Venetian plaster, limewash, and Roman clay,
troweled by a 42-year master.
Hand-applied mineral finishes for designers, hotels, and homeowners who want depth a paint roller can't fake. Venetian plaster, limewash, Roman clay, microcement, and Tadelakt, installed across Sarasota and Southwest Florida by Cusimano Construction, a Florida CBC general contractor (CBC 1258403).
These are surfaces, not paint colors.
A specialty wall finish is built up in thin coats and worked by hand, so the wall holds light differently as you move past it: the troweled movement in Venetian plaster, the cloudy wash of limewash, the suede flatness of Roman clay. Most are lime- or cement-based, which makes them breathable. They let a wall release moisture instead of trapping it behind a film, the way standard acrylic paint does. On the coast that breathability decides whether a finish ages well or blisters. Steve Cusimano began hanging and finishing walls at 21, in a prince's palace in Saudi Arabia. Forty-two years later the same standard goes on every wall we touch. The hard truth with these materials is that almost everything that decides the result happens before the finish coat: in the substrate, the lining, the primer, and the hand holding the trowel. That is where we live.
Three families of mineral finish.
Venetian Plaster
Limewash & Roman Clay
Tadelakt & Microcement
What separates a real plaster installer from a painter with a trowel.
One licensed partner preps, builds, and finishes the wall
We hold a Florida CBC general contractor's license (CBC 1258403), so we do more than apply the finish. We correct the substrate, float walls flat, build the niche, and address moisture before a single coat goes on. With most decorative finishers, surface prep is someone else's problem, and the finger-pointing starts when the finish telegraphs a bad wall. Here it is one accountable contract.
42 years of hands behind the trowel
Mineral finishes are a feel craft. Pressure, timing, and how the material is moving in your hand decide the outcome. Steve has been finishing walls since he was 21, starting in a prince's palace in Saudi Arabia. That is four decades of knowing when limewash has set enough to ghost-coat and when Venetian is ready to burnish.
Built for coastal-Florida humidity
Lime and cement finishes are breathable and naturally alkaline, which suits our humidity well. But only if the wall behind them is detailed correctly. We treat moisture, alkalinity, and ventilation as part of the spec, not an afterthought, so a finish in Sarasota performs the way it would in a dry climate.
Substrate-first, every time
Venetian plaster reads every flat-spot and seam under raking light. Tadelakt fails if the substrate moves. We level, lining-skim where needed, and prime for the specific material before we finish. The prep never shows in photos, and it is the entire reason the finish looks the way it does.
We speak designer and we show up with samples
We work to a designer's or architect's intent, not over it. Expect sample boards in your actual light, honest guidance on which finish suits a wet wall versus a feature wall, and a crew that protects the rest of the room. The finish is the headline. The discipline around it is why it lasts.
From sample board to burnished wall.
- 01
Consult & sample boards
We talk through the room, the light, and the use. Then we produce sample boards in the actual material and sheen, so you approve the real finish in the room's own light rather than a photo on a website.
- 02
Substrate assessment & prep plan
We assess the wall: flatness, existing coatings, moisture, and whether it needs floating, lining, or a dedicated primer. For wet areas we confirm the waterproofing strategy before anything decorative is scheduled.
- 03
Surface preparation
The unglamorous step that decides everything. We float walls flat, skim and sand, and prime with the correct base coat for the chosen finish so the material bonds and behaves the way it should.
- 04
Hand application in coats
Two to four hand-troweled or brushed coats depending on the finish, each allowed to set before the next. Venetian gets burnished; limewash gets its wash coats; Tadelakt is compressed and polished with stone.
- 05
Seal, protect & walkthrough
We seal where the finish calls for it, wax or breathable sealer on plaster, soap treatment on Tadelakt. We clean the room and walk the wall with you under the light it will live in. You get care guidance before we leave.
Specialty wall finish questions.
How much does Venetian plaster cost in Sarasota?
Most hand-applied Venetian plaster runs $12 to $25 per square foot installed, with the substrate condition and the number of coats driving where you land. A simple feature wall on good drywall sits at the lower end; a foyer with archways, a deep burnish, and wall correction sits higher. We price per project after seeing the wall, because the prep, not the plaster, is usually the variable.
What's the difference between Venetian plaster, limewash, and Roman clay?
They are three different looks and three different materials. Venetian plaster is a polished lime plaster burnished to a hard, marble-like sheen with real depth. Limewash is a thin, breathable mineral wash that dries soft and cloudy with a chalky matte surface. Roman clay is a clay-and-mineral compound troweled to a suede-flat finish with gentle movement; it installs faster than Venetian, has low odor, and works well on ceilings and large walls.
Can these finishes handle Florida humidity?
Yes. Lime- and cement-based finishes are well suited to humid climates because they breathe and let the wall release moisture instead of trapping it. The failures we see in Florida almost always trace back to the wall behind the finish, not the finish itself: unaddressed moisture, the wrong primer, or a non-breathable coating sealed underneath. We detail the substrate and ventilation as part of the job, which is the part most decorative-only installers skip.
Is Tadelakt or microcement safe for a shower?
Both are used in showers and wet areas, but only over a properly waterproofed substrate. Tadelakt is the traditional Moroccan lime finish, compressed with stone and treated with olive-oil soap so it becomes genuinely water-resistant and seamless, with no grout lines. Microcement is a thin cement-polymer coating that gives a continuous modern concrete look. The waterproofing layer underneath is what makes either one perform, and because we are a licensed GC we install that layer ourselves rather than hoping someone else got it right.
Do you do the wall prep, or just the finish?
Both, under one contract. That is the main reason designers bring us in. As a Florida CBC general contractor (CBC 1258403) we float walls flat, repair or rebuild the substrate, address moisture, build niches, and then apply the finish. With a decorative-only crew, prep is a separate trade and a finger-pointing risk when the finish telegraphs a bad wall. With us it is one accountable scope from substrate to seal.
How long does a specialty finish take to install?
A typical feature wall is a two-to-four-day process, because mineral finishes go on in coats that have to set between passes. A full room or a wet-area Tadelakt install runs longer once you include prep, waterproofing, and cure time. We give you a real schedule after assessing the substrate. Rushing the cure between coats is exactly how these finishes go wrong, so we do not.
Have a wall worth doing properly?
Send us the room, the look you're after, and a photo of the wall. We will come back with the right finish for the space, sample boards in your light, and an honest read on the prep it needs.