The Venetian Plaster Backsplash

The picture above shows what the Venetian Plaster looks like. I got Valspar (the Lowe's brand), which is not truly Venetian plaster, but a "faux Venetian plaster". As you can see there is some subtle texturing, and even more subtle color variation. I applied 3 layers of the plaster with the venetian plaster spatulas sold at Lowes. It was actually not too difficult, and only used about half a gallon of the plaster. It made for a cheap backsplash, less than $100 altogether. I'm mostly happy with it.

I did not burnish, which would have caused more color variation. I did a trial patch which I burnished, but it looked really terrible. I tried with the plaster tools, sandpaper, and with a stainless steel trowel. Beware using regular stainless steel with the venetian plaster, because it leaves dark marks. I guess that is why the venetian plaster tools are all made from some kind of blue steel. The burnished portion that I tried did not look like any of the pictures of venetian plaster that I have seen, and I'm not sure what I may have done wrong. It looked really streaky and harsh, not at all marble-like.

Valspar makes a protective coat for the plaster, but I did not use it. I bought some, and tested it out. I think it is intended for walls that would not be washed frequently, because when I tried washing the area where I used the Valspar protective coating, the water soaked through the finish and some plaster rubbed off as well. Instead, I used Seal-Krete high gloss Showroom Finish, which is a concrete floor coating. I can wash the wall, and the plaster is not affected. It also made the plaster nice and shiny.

I have had two problems with the plaster. First, a piece chipped off behind the sink. I think perhaps a utensil may have gouged the wall. I tried several times to patch the spot (I have plenty of leftover plaster and seal-krete), but there was no way to make it look nice. It was always an obvious and ugly patch spot. This may be where more variation in color would have been good, because maybe it would be easier to conceal patch spots. Eventually I gave up and we put up a stainless steel backsplash. There is a picture and description of that here: http://uniquekitchenideas.blogspot.com/2011/09/kitchen-overview-east-wall-stainless.html

Below you can see the second problem I have had with the venetian plaster backsplash. There is a bump in the wall. I suspect it is a drywall screw that somehow decided to back out. I've got 2 pictures below, the bottom one is a close-up. I have no idea what to do to fix this. I have already determined that a patch will not work, so I can't chip away at it and put the screw back in. It's also not really in a nice spot to put another stainless backsplash in. It's pretty close to the sink, under the paper towel dispenser. For now, I just put something in front of that spot to hide it.

Update Dec 2014: It has now been a few years, and besides the initial problems mentioned, the backsplash is holding up very well. After the first 2 years, I re-coated with the Seal-Krete high gloss Showroom Finish to keep it protected.

Kitchen Overview - North Wall & The Porcelain Tile

The IKEA cabinets are the Adel Beech variety with low-profile handles that have since been discontinued. The tiles on the countertop are 24" square polished blue porcelain, with matching blue grout in between. The backsplash is created from the Valspar Venetian Plaster, covered with Seal-Krete Hi Gloss Premium Showroom finish.

I love the porcelain. It is so easy to clean. I use Fabuloso Ocean Cool Scent Commercial strength that I purchase from Home Depot. As far as I can tell, that is the only variety of Fabuloso which is food safe. You can use anything to clean the tile, it is indestructible. The grout is more picky. You need to use a pH neutral cleaner for the grout, so that is why I use Fabuloso instead of vinegar to clean. I used to use vinegar for everything, then I found out it not only damages grout, but it can also damage stainless steel. 

I only have one complaint about the tile. There were a few pieces which were defective. If you look at them from a certain angle, you can see a slight pattern of the bottom of the tile which was sitting on top of it while it was stored. It is very faint, and I cannot even get it to show up in a picture. I wish I had cleaned all of the tiles thoroughly and examined them before installation. We had plenty of extra tiles, and I could have trashed the couple that were defective, except I didn't clean the tiles until after installation, so I didn't know the defect was there until it was too late. All in all, the defect is minor, and it is really barely noticeable.

Another great feature of porcelain: you can set hot stuff from the oven right on the counter. There's not really anything you can do to damage porcelain, since it is so strong. I was initially deciding between Corian, granite, stainless steel, and porcelain for the counters. Porcelain tile was by far the least expensive option, especially for a DIY job. The materials cost for the entire counter was about $500. It would have been between $2000-$5000 for the other options. I decided against Corian because I wanted something that could handle hot pans from the oven. Stainless steel is not so easy to keep clean, and it is expensive. Granite would have been my next choice, but it is also expensive. I also didn't like the thought that if something did happen to the granite (however unlikely it may be there is the possibility of cracking or staining), then you have to replace the entire slab. Tile has the downside of grout lines, but then if something happens, you can chip out the tile and replace just that piece.