Every year about this time, Dulux, issue their predictions for our colour choices in the coming year. We saw their presentations for 2016 at a briefing held at the McLaren motor centre in Woking, and when I could take my eyes off Jenson Button’s Formula 1 car there was some interesting news. Besides the colours, the…
Our good friends in the weather service are predicting plenty of rain and storms for this winter. No-one has ruled out a plague of woolly mammoths. The last really wet winter caused all manner of problems in properties across London, and this is the time of year to start preparing for the onslaught. Even a mild London…
Redecorating your home (or office) is going to involve a certain amount of disruption, like it or not. Good decorators* will keep it at a minimum, but I thought a planning checklist might be useful. It might help to give an idea of how much work will be needed, and how long it may take. (*The term…
There’s nothing as individual as choosing colours. You can get endless advice on the internet, not to mention friends and relatives. You might even appreciate some of it. As decorators we’ve learned to be careful about offering opinions – but it’s nice to know what is possible and what’s out there. Here are links to the…
(click on the photos to expand) We recently completed the decorating for a full refurbishment of the famous 1 Lombard Street, the Square Mile’s most established restaurant and arguably it’s best placed. The restaurant is sited in pole position next to Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, and…
I like to think I’m a manly sort of man. I know which end of a screwdriver to hold, and I have plenty of good words for when electrical items don’t work. So I was drawn to a website called “The Art of Manliness” – just to see if they had it right, you understand….
I promised you a useful email, and at last here it is. We only deal with a better class of client, and we know you will want to treat our beautiful paintwork with the love it deserves after we have packed up and gone home. But accidents happen. In the photo above some child prodigy has…
I’m sorry about lowering the tone of my newsletters. I really, really try to make them informative and worth your while. But then someone presents me with information like this, and all my good intentions vanish in a puff of smoke. You may have seen my recent newsletter about painting with peanut butter. The client who asked us…
We get unusual requests from time to time. But this was probably the strangest. Someone wanted their room painted with Peanut Butter. We can usually tell when we’re being wound up, but it wasn’t April 1st – and this caller seemed to be completely serious. Yes, he said, he wanted real peanut butter. On the walls and…
Our recent redecoration of a beautiful family home in Kingston on Thames was featured by The Resident magazine. Owner Jacqualene chose light taupes and white to take full advantage of the light and modern interior, which has rooflights and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panel walls in the large kitchen and living room. She chose a subtly…
We recently had the pleasure of completing a signature project, the refurbishment of Lindley Hall in Westminster. This classic Edwardian building is owned by the Royal Horticultural Society and used for a wide range of events. Dating back to 1904, the Hall is an echo of Britain at its finest. King Edward VII wanted the…
Sky-high house prices in London are resulting in a lot more home improvements. And we’re always happy to help. I happened to be looking at some old paint charts and thought it was interesting how much they reflect the times. The 1970’s look very strange – here’s the Dulux catalogue from 1975: And this shows the…
Feel a touch of Spring in the air? Just the tiniest whiff? As we move ever closer to Spring-cleaning time, a fresh crop of Dulux and Farrow & Ball colour charts have started to poke their heads though the snow. But since most of us spend our lives entirely surrounded by paint (yes, it’s everywhere…
Latest news suggests London house prices are cooling off – just a little. But for any of our customers who are not Russian billionaires (I know there are one or two of you) the news is not all bleak.If your thoughts are turning to home improvements, what better start to the New Year than a new…
