After many years of renovation, the owners of this Hackney house called in the London Decorating Company to finish off the entrance of the property. Tikkurila products were used to transform this tired and worn down space into bright and welcoming. David Pyke from the London Decorating Company broke down every step of this renovation job, so read on to find out what was involved.

Any paint job always requires some prep work. In this case, before the regular painting preparation could go ahead, the decorating team had to remove years of poor quality painting from skirtings and door frames, and considerable repairs were required to the plasterwork. The original lath and horsehair plaster was around 90 years old and had blown in numerous areas. The damaged ceilings and walls were repaired and all the door frames, skirting boards, staircase, and handrail were refinished. As the old paint finish was lumpy with brush marks and paint runs showing, this process was quite labour-intensive.

Cracks and holes were initially raked out before sanding down. Afterwards, a single coat of Tikkurila Helmi Primer was applied to the woodwork with an airless spray machine. Again, once dry, everything was given another light sanding before the final two coats of Tikkurila Helmi 30.

Next were the ceilings, which were spray finished, this time with Tikkurila Anti Reflex. Walls were coated twice in Tikkurila Optiva 3 Ceramic in crisp white colour. As hallways are areas of high traffic, it was recommended to the client to use a durable matt to hold up to a serious amount of wear and tear. As the finishing touch, a feature wall was installed by the decorators, going up one wall on the staircase.