venetian plaster is a generic term for many types of plasters with varying grit and composition from shiny to dull, ultra smooth to stucco rough. Most popular is marmorino although veneciano (the smooth one) is also common. The marmorino is more subtle and natural looking, very durable and forgiving vs. the veneciano can require alot of burnishing (polishing). Alot of synthetics are on the market from Home depot and lowes, but of late you can get pro-products via the internet with superior results and durability. They may cost more but are worth it. I like Vero-Rialto products based out of LA, great customer service, they even make a sample for you. The anaglyptic papers are great for ceilings. I paint them silver and do a wash over them. Hope this helps.I've been doing it for like 15 yrs. Good Luck!

You can try Easysand in a longer drying time for decorative finishes. It hardens in ~120 minutes and can be mixed rather stiff if required. If you want a harder surface Durabond is very hard, but has similar grades to Easysand. Plaster by itself hardens to quickly, so either a lot of retarder needs to be used or lime putty mixed in. The problem with decorating with regular drywall mud is that any layer more than about 1/16 inch thick tends to crack during drying as it shrinks. This makes decorative work look like hell, and is very hard to go back over and repair to get a decent looking finish. Cracking even shows up in finishing walls on seams and nail dents, but the next coat fills in and is thinner so the problem gradually goes away by the third coat. I have made both run in place and run on the bench plaster molding for repairs. It uses gaging plaster and lime putty. It tends to have a little more plaster than the typical wall mixture (called a Ârich mix) for a faster set and better handling (sharper edges). If you live near a large city you should be able to find gaging plaster and lime. It makes a durable wall finish either smooth or decorated.

LOL ok i'm finally recovered from the weekend, which ended up being a total of three parties...sheesh we're too social. And the 500 was at our business office heh heh I think we'd have to stack them in our kitchen if we tried for that many. OK Venetian plaster 101 Iggy style....First, it's ok to be used as a kitchen surface, but I highly recommend that you do a final two coats of paste wax (this will allow you to be able to wash the walls easily...I'd actually like to see the commercial quality wax used, verses standard paste wax, but that's up to you). Ok, so for use of real (made with marble dust) venetian plaster, yes it's a great surface for kitchens. It's relatively easy to apply, but I'd suggest you practice on some spare drywalll to get your technique down. On the artsparx website there are great instructions, and be sure to invest in a couple of good plaster knifes. I don't like the larger ones myself, but instead prefer about a six inch flexible with rounded edges. Apply the plaster slowly and with great care to get a really thin later on A good first plaster layer will show lots of wall board. You should be on coat 3 before you don't see white anymore if you're doing it right. Burnish and sand between layers (after totally dry) if you end up with any bubbles or cracks (this is what happens if you have an area that gets too thick). It takes some time to finish a VP room, but when finished you won't regret the time spent. The walls will feel like silk, and you'll constantly see guests petting them (they do in my powder room all the time). You could go one step further and do a marmarmino finish if your walls are going to be close to any moisture areas (ie not protected with a backsplash in water areas). Marmarino is suitable for bathrooms and kitchens. The difference between it and VP is only that it has lime in the mixture, which repels future mold growth. It's overkill in most kitchens, but worth mentioning. I personally was using just VP in my kitchen and saving the marmarino for the bathrooms. Now onto Valspar and similar products. They're made with sillica, not marble or lime. Frankly after using the real stuff, I'd never use fake VP again. The finish is not as nice, very dull, no luster, and it's hard to apply. It gets dry on you in seconds (this is really hard to deal with when plastering). I practiced with it twice and hate it, really just hate it. Applying real VP is a moderate skill, applying that crap is an advanced skill. There are a few folks who sell VP, but I do like both the price, and the quality of the stuff on artsparx. They shipped mine up on a pallet (I was doing a whole house) and were very accomidating given my difficult location. A year later and it's still in great condition (meaning it hasn't dried up in the can which your other products will often do). Their custom color mixes are great (they'll match anything, or you can order a wheel and pick your own). And the price is quite reasonable. Don't underestimate the work involved. You need to commit to doing layers and layers of plaster, applied by hand (you get good muscles heh heh) and then sand, burnish and check every inch between coats for a quality finish. But it's not brain surgery. Slow, thin and patient and you'll have a gorgeous wall.

I think you are not wrong in thinking about light colour for the VP We are still waiting for this phase - we are in the middle of the building our new house, we pretty much positive on going with VP - it’s a big difference in cost and I do like this modern concrete look. I am thinking about the light grey colour very similar to the tiles that I have posted here earlier- almost like a Cloud Grey. The rest of my walls will be lighter - we have selected Dusty Mist by SW for the most of our house- I like those airy light colours a bit on the cooler side