Hammam at home
For my work as an interior designer, I have been working for years with the products of Pure & Original. For the shoots for the magazines, I am a major consumer of Fresco and Marrakech Walls, which I prefer to apply myself with a block brush and trowel. So you can safely say that I am a big fan, because who would not want walls that come to life with a lick of paint?!
Bathroom makeover with Marrakech Walls in colour Ashes
Since the renovation in 2014 at our house in Amsterdam, all walls have been plastered white, and therefore I'm somewhat reluctant to applying synthetic paint or wallpaper.
Something I hadn't been bothered by before when I was still experimenting with colour and paint. I find our bathroom sterile in compare with the rest of the house. I've always dreamed of an Oriental bathroom in Hammam style with Tadelakt walls, but during the renovation, we went with Scandinavian white clean, clear lines. The only colour accent is the floor of cement tiles with oriental patterns. All those white-tiled and plastered walls remain cold to the touch while bathing. Admittedly, a candle helps, but it doesn't make you feel completely relaxed. So it's time for a small adjustment with a grand effect: Marrakech Walls on the walls as an attractive counterpart to all that white!
Step 1: Finding the right colour
Of course, I first started looking for the right tone with the Pure & Original colour chart in my hand at the position where I wanted to apply the colour. I chose the light colour Ashes. A cool shade of grey fitting the other shades of grey in the bathroom (sliding door and floor tiles) but also a colour that stands out from the white wall and tiles, without making it too dark in the already small bathroom.
Step 2: Collecting paint and the right tools
After ordering one ltr. WallPrim Pro, 2,5 ltr Marrakech Walls and one ltr. Dead Flat Eco Sealer I got the right tools for the job. I bought a blocking brush, a paint tray with small fur rollers. Rolls of masking tape, universal degreaser and a brush with long fine bristles.
Step 3 & 4: Degreasing the wall and masking up
After five years of intensive bathroom usage, I had to clean the walls and used a solution of "Pure & Original Super Cleaner." Let it dry well before moving to the next step; masking the walls and ceilings.
Step 5: Applying WallPrim
The substrate of smooth plastered walls in our bathroom is a suitable base for the Marrakech Walls.
However, because all plastered walls are also absorbent, it is advisable to apply a coat of Wallprim, pre-mixed in the colour Ashes. The primer can easily be applied with a roller, and in our case, it already covered after a single layer, I let it dry for one night.
Step 6: Applying Marrakech Walls
After all this preliminary work, we can finally get started with the paint that it's all about, namely: The magic jar (paint can) Marrakech Walls! So, armed with the blocking brush in one hand, the trowel within reach and on the other hand, the paint tray filled to the brim with this heavy-bodied paint, I can't wait to start the fun part of the job, painting, and plastering with the trowel!
It's the fourth time I've worked with this textured paint, so I know I have to work fast. The idea is that immediately after you have applied a thick layer of paint, you can use the trowel to work with butterfly-like movements as long as it is still wet. Ideally, you do this part of the job with two men and thus four hands, but you can do it solo as well, as long as you keep working fast. Every time I apply the paint generously on a surface of 1.5 square meters, I use a flat brush to paint the edges close to the masking tape.
After less than forty-five minutes of work, the Marrakech Walls got finished, and the effect is already amazing, even though I have chosen a light colour. The darker the paint, the higher the impact. Now I have to wait until the next day to see how the paint has dried up, but I'm already very excited about it and fortunately my husband Daniel is too.
Step 6: Almost ready
The next day the wall has dried up nicely. I'm not going to do anything about it because I think it's perfect as it is. At this stage, you could still lightly sand off the small imperfections, but I'm more of a Wabi-Sabi woman, and so I embrace the minor, perfect imperfections. Now we can take the last step of the job before the masking tape can be taken off.
I use a flat brush to apply the transparent layer of Dead Flat Eco Sealer, which makes the paint layer water-repellent and keeps the paint nicely intact. An absolute must for wet areas like bathrooms and kitchens. (Sometimes multiple layers of sealer are required.)
Step 7: The WOW moment
The transparent layer of sealer has dried up, and it strikes me that the wall still has a beautiful matte look as before. I can only say WOW, how beautiful and atmospheric it has become. From now on we bathe in our hammam at home, because that is the effect it has, the Tadelakt look from the Moroccan bathhouses. Suddenly Marrakech doesn't feel like a distant fairytale city anymore.
Marit Saladini has been working professionally as a stylist and editor in the Dutch media since 2007. Since May 2019 she works as a freelance interior designer for the magazines. Her style can best be described as timeless and refined. She likes to add a subtle ethnic touch to her style, with traditional materials and natural products, such as the Marrakech Walls.
Pictures by Iris Floor