Texture, Texture, Texture…YES Please, And Can I Get That In Clay?

Ask the average person what they visualize when asked about texture for their wall and they either draw a blank, imagine some sort of exterior stucco, ceiling knock-down, or even crazy 70’s wall paper.

But there are some really cool things you can do with your walls (and ceilings!). And if you do it with clay, it’s even good for you.

Recently, Riva’s the Ecostore in Calgary took on a new line of mattresses. The company is called Hästens, they hail out of Sweden, and make the dopest mattresses I’ve ever seen. In any case, Andrew asked me to add some touches to the mattress showroom. So I did.

You’ll notice it’s an exceptionally strong shade of blue, with some white flecks showing through. (The white flecks are actually mica, and they look white in a photo. They actually are reflective…pretty cool.)

About the colour: While we prefer to tint the clay with the natural ocres and mineral pigments that are available through American clay, it is possible to tint the clay with paint tints. In this case, we used zero VOC tints–the same ones used to tint Mythic Paint, a poular brand of super clean paint.

Vibrant colours like these are easy to make, but the applying of this is not for the faint of heart. It dramatically changes the consistency of the clay and how it “lays”. Definitely leave it up to a pro if you want to go this direction.

Tooling

Combs, brushes, hands, hand-tools, organic objects: just about anything can be used to make texture. Here is what I did for the basement floor of Riva’s, also part of the Hästens showroom:

I wont tell you exactly how I did it (trade secret!), but I will say this: it’s MUCH cheaper than concrete!

Here is the wall that is the return to the wall above. Also textured, the tool I used was the trowel itself.

(It’s quite dark in the room, so the overall effect is somewhat lost in this image)

The following two images are walls in a residence in Calgary, AB. This texture is similar to the photos above, but more subtle and muted:

These are just a few of the texture possibilities with clay plaster. Lime plasters offer even more possibilites, but that’s for another post.
If you want something like this for your home of office, call me.
If you want to learn how to do this yourself, call me.
If you want help finding someone in your area who can achieve these finishes, call me!