The loft look without bare concrete: loft paint vs Mineral Finish

Why the loft look still hasn't gone out of style

Loft walls look good because they aren't perfect. They have marks, light and dark patches, and a rawness that gives a room a story, like a favourite denim jacket: the more it looks like it has been through something, the cooler it looks.

But real bare concrete isn't always cool. It needs a skilled plasterer, and if the result doesn't look like the photos, it is hard to fix. A raw cement surface also stains easily, and some walls shed dust if they aren't sealed properly.

Bare concrete, loft paint and microcement: what's the difference?

Bare concrete means rendering the wall in real cement and leaving the surface as it is. You get one hundred per cent rawness, in exchange for heavy work that is hard to control.

Loft paint is a material trowelled or painted onto an existing wall to imitate bare concrete. You get a similar look without re-rendering.

Microcement is a thin coating that can be trowelled onto both walls and floors, giving a continuous, seamless surface. It is the word many people search for when they want the floor and walls to read as one.

• Bare concrete: truly raw, heavy work, hard to fix
• Loft paint: a concrete look on your existing wall, mostly in greys
• Microcement: one continuous surface from wall to floor
• Mineral Finish: a matt mineral surface with hand brush marks, in 38 shades

Mineral Finish: a loft look that isn't only grey

Voqe Mineral Finish is a matt mineral finish applied by hand. Every stroke leaves a brush mark, so no two walls are ever alike. You get the living quality of a loft wall without starting by re-rendering.

What people love is that you aren't stuck with grey. For a warmer loft there is Chill Beige or Silom Dust; for the grey of an old building on Charoenkrung Road there is Charoenkrung Plaster. There are 38 shades in all.

The mineral surface is smooth and seamless and works on both walls and floors, so it can also create the wall-to-floor look people are searching for when they type "microcement".

How to choose a loft shade without making the room look like a car park

A dark grey loft room may look great in photos, but living in it can feel like a basement car park. The trick is to choose a grey with some warmth in it, or to use a dark shade on just one wall.

Quiet Luxury is a plain but rich grey, ideal for a living room you want to feel calm. Pebble is a light brownish grey like river pebbles, and easy to live with. And if you want a simple cement grey in ordinary wall paint, Wet Cement in Voqe Wall Paint is a good shortcut.

Do it yourself, or bring in a painter?

Mineral Finish is sold as a set of two tins: Set 2QT at ฿1,180 and Set 2GL at ฿2,998. You can finish it with Voqe Mineral Sealer (clear, satin) or Voqe Mineral Wax (clear, semi-gloss) to help protect the surface, especially on floors.

A small wall is a manageable DIY job if you enjoy working with your hands. But for a large showpiece wall or a floor, Voqe's Supply & Apply service helps the surface come out the way you intended. See the real surfaces at Voqe Studio (Bang Phli), open Monday to Friday, 8:00–16:30.