Classico vs. Licetto — which matte finish is right for your room?

Quick answer

Classico is our chalk-based paint: the deepest, most powdery matte in the range, made for rooms where the finish leads. Licetto is our washable matte: flat, uniform, and built to be wiped clean without ever turning shiny. Choose Classico for atmosphere in quiet rooms; choose Licetto wherever life happens against the walls.

What each one is

Classico is our chalk-based paint, with a 97% mineral base, natural pigments, and low VOCs. The chalk gives it a soft, powdery depth that swallows light rather than reflecting it. It covers interior walls, ceilings, furniture, and cabinetry, and comes in 200+ naturally pigmented colours.

Licetto is our washable matte paint, formulated for the rooms that get lived in hardest: hallways, kitchens, children’s rooms, bathrooms. The washability is built into the paint itself, so there is no topcoat, no sealer, no extra step. Zero solvents and VOCs, in 200+ colours.

Both are matte. The difference is what each one is optimized for: Classico for the richest possible surface, Licetto for a surface that keeps its composure under damp cloths and handprints.

Key differences

Visual outcome

Classico gives a wall the quality of soft pastel or unfired clay. The chalk absorbs light completely, so colours sit deep and grounded, with a velvety stillness that makes a bedroom or dining room feel settled. Brush application adds a faint artisan quality; a roller lays it flatter. It is the finish for rooms where the wall itself sets the mood.

Licetto is calm in a different way: precise, even, and quiet. Colour runs uniformly from corner to corner with no texture or movement, a clean contemporary surface that lets furniture, art, and light take the lead. Its distinguishing trait only appears over time: wipe away a handprint and the wall stays perfectly matte, where most washable paints leave a telltale patch of sheen.

Durability and washability

This is where the two part ways. Licetto is resistant to dirt, moisture, scratches, scuffs, and stains straight out of the tin, and becomes water-repellent and fully washable two weeks after the final coat. A damp cloth and mild soap handle most household marks. Classico is water-durable but not built for repeated wiping: spot-clean gently, and for hallways, kitchens, or children’s rooms, either add a protective topcoat or choose Licetto from the start. On furniture, Classico takes a wax or varnish topcoat to protect the chalk surface.

Room suitability

Classico belongs in the calm rooms: bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, studies, plus furniture and cabinetry projects. Licetto belongs in the busy ones: hallways, staircases, kitchens, children’s rooms, family spaces, home offices, and commercial settings. Bathrooms are Licetto territory; it handles humid conditions without a sealer, while Classico needs sealing anywhere near moisture. Neither is an exterior product, and neither offers texture; for that, look at Fresco or Marrakech Walls.

DIY difficulty

Both are genuinely beginner-friendly, which makes this the easiest choice in the range to get right. Each applies by brush or roller in two coats with no special tools or technique. The only discipline Licetto asks for is patience: treat the surface gently during its two-week cure before the washability fully activates.

Which one should you choose?

• A bedroom, dining room, or study where depth of colour leads → Classico
• A hallway, kitchen, or children’s room → Licetto
• A bathroom, without adding a sealer → Licetto
• Furniture or cabinetry with a chalky, heritage character → Classico, with a wax or varnish topcoat
• Walls that must survive pets, kids, and cleaning → Licetto
• The flattest, most powdery matte possible → Classico
• Ceiling → Classico
• Organic texture or mineral movement → neither; look at Fresco or Marrakech Walls