Our Specialisms
Polished Plaster in Kensington
Kensington's grandest houses were built to impress: tall stucco fronts on Queen's Gate and Kensington Palace Gardens, the brick and stucco of Phillimore Gardens and Campden Hill, Georgian survivals on Kensington Square and Edwardes Square, and red-brick mansion blocks around Kensington Court and Stanhope Gardens. Inside, generous ceiling heights and bay windows give polished plaster room to show what it can do. Choice Finishes applies Venetian plaster, Marmorino, grassello di calce and Tadelakt across the borough for homeowners, architects and interior designers. Explore all our finishes for polished plaster in London.
Finishes: Venetian plaster · Marmorino · Tadelakt · Microcement
Venetian Plaster — Lucido
Finishes for high-ceilinged stucco houses
In a Kensington first-floor drawing room with three-metre-plus ceilings and tall sash windows, the plaster is lit from the side for most of the day. That raking light is what makes a burnished finish come alive, but it also shows any unevenness in the wall beneath. We are specialist plasterers rather than decorators, so we prepare, level and prime the substrate ourselves before the decorative coats go on. Marmorino is often the best choice for large reception walls, as it is more forgiving across big areas, while Lucido works beautifully on a chimney breast or within panelled recesses.
Polished plaster ceilings and bay windows
The project that best shows what polished plaster can do in a building like this is just north of Kensington Gardens. At Lancaster Gate in Bayswater, part of a three-year heritage restoration, we burnished grassello di calce on vaulted ceilings and bay windows to a finish so fine that it reflects the windows opposite. Ceilings are demanding work: everything is overhead and every change in plane shows. But in a Kensington house with curved bays or a domed stairwell lantern, the effect is hard to match with any other material. The full scope of that job, including lime plastering and fibrous restoration, is in our Lancaster Gate case study.
Mansion flats and lateral apartments
Many Kensington homes are now flats within converted houses or purpose-built mansion blocks, where work is subject to managing agents, working hours and shared access. Polished plaster suits these projects well because it is a wet trade with little noise once the preparation is done. We protect common parts and existing joinery, and plan the work room by room so that occupied flats remain usable. In hallways and corridors of lateral apartments, a continuous Marmorino gives a single, quiet surface that links rooms of different sizes.
Bathrooms and dressing rooms
For bathrooms, Tadelakt is our recommendation for showers and wet rooms, as it is the traditional waterproof lime plaster when correctly detailed. Venetian plaster or Marmorino, waxed or sealed, suits dressing rooms, cloakrooms and bathroom walls away from direct water. In every wet area we pay as much attention to the waterproofing behind the finish as to the finish itself.
Working within Kensington's conservation areas
Much of Kensington is listed or within conservation areas. Internal decorative finishes do not usually change a building's character in the way external work can, but in listed buildings the background matters: where original lime plaster survives, we can repair it in lime and advise on a compatible finishing system. Our heritage work in the borough, including stucco and cornice repairs, is described on our Kensington area page.
Polished plaster in Kensington: frequently asked questions
Yes. Curved and vaulted geometry is applied and burnished by hand. At Lancaster Gate, near Kensington Gardens, we applied grassello di calce to vaulted ceilings and bay windows and burnished it to a mirror finish.
Marmorino is often the most practical for large wall areas because it has a softer, satin sheen and is more forgiving across big surfaces. Lucido is more dramatic and suits feature walls and smaller areas. We sample both on site so you can judge them in the room's own light.
Yes. We work to building rules and agreed hours, protect common parts and existing joinery, and sequence the job so that the flat can stay in use where possible.
Get in Touch
Talk to us about your Kensington project
Send us photographs or drawings of the rooms and the finish you have in mind, and we will arrange sampling and a fixed quote. Call 07854 393865 or email choicefinishesltd@gmail.com.