Pronounced: /tædəˈlɑːkt/. Also called: Moroccan plaster, polished lime, riad plaster. Tadelakt is a traditional Moroccan wall finish made from a specific high-lime plaster, applied in layers, polished with a smooth river stone, and sealed with olive-oil soap. The chemical reaction between the lime and the soap saponifies the surface, making it fully waterproof. The finish is seamless, slightly mottled, gently glowing, and unlike any tile or paint you've used before. ## Origin & history Tadelakt comes from Marrakech, where it has been used for centuries on the walls, floors, and tubs of riads, hammams, and palaces. The local high-lime stone is hand-quarried, slaked, and worked into a plaster that holds up beautifully in the steamy environments of traditional Moroccan baths. The word tadelakt comes from the Berber for "to rub" or "to massage," which is exactly what the finish requires. A good overview of the technique is on Wikipedia. Western designers discovered tadelakt through travel to Morocco in the 1980s and 1990s and started commissioning artisans for European projects. The technique migrated into a wider organic modern vocabulary through Belgian and Italian interiors in the 2000s. Today, trained tadelakt applicators work all over Europe, North America, and Australia, though the best work still tends to come from craftspeople who learned the technique in Marrakech. ## How it's used today In organic modern homes, tadelakt is the bathroom finish of the moment. A full tadelakt shower in a soft clay or oyster tone, with a travertine bench and an unlacquered brass fixture, is the kind of bathroom that ends up on the inspiration board for the next ten clients in a row. It does what tile cannot: continuous surface, no grout lines, gentle hand-applied movement. Outside the bathroom, tadelakt shows up in powder rooms, kitchen backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, and occasionally on a single feature wall in a primary suite. It pairs beautifully with limewash on adjacent walls, since both finishes share a lime base and a similar chalky depth. It also brings strong texture to a room without the visual noise of a patterned tile. A practical note. Tadelakt is a craft finish, which means installation cost reflects the skill of the artisan. Expect to pay considerably more than for tile, but also expect the surface to last decades with the right care. A monthly wipe-down with olive-oil soap solution maintains the waterproof seal. ## How to style it - Use it where there are no grout lines to fight. A continuous shower or tub surround shows the finish at its best. - Choose warm, complex tones. Clay, terracotta, oyster, putty, and warm white show the polish; cool greys and pure white fall flat. - Pair it with stone, not tile. A travertine bench or a marble threshold reads as part of the same material family. - Specify a true artisan. Tadelakt is not a finish to assign to a general-purpose tile setter. - Add a single brass or bronze fixture. The warm metal sits perfectly against the polished lime. - Light it from above and the side. Raking light brings out the subtle hand-polishing marks. - Maintain with soap, not detergent. Olive-oil soap solution preserves the waterproof seal; harsh cleaners can break it down. ## Common variations ## FAQ Is tadelakt really waterproof? How much does a tadelakt shower cost? How do I clean tadelakt? Can tadelakt crack? What's the difference between tadelakt and Venetian plaster?