Skip to content
CONMARBLENATURAL FINISHES Book a showroom tour
Home / Materials / Clay Plaster
Demi Rustic clay plaster in Custom Yellow YEL-01 at Villa 515, Dubai
Materials — Clay plaster

Clay plaster for interiors in Riyadh and across the Gulf

Breathable, unfired clay plaster from Clayworks in Cornwall, held in the region and applied by our own artisans across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. Interior walls and ceilings, colour through the body, nothing to off-gas.

Clayworks Cornwall, United Kingdom

Clayworks, from Cornwall to the Gulf

Clayworks makes unfired natural clay plasters in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The clay is blended, coloured and bagged rather than fired, which is why the finished surface stays breathable and carries its colour through the body. The company holds the King's Award for Enterprise 2023.

Conmarble is Clayworks' sole authorised distributor and approved applicator across the Middle East. We hold the range in the region and apply it with our own crews. The artisans are on our payroll and trained on the system, not brought in project by project.

For a specifier that means one party for the whole wall. Material and workmanship sit under a single warranty, so there is no gap between supply and application to argue over when a sample, a substrate condition or a snag needs resolving. One point of contact from mock-up to handover.

clay-works.com →

Why clay

Humidity held steady

Clay takes up moisture when a room is damp and releases it when the air dries, helping hold interiors between 40 and 60% RH. In a Gulf climate, where air conditioning swings a room hard, that buffering keeps wall surfaces and occupants more comfortable.

Colour through the body

The colour is in the clay itself, not a coat sitting on top of it. A knock or a scuff shows the same colour underneath, and repairs blend into the wall rather than patching over it. Clayworks references run from Nude NUD-01 and White WHI-07 to Terracotta TER-03.

Nothing to off-gas

The plasters are mineral and unfired, with no solvents or plastic binders to release into the room after handover. Walls are ready to live with straight away, which matters in bedrooms, clinics, schools and any space that is occupied all day.

Support for green ratings

Clay plaster contributes to WELL, LEED and Mostadam submissions through material health, low emissions and indoor comfort criteria. The documentation library below carries the data sheets your consultant will ask for at submittal stage.

The range

Four classic interior finishes, a wet-area finish, a rammed earth look for interior walls, and a dedicated exterior system. Every one of them is held in the region and applied by our own artisans.

Smooth clay plaster in White WHI-03 at Villa 515, Dubai Smooth clay plaster The quietest of the Clayworks classic finishes. A flat, even mineral surface that reads as depth of colour rather than texture, trowelled tight so the movement sits in the pigment and not in the relief. Demi Rustic clay plaster in Custom Yellow YEL-01 at Villa 515, Dubai Demi Rustic clay plaster The middle register of the Clayworks range: more aggregate and more trowel movement than Smooth, but still a disciplined wall. The marks read as worked material rather than applied texture. Rustic clay plaster at The Makers Barn, English countryside Rustic clay plaster The most open of the three Clayworks classics. Coarse aggregate is left proud and the trowel worked loosely, so the wall carries genuine relief — hand-made at arm's length, texture across a room. Tonal clay plaster in a custom green at the Aesop store, Bordeaux Tonal clay plaster Colour that moves across a wall rather than sitting flat on it. Tonal is graded by hand in a single pass, so the transition is decided on the wall itself, not in the factory. Tadelakt in Williams green at the Penhaligon's boutique, London Tadelakt The finish that goes where clay plaster cannot. Lime and clay, compressed with stone and sealed with olive soap, for bathrooms, hammams and showers across Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. Rammed Earth Finish clay plaster at MUD\WTR Gather, Santa Monica Rammed earth finish A clay plaster laid in compacted bands at 7-10 mm, so an interior wall reads as rammed earth without carrying its weight. Sixteen texture studies sit in the sample library, running cream through ochre to terracotta. Exterior clay plaster on the curved facade of Canvas Events Pavilion, Dubai Exterior clay plaster A dedicated exterior clay system for facades and garden walls — a different product from the interior plasters, not the interior plaster used outside. Exterior Demi-Rustic, Exterior Rustic, and a Tamped Earth custom effect. Custom finishes Twenty-one effects, from hand carved to gold fleck. See them all →

Custom finishes

Custom finishes are the part of the range where texture is designed for a project rather than chosen from a shelf. We start from a drawing, a reference or a material sample, then make control panels on site in the specified Clayworks colour — Nude NUD-01, White WHI-07, Terracotta TER-03 — and adjust depth, direction and grain until the wall reads the way the design intends. Every finish below is for interior walls and ceilings, applied by our own crews.

Clayworks anaglyptic demi rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Anaglyptic Raised relief worked into the clay, echoing embossed Victorian wallcoverings. The pattern reads through shadow and raking light rather than colour. Clayworks arakabe rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Arakabe A Japanese-influenced coat with chopped straw left visible in the surface, giving a matt, fibrous field that reads warm and quiet. Clayworks clay on brick white whi 07 clay plaster sample swatch Clay on Brick Clay skimmed thinly over brickwork so the bond pattern and mortar joints stay legible beneath a soft, even mineral surface. Clayworks coarse rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Coarse Rustic Large aggregate left proud in an open, granular surface. Grit and shadow at close range, a calm even tone across a room. Clayworks corduroy custom white clay plaster sample swatch Corduroy Fine parallel ridges run the height of the wall, catching light in narrow lines and reading as stripe without any colour change. Clayworks corrugated custom white clay plaster sample swatch Corrugated Deeper, regular waves pressed into the clay. A stronger rhythm than corduroy, with real shadow depth over long wall runs. Clayworks fluted custom white clay plaster sample swatch Fluted Rounded vertical channels formed in a thicker clay build, giving classical fluting in a matt mineral surface rather than joinery. Clayworks gold fleck demi rustic custom black clay plaster sample swatch Gold Fleck Fine metallic flecks suspended through the clay body. Restrained in flat daylight, they lift only where light strikes at an angle. Clayworks hand carved demi rustic custom brown clay plaster sample swatch Hand Carved Relief carved into the plaster by hand while it is still workable. Each panel is drawn for the project and never repeats exactly. Clayworks heavy skip tonal smooth custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Heavy Skip Heavily skipped trowel work leaves raised islands over a flatter ground: coarse, irregular texture with strong directional shadow. Clayworks moonscape demi rustic brown bro 01 clay plaster sample swatch Moonscape A cratered field of shallow hollows and ridges. Dramatic under grazing light, close to flat when the room is lit diffusely. Clayworks ombre smooth custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Ombre Colour A gradual shift from one clay colour into another across a wall, blended while wet so no join or banding is visible. Clayworks ombre texture textured custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Ombre Texture One colour throughout, with texture graded from smooth to coarse across the wall so the change reads only in shadow. Clayworks pitted demi rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Pitted Small irregular pocks opened across an otherwise even surface, a quiet texture that adds depth without breaking the wall plane. Clayworks pressed linen nude nud 02 clay plaster sample swatch Pressed Linen The weave of linen pressed into fresh clay, leaving a fine woven grain that softens light across large flat areas. Clayworks pressed timber demi rustic custom colour tsn 16 clay plaster sample swatch Pressed Timber Sawn timber grain and board edges pressed into the clay, holding the memory of shuttering in a mineral surface. Clayworks raked demi rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Raked Combed lines drawn through the surface while soft. Direction, spacing and depth are set for the wall rather than standardised. Clayworks tamped earth custom brown clay plaster sample swatch Tamped Earth Compacted layered courses that recall rammed earth, with faint horizontal lifts and a dry, matt, mineral face. Clayworks thatched rustic grey gry 03 clay plaster sample swatch Thatched Long directional strokes laid in overlapping passes to suggest thatch. Texture is strongest where each pass meets the next. Clayworks travertine effect textured custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Travertine Effect Open voids and soft banding worked into the clay to read as cut travertine, warm and matt, without the weight of stone. Clayworks undulating demi rustic custom colour clay plaster sample swatch Undulating Gentle swells and hollows built into the plaster so the wall plane moves slowly, most visible in low, raking light.

Featured projects

Built with this material, by our own artisans. Open the project for the full set of photographs and the story of the installation.

Spiral staircase in Demi Rustic clay plaster at Villa 515, Dubai
Villa 515, Dubai Clay plaster — Demi Rustic and Smooth through the restaurant View the project →
Curved white exterior clay plaster facade of the Canvas Events Pavilion, Dubai
Canvas Events Pavilion, Dubai Exterior clay plaster on the curved facade View the project →

Technical library

The range is fully documented for specification and submittal. The library carries technical data sheets issued under our own cover, light reflectance values for daylight and lighting calculations, and the Auro primer sheet covering substrate preparation. Ask us if a consultant needs anything the library does not already hold.

Sample it, then specify it

We will make as many trial panels as it takes to arrive at the surface you want, on the substrate you are building on. Send the finishes schedule, or come to the showroom in Riyadh and put a hand on the range.

Request samples Visit the showroom

Questions specifiers ask

Short answers, restating what this page already sets out. The specification pages carry the data behind each one.

Where can clay plaster be used?

Clay plaster is specified for interior walls and ceilings. The unfired Clayworks range — Smooth, Demi Rustic, Rustic and Tonal — is held in the region and applied by Conmarble's own artisans across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. For facades and garden walls there is a dedicated exterior clay system, a different product from the interior plasters, not the interior plaster used outside.

Can clay plaster be used in bathrooms, showers or other wet areas?

No. The at-a-glance guidance rules clay plaster out of showers, wet areas and floors, pointing specifiers to lime or microcement in those locations. For wet rooms the page directs you to tadelakt or Microtadelakt; tadelakt is described as lime and clay, compressed with stone and sealed with olive soap, for bathrooms, hammams and showers across Riyadh and Saudi Arabia.

Does clay plaster help control indoor humidity?

Yes. Clay takes up moisture when a room is damp and releases it when the air dries, which helps hold interiors between 40 and 60% relative humidity. In a Gulf climate, where air conditioning swings a room hard, that moisture buffering keeps wall surfaces and occupants more comfortable on the interior walls and ceilings where the plaster is used.

How does clay plaster hold up to knocks, and can it be repaired?

The colour sits in the clay body rather than in a coat on top, so a knock or a scuff shows the same colour underneath and repairs blend into the wall rather than patching over it. The page also links a maintenance and care section covering how the finishes age, clean and repair, and material and workmanship sit under a single warranty.

Does clay plaster contribute to LEED, WELL or Mostadam submissions?

Clay plaster contributes to WELL, LEED and Mostadam submissions through material health, low emissions and indoor comfort criteria — it contributes to submissions rather than carrying a certification. The technical library on the page holds healthy buildings data for WELL and LEED, VOC emissions certificates and test reports, and a Health Product Declaration covering the Demi-Rustic and Rustic finishes.

Continue
SpecificationCoverage, build-up, data and the clause to paste.DatasheetThe manufacturer document behind the figures. (PDF, 1.0 MB)Delivered projectsWhere this material is already installed.Maintenance and careHow these finishes age, clean and repair.Request a sampleSend a finishes schedule and we will reply within one working day.