Can Venetian plaster be used in a bathroom?

In short, the answer here is yes. However there are some factors to consider before considering the suitability for your Venetian plaster bathroom. Perhaps you don’t like the repetitive pattern of a tile, or even the grout lines between areas of a stone finish. And let’s face it, even the best paints can look very drab and flat. This its where Venetian Plaster in your bathroom could be just what you are looking for.

That’s not to say that all Venetian plaster will be suitable in a wet room, however Venetian plaster can work great in a bathroom environment. The best thing bro do would be to speak to your Venetian Plastering specialist. Hikitia Surface Design are experts in this field who will be happy to listen to your vision and will advise how to obtain the desired finish.

Not only does Venetian plaster look fantastic in a bathroom, but it also has many great benefits when used in this environment. The material’s high lime content means that it’s antimicrobial, fighting off any areas prone to mould and bacteria growth. It also helps to regulate moisture levels in the air (within reason).

Venetian plaster in your bathroom can give that seamless look. If grout lines aren’t your bag, then this may be just the material for you, also meaning that this is a lower maintenance product.

Can Venetian plaster be used in wet areas?

Over the past few years, we have seen Venetian plaster wet rooms and wet areas cropping up left, right and centre..

New technologies in product development mean that protective top coats are becoming more and more protective. Some of these protectants absorb into the actual product with their nano-technology and yes to a certain degree we will confirm that this gives some “water resistance” to the Venetian plaster being used.

However as we mentioned earlier, we are dealing with a very high lime content. What lime is super efficient at is absorbing water. In our experience of seeing Venetian plaster in wet area applications, this has always lead to problems further down the line. In our humble opinion, Venetian plaster is not the product for you if you are looking to use it in your wet room.

What is the best plaster for wet areas?

So if Venetian plaster isn’t suitable for your wet area, then what is? Luckily there are solutions to this problem, however there are some factors to consider. A material that has been developed with wet areas in mind, is microcement. Microcement gives a fairly similar appearance to Marmorino.

The difference with microcement is that it’s a whole system comprising of multiple layers that eventually builds up to give a seamless, completely waterproof finish. When weighing up the pros and cons of a Venetian plaster bathroom, as you can imagine, there is a considerable difference in material costs and the labour intensity, which leads us to our next question.

Is a venetian plaster bathroom expensive?

When you look at all the benefits that you get from choosing a Venetian plaster bathroom, it’s tough to even compare. When you take into consideration the combined cost of labour and materials, Venetian plaster in a bathroom normally works out cheaper than most tile options, and most certainly all stone options. Sure, it could work out cheaper to paint, but it’s worth mentioning that Venetian plaster won’t need a fresh lick of paint every year.

As we mentioned earlier with the microcement, there is a considerable price difference between microcement and Venetian plaster, expect to pay around 50% more than a Marmorino finish (just to give you a rough idea) but it’s completely different in its characteristics.

Please feel free to give you Venetian plaster experts a call for any further advice needed in this field. Hikitia have been installing Venetian plaster for over 20 years and we are always happy to help.