large Victorian villas on Fitzjohn's Avenue and Frognal, and Arts & Crafts houses on Redington Road and the streets towards the Heath. Most were built with solid walls and lime, and many are listed or in conservation areas. That makes Hampstead a natural place for polished plaster, because the finishes we use, Marmorino, grassello di calce and Tadelakt, are themselves made from lime. Explore all our finishes for polished plaster in London.
Finishes: Venetian plaster · Marmorino · Tadelakt · Microcement
Venetian Plaster — Lucido
Lime-based finishes for solid walls
Polished plaster is made from slaked lime and finely ground marble, applied in thin coats and compressed with a steel trowel. Unlike acrylic paint or modern gypsum, a lime-based system remains vapour-permeable, which matters in a Hampstead house with solid brick walls that need to breathe. As heritage plasterers we look at the background first. Where original lime plaster survives, we repair it in lime rather than stripping it back. Where it has failed, we can replaster in lime and then apply a polished finish that stays compatible with the wall. In listed buildings we agree the specification with the architect and conservation officer before starting.
Grassello for period ceilings and reception rooms
Grassello di calce is a lime-putty polished plaster burnished to a soft depth, and it is often specified in heritage interiors. At Lancaster Gate in Bayswater, within a three-year heritage restoration that included 4,000m² of traditional lime plaster, we burnished grassello on vaulted ceilings and bay windows to a mirror finish. In a Hampstead Georgian or Victorian house, the same material can be used more quietly, on a reception room alongside restored cornices, or in a stairwell lit from a roof lantern. Read more in our Lancaster Gate case study.
Victorian villas and Arts & Crafts houses
The big villas on Fitzjohn's Avenue and in Belsize Park often have generous halls and wide staircases, where Marmorino makes a calm, durable surface. Arts & Crafts houses on Redington Road and Templewood Avenue tend to favour natural materials, timber and handmade detail, and a satin Marmorino or a hand-worked Spatulata suits that character better than a high-gloss Lucido. In refurbished kitchens and new rear extensions, where the architecture is contemporary, a smoother Venetian finish or microcement can draw the old and new parts of the house together.
Bathrooms, wet rooms and garden studios
Tadelakt is our recommendation for showers and wet rooms. It is a traditional waterproof lime plaster, polished with stones and sealed with soap, and it is well suited to a period house because it shares the same lime chemistry as the walls. For bathroom walls away from direct water, waxed Venetian plaster or Marmorino works well. Many larger Hampstead plots also have garden studios or pool houses, where microcement floors and polished plaster walls give a seamless finish.
Our wider work in Hampstead
Alongside polished plaster, we carry out heritage lime plastering, cornice restoration, rendering and traditional plastering for Hampstead's period homes and their extensions. That means one team can repair the background, restore the mouldings and apply the decorative finish. Our Hampstead area page explains that work in more detail.
Polished plaster in Hampstead: frequently asked questions
Lime-based polished plasters such as Marmorino and grassello are generally compatible with traditional solid walls because they remain breathable. In listed buildings we agree the specification with the architect and conservation officer before work starts.
Often, yes, provided the existing plaster is sound. We assess the background first, repair it in lime where needed, and then apply a compatible polished finish rather than stripping original material unnecessarily.
A satin Marmorino or a hand-worked Spatulata usually sits better with timber and handmade detail than a high-gloss Lucido. We produce samples on site so you can compare them in the room.
Get in Touch
Talk to us about polished plaster in Hampstead
Send us photographs of the rooms, along with the listed status and age of the house if you know them, and we will arrange a site visit and sampling. Call 07854 393865 or email choicefinishesltd@gmail.com.