Decorative Wall Finishes in Dubai
Limewash, Textured Paint, Marmorino and Polished Venetian Plaster, applied by hand. Microcement is not the only way to a luxury wall.
Most people arrive here searching for textured paint. What they usually find is a roller and a bucket of filler. What we do is different. Dusk & Dune install mineral wall finishes drawn from a tradition that predates paint by two thousand years, using premium Italian materials and applicators trained to European standards. The range starts at AED 72 per square metre for limewash and runs to AED 300 for a fully burnished Venetian plaster. Our microcement walls start at AED 190.
Textured Paint Is a Much Bigger Category Than You Think
"Textured paint" is the phrase almost everyone uses, and it covers everything from a AED 30 stipple roller finish to a hand burnished lime plaster that will outlive the building. They are not the same product, they do not last the same length of time, and they do not do the same thing to a room.
The finishes on this page are the second kind. They are mineral based, meaning lime, marble and mineral pigment rather than plastic and filler. They are applied by trowel in thin layers, so the surface holds genuine depth and shifts as the light moves across it through the day. They breathe, which paint and resin do not. And because they are built for walls rather than floors, they skip the reinforcement and wear layers that a trafficked microcement surface needs.
That is why the range starts below half the price of microcement. It is also why the top of the range costs exactly the same as microcement, because a fully burnished Venetian plaster is days of hand labour and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
If you have been quoted for microcement walls and the number was higher than you expected, this is the page you want.
The Finishes We Apply: Limewash, Textured Paint, Marmorino and Venetian Plaster
Every finish below is a different material with a different character, a different price and a different right answer. Here is how to tell them apart.
Limewash | AED 72 to 120/m²
Matte, chalky, and full of natural tonal drift. The oldest wall finish still in use, the softest light in the range, and the most affordable way into a genuine mineral surface.
Marmorino | AED 130 to 220/m²
Matte, chalky, and full of natural tonal drift. The oldest wall finish still in use, the softest light in the range, and the most affordable way into a genuine mineral surface. Allows for many different effects. You dream it, we bring it to life
Polished Venetian Plaster | AED 190 to 300/m²
Marmorino taken to a high burnish. Deep, near reflective, almost wet looking. Days of hand work, priced accordingly. For entrances, dining rooms and anywhere the wall should be the event.
Marmorino: Two Thousand Years Old, and Still the Best Answer
The technique is Roman. Vitruvius set it down in Book VII of De Architectura in the first century BCE: burnt lime, slaked in water, mixed with marble dust and beaten compact until it took a polish. The Romans called it opus albarium. It went onto the walls of villas across the empire, and a great deal of it is still there.
Varro, writing in the same period, made a note that matters more here than anywhere else in the world. He observed that lime coated walls made buildings cooler. Lime plaster is a dense mineral mass that absorbs heat slowly and releases it slowly, and it does that in Dubai exactly as it did in Rome.
The name came later. When Vitruvius's treatise resurfaced in the fifteenth century, Venice rebuilt the technique for its own reasons. Venetian builders needed a wall finish that could survive standing damp, and lime, unlike paint and unlike resin, lets a wall breathe. The earliest contract we can date is 1473, for the convent of Santa Chiara on Murano. The Venetians called it marmorino, and the name stuck.
It fell out of fashion in the late 1800s, and it came back in the 1970s largely because Carlo Scarpa refused to use anything else.
Timeless finishes are not a trend. They are a standard. Applied properly, they do not last a few seasons. They last centuries.
That is the lineage. What we apply is the modern version of it: the same mineral chemistry, made consistent by premium Italian manufacturing, and specified for a climate that punishes anything less.
The Only Building Material That Goes Back Where It Came From
Almost every wall finish sold in this market is a petrochemical product. Acrylics, resins and vinyls are made from oil, they are made once, and at the end of their life they are waste. Lime does something different, and it is worth understanding properly rather than as a marketing line.
Lime starts as limestone, which is calcium carbonate. To make it useful you burn it, at around 900°C, and that drives off carbon dioxide and leaves quicklime. That step releases CO2, and we are not going to pretend it does not. Anyone selling you lime as a zero carbon material is either not being straight with you or has not read the chemistry.
What happens next is the part that matters. The quicklime is slaked in water and becomes lime putty. Once it is on your wall and exposed to air, it begins to reabsorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and slowly turns back into calcium carbonate. Back into limestone. The wall in your home is, chemically, on its way to becoming the rock it was quarried as.
That reabsorption is real, and it is partial and slow. It continues for years, and it does not recover the energy used to fire the kiln. What it does mean is that lime runs on a genuine mineral loop, which no resin, acrylic or vinyl finish on the market can claim at all.
What that means for your wall The chemistry is not an abstraction. It is why lime behaves the way it does.
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It gets harder over time, not softer. Carbonation is a strengthening reaction. A lime wall is still curing years after we leave.
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It breathes. Lime is vapour permeable, so moisture in the substrate can move out rather than sitting behind a sealed film. In a market of resin coatings on blockwork in high humidity, this is not a small thing.
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It is naturally inhospitable to mould. Lime is highly alkaline, which is why it has been used on walls in humid climates for millennia.
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It runs cooler. The same density that made Varro note that lime walls kept Roman buildings cool moderates surface temperature here. On an exterior wall in Dubai, that is not a historical footnote.
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It contains no plastics. The finish layer is lime, marble and mineral pigment. Nothing else.
How We Build a Marmorino Wall
A finished marmorino wall from us is five to seven layers, and every one of them is doing a job. Here is the full build, in order, with nothing folded into a headline number.
Layer 1 — Primer The substrate is assessed, made good, and primed with a high grade primer matched to that surface. One coat, sometimes two on porous or previously painted walls. This is the stage almost every failure traces back to, and it is the stage most contractors compress to win a price.
Layers 2 and 3 — Marmorino, two colour coats Applied by trowel, thin, wet on set. On deeper or more heavily figured finishes we go to three. The movement in the finished wall is created here and cannot be added afterwards, which is why this is the stage that separates an applicator from a painter.
Layers 4 and 5 — Sealer, Two coats of breathable sealer Both sealer coats are vapour permeable. The wall is protected against marking and moisture and still allows moisture vapour to pass, which is the property that has kept lime finishes on buildings for two thousand years and is the one thing a resin sealed surface cannot offer.
Optional — Specialist topcoat Where a wall takes heavy handling, we can add a specialist topcoat for extra surface protection. Two things you should know before specifying it. It is the only product in our system not from the same Italian manufacturer as the finish, and it is not breathable, so adding it trades the wall's vapour permeability for durability. On most walls we do not recommend it. We would rather tell you that than sell you a layer you do not need.
Total system: five layers as standard, six or seven where the substrate or the finish calls for it.
Be Careful Who Tells You It Works Everywhere
Marmorino goes on almost any vertical surface, interior or exterior, and its breathability is a genuine advantage on both. What it is not is a floor, and it is not waterproof. That second distinction is not marketing language, it is the difference between a wall that lasts and a callback.
Suitable for
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Feature walls, living areas, bedrooms and hallways
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Ceilings and bulkheads
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Reception areas, restaurants, retail and hospitality interiors
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Exterior walls, including facades and shaded terraces, where breathability and mineral composition are genuine advantages
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Majlis, stairwells and double height volumes where the light moves across the surface through the day
Not suitable for
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Shower enclosures, wet rooms and splash zones
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Any surface in direct or standing water
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Floors, stair treads and any trafficked horizontal surface
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Pools, spas and water features
If your project is a wet room or a floor, you want microcement, and we will tell you so.
Lime Wall Finishes vs Microcement: Which One Is Yours?
If it is a floor, a shower or a pool, you want microcement. If it is a wall you want people to notice, you want lime. Almost every other question follows from those two.
Choose microcement if any of these are true
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The surface will be walked on. Floors, stairs, treads.
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The surface will get wet. Showers, wet rooms, splash zones, pools.
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You want the surface to disappear rather than be noticed. Microcement is seamless and even by design.
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You want one continuous material running from floor to wall through a whole space.
Choose a lime finish if any of these are true
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You want the wall to have movement and depth that shifts with the light through the day.
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The wall is damp, exterior, or on blockwork, and needs to breathe rather than sit behind a sealed film.
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You want texture and character rather than a flawless plane.
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Your budget for walls sits below AED 190 per m². Lime is the only one of the two that goes there.
Is there an alternative to microcement for walls?
Yes, and for most walls it is the better answer. Microcement was engineered as a floor system, and applying it to a wall means paying for reinforcement and wear layers that a wall will never use. Lime finishes were made for walls. They breathe, they hold light, they carry colour with depth rather than flatness, and three of our four run below microcement pricing. The exception is polished Venetian plaster, which costs the same and is worth it for the walls that deserve it.
Where microcement genuinely wins on a wall is a wet room, or a space where you want floor and wall to read as one uninterrupted surface.
The differences that actually matter
Lime: slaked lime, crushed marble, mineral pigment
Made From
Microcement: cement, resins, mineral pigment
Lime: movement, depth, the visible hand of the applicator
Look
Microcement: seamless, even, contemporary
Lime: no
Floors
Microcement: yes
Lime: no
Wet areas and bathrooms
Microcement: yes, waterproof when sealed
Lime: yes, and breathability is an advantage
Exterior walls
Microcement: yes
yes, vapour permeable through the full system
Breathable
Microcement: no, resin sealed
Lime: 5 to 7 layers, primer, 2 to 3 colour coats, 2 breathable sealers
System Build
Microcement: multi layer system with reinforcement and wear coats
Lime: AED 72 to 300
Cost per sqm
Microcement: AED 190 to 400
Lime: feature walls, character, breathable substrates, budget flexibility
Best For
Microcement: whole space continuity, wet areas, floors, durability
Most of our projects use both. Microcement through the bathroom and across the floors, lime on the walls that matter. We supply and install both, so we have no reason to steer you toward either. Tell us the room and we will tell you which one it wants
Pricing
We publish our ranges because the alternative is a market where nobody knows what anything should cost. All figures are supplied and installed.
Finish | Cost per sqm | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
Limewash | AED 72 to 120 | Around a third of microcement. Our most affordable mineral finish. |
Textured Paint | AED 90 to 150 | Roughly half of microcement at the entry point. |
Marmorino | AED 130 to 220 | Below microcement even at its ceiling. |
Polished Venetian Plaster | AED 190 to 300 | Level with microcement. Priced for hand labour, not material. |
What moves the number
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Total wall area, since larger areas reduce the rate per m²
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Substrate condition and how much making good is needed
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Sheen level and depth of burnish, which is labour not material
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Whether a specialist topcoat is specified
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Access, height and whether the space is live or under fit out
Why most of the range costs less than microcement
Not because we cut layers. A marmorino wall from us is five to seven coats. It costs less because a microcement system carries reinforcement and wear layers built to be walked on, and a wall does not need any of that.
And why the top of the range does not
Polished Venetian plaster costs the same as microcement because it is days of burnishing by hand. There is no material saving to pass on and no shortcut to offer. If a supplier quotes you a fully polished Venetian finish at limewash money, they are selling you something else and calling it Venetian.
Every quote we issue is measured, itemised and fixed. We do not quote a rate and then discover the preparation.
Colour and Texture
Lime finishes take colour differently to paint. Pigment goes into the material rather than onto it, so the colour has depth and slight variation through the wall rather than sitting flat across it. Two walls in the same shade will never be identical, which is the point.
We work to a full Italian decorative colour range and will match a reference to approximately 95% accuracy, the same standard we hold on our microcement. Bring us a fabric, a stone sample or a photograph.
We produce sample boards for every project before a single wall is touched. You approve the finish in your own light, in your own space, before we start.
Why Dusk & Dune
Premium Italian materials
Our decorative wall finishes are Italian made, chosen for consistency of batch, depth of colour and long term performance rather than price per bucket.
Applied by artists, not labourers
The UAE market is full of crews trained to paint walls, not to create surfaces. These materials are unforgiving. If the applicator does not understand the chemistry or the local environment, it is a question of when the job gets redone, not if.
We will tell you when the answer is no
We supply and install both microcement and lime finishes, which means we have no reason to sell you the wrong one. If your space needs microcement, you will hear that from us. If it needs a certified system we do not hold, you will hear that too.
Sampled and approved before we start
Every project gets physical sample boards in your space and your light. Nothing is applied on the basis of a photograph.
FAQ's
Is textured paint the same as marmorino? No. Textured paint is a broad term covering everything from a rolled acrylic texture to a hand trowelled mineral plaster. Marmorino is a specific material made from slaked lime and crushed marble, applied and burnished by hand. Most people search for textured paint and are actually looking for something like marmorino.
What is the cheapest wall finish you offer? Limewash, from AED 72 per square metre and up to AED 120 depending on the finish and the substrate. It is a genuine mineral lime finish rather than a textured paint effect, so you get the breathability and the natural tonal movement at the lowest point in our range.
Why does textured paint cost more than limewash? Because it takes longer to apply. Price on this page tracks hand labour, not material grade. A limewash goes on in thin coats and dries quickly. A textured effect is built up and worked by hand, and a polished Venetian plaster is days of burnishing. The materials are premium Italian across the whole range. What changes is how long someone stands in front of the wall. The ranges also overlap, so a straightforward textured wall can come in below a difficult limewash.
Is marmorino cheaper than microcement? Usually, yes. Our marmorino runs AED 130 to 220 per square metre, against AED 190 to AED 300 for microcement walls. The saving is not fewer coats. A marmorino wall from us is five to seven layers. It costs less because a microcement system carries reinforcement and wear layers built to be walked on, and a wall does not need them. Polished Venetian plaster is the exception and costs the same as microcement, because it is days of hand burnishing.
How many coats is a marmorino wall? Five as standard, six or seven where the substrate or the finish calls for it: one primer coat, two to three coats of marmorino, and two coats of breathable sealer. Be careful comparing coat counts between suppliers, because most quote the number without saying what is in it.
Is marmorino breathable? Yes. Lime is vapour permeable by nature, and we specify breathable sealers so the full system stays that way. This is the main technical difference between a lime finish and a resin sealed surface like microcement. The one exception is our optional specialist topcoat, which is not breathable.
Is lime plaster environmentally friendly? Partly, and it is worth being precise. Producing lime means burning limestone, which releases carbon dioxide. But once lime is on a wall it reabsorbs carbon dioxide from the air over the following years and reverts to calcium carbonate, the mineral it was quarried as. That reabsorption is real but partial, and it does not recover the kiln energy. What lime does offer that no acrylic or resin finish can is a genuine mineral loop, with no petrochemical content in the finish layer. We hold no green building certification on these finishes and do not claim one.
Can marmorino be used in a bathroom? Not in wet areas. Marmorino is water resistant, not waterproof, so we do not apply it in showers, wet rooms or splash zones. It works on a dry bathroom wall away from water, but for a full bathroom we specify microcement instead. If someone offers you marmorino for a shower, ask them what happens in year two.
Can it be used outdoors in the UAE climate? Yes. Lime based finishes perform well on exterior walls, and they were used in desert climates for centuries before modern coatings existed. The murals at Qusayr Amra in Jordan sit on lime plaster and have survived over 1,200 years of desert conditions.
How long does application take? From three days for a single feature wall, and longer as the area grows. The sequence is fixed: preparation and priming, then two to three finish coats with proper drying between them, then sealing. The variable is area, not method. Every quote we issue comes with a programme, so you know how long we are in your space before you commit.
Can it go over existing paint or plaster? In most cases, yes, subject to survey. The substrate must be sound, dry and correctly primed. We assess this before quoting rather than after starting.
How do I clean and maintain it? Very little. Dust it, and wipe marks with a soft damp cloth. Use pH neutral products only. Avoid anything strongly acidic or alkaline, avoid abrasives, and avoid solvent cleaners. Lime is a mineral surface and harsh chemistry attacks it in a way it does not attack paint. Done properly, a lime wall needs nothing else.
Do you supply materials without installation? Not as a rule. We supply and install, because the application is where these materials succeed or fail and we are not willing to put our name on a finish we did not apply. Supply-only requests are considered case by case, so ask.