Decorating for the Christmas tree festival

Each year a small local village Church, St Andrew’s in Burton Overy,  near Kibworth, has a brilliant three day festival. Over 100 trees traditional and quirky, large, small, real or fantastic. Some are decorated by individuals who are very competitive and keep their design secret till the last minute! Ours will again nestle amongst those decorated by local businesses and groups, including scouts, play groups and Young Farmers. We love thinking of fresh decorations for our entry, and appreciate the opportunity to remind locals of  our Seasonal Decorating service! Putting lights up for clients and taking them down after the New Year is perfect for us, we have the access equipment and the muscles!

Macmillan cancer nurses will be amongst those benefiting this year from the fundraising, last year over 2000 visitors came to see the creativity and be inspired. with ideas for their own at home. Funds raised will also go towards the Church Restoration and The Village Hall.

 There is always a special guest at the Friday night reception, you can imagine at night, by candle and with fairy lights,  all is a-sparkle and aglow. Previous guests Lord Lieutenant of Leicester Lady Gretton, BBC Radio Leicester presenter Monica Winfield ( who is also a street Pastor) have been as excited by the displays as the children! 

12 years of hard work by the village volunteers has created an amazing annual attraction. Here are some of the previous entries I have been impressed with.

This year the trees can be seen on Friday 2nd, 10 -6.30 pm, Saturday 3rd 10- 6.30pm & Sunday 10-5.30pm.

Wallpaper on a feature wall…

Having been excited about the resurgence of wallpaper for the past few years, some women think that their husbands have hitherto hidden skills to hang it at the weekend. Instead of the Rugby or the Grand Prix.. ! Perhaps thinking that he has also some back issues of Practical Householder hidden away.
Mind you , even professionals do get caught out with the lure of  Transformations! We were flattered to be invited by a TV production team to support filming of two homes for a Well Known Series.
All expenses to be paid plus equipment provided, aka Poundland “trade brush set” much to the disbelief of our two qualified craftsmen.
Practically, there were 12 people in the small town house. One toilet. The Crew was assembled at about 10.30am. makeup, lighting, overloaded heat from the lights and constant coffee. Sound, production, and over the next 12 hours in a confined space everyone got to know each other really well.
Much time was wasted travelling the 15 mile distance between the two “lucky” Leicester home owners - to satisfy changing ideas the director or producer fancied.
When the best shots were determined, with the living room door removed to ensure maximum view, there was no place for proper paste table or professional equipment etc. We had to paste using the removed door, covering the handle and panels with the wall covering. Oh yes.
After the decision to redo the angles of the filmed shot so many times that the piece of wallpaper had transformed into lace, (we were hiding the holes as we pretended to paste for camera).  And at that point took our company t shirts off. Not wanting to be identified with the outcome!
After two days our decorators were enlightened as to what goes into tv programs and the budgets! The production team leaving the living room door in it’s new position leaving the light switch next to the hinges. No thought of the trouble felt by a young child scared to enter a dark room and unable to reach a light switch.
But the feature walls did look good for the few seconds they came into the programme!
So, if you are toying with the idea of updating your bedroom and lounge – ” just one wall” in a stunning paper, you should get all the right equipment, paste table, paste bucket, brushes, plumb line,..and ensure you have the manufacturers recommended adhesive.
And some beer.
Or make a call to an expert decorator. Who will quietly get it all done, minimum of fuss, and great results with no grumbles!

On the Surface

Exterior of Easton Neston Hall ready for decorating

We enjoy looking at paint!  Sometimes we are asked to look at projects way up off the ground, and sometimes in remote places where the last coats of paint were applied 200 years ago or more.

Traditional handpainted swiss Roof

Apethorpe Hall roof scaffolded to ensure work can continue throughout total refurbishment

High up on roofs , from tiny turrets, castle walls and from gilded church spires way above London streets, we have breathed in fabulous views and wondered about the lives of traditional craftsmen before us.

I thought I would include a couple of the places we get to! We don’t abseil, but have worked in conjunction with others who are expert at inspection of hard to access places. Sometimes this is the most efficient method to assess what repairs are required.

Expert working with us via Abseiling access to inspect exterior decoration of Gilded Church Spire South Kensington

Wallpapering – transforming those walls!

We love wallpapering! Who doesn’t love the thrill of a sudden transformation of space!

It can be a whole room, your bedroom sanctuary, a wall in the lounge or corner alcove in a kitchen where instant results make us scurry for Cath Kidston complimentary accessories and touches of colour to bring harmony to the rest of the room. I really enjoy browsing a website called Houzz where many photos and ideas can be found.

However, its not a case for instant shopping. Tantalised by a picture in a magazine its easy to head straight off to the Decorating Suppliers websites and Decorators Merchants. Better to go to a good Interior Designer, who will guide you and prevent any disasters.

Designs with large repeats take careful measuring. Inspiring wallcoverings from fabulous Design books are made in batches, and colours and print register can vary batch to batch. Its always recommended to buy all that you  need in one go, the next batch may not be a perfect match.

..so apart from calculating the number of rolls of wallcovering based on accurate measurements, consider pattern repeat and design layout across key areas (if its a dramatic motif for example) for extra allowances. Correct adhesive is always important, the manufacturer of the wallcovering will stipulate the type.

Preparation of surfaces is always key for the best results. Shimmery papers, metallic prints and silk coverings reflect light across surfaces , any nibs or dinks in the wall are highlighted ! Now, given that many of our homes have old interesting character walls which are not perfect, gentle flaws and undulations can be disguised to an extent with careful choice of print.

Where the smoothest possible finish is needed, traditional time served decorators have the patience, know how (and stamina!) to do the proper preparation. Cross lining with the right gauge lining paper for example, filling and rubbing back and so on. ….  But it will be worth it!

Limewashing – perfect weather

Thought I would just do a little bit on Limewashing – we are currently on three projects where exterior limewash has been called for.

There is a good question & answer section on the SPAB website , a quick search on the web will suggest to most people that letting old damp buildings breath properly using traditional and compatible  materials is a good way of maintaining our most valuable material asset. Our built Heritage.

Limewash isn’t just a paint effect, it is a special material, made from limestone or calcium carbonate (chalk). After burning in a kiln, the resulting quicklime is slaked with water . This is normally udertaken by professionals, it’s a serious process requiring stringent safety precautions.  This lime putty is further diluted and mixed to a milk like consistency for application, after which the limewash  continues to cure as it is exposed to carbon dioxide in the air. It carbonises, hardening , and still allows the natural breathing of the building. This lets lime mortars, renders & internal lime plasters do what they should do too. Ingredients such as tallow, oils including linseed and fish,  & casein (a long protein found in milk) have been incorporated very effectively in limewash mixtures, used in all but the fanciest rooms in old houses - Limewash has been used for centuries! Tallow & casein are still available in limewashes,  tallow being appropriate for exterior & casein for interior use. 

Some considerations -  Essentials -Personal care - goggles plus precautionary eyewash/ bottle clean water, latex gloves.  Limewashing cannot be undertaken when the temperature drops below 5 degrees, as water starts to freeze then. (It was my teen age son who confirmed the reasons to me). Pointy ice crystals don’t make for good ice cream, or good water based mixtures or paint emulsions. This means that you  need to plan when the work is to be done.  A bit of fine drizzle will be handy as hot weather affects drying too, the surfaces may have to be damped when limewash is applied.

Like most things, patience is recommended, as several thin coats are the only way to get the best results. All normal stuff for experienced & traditionally qualified decorators. A really good book with practical info about caring & repairing your old house  The Old House Handbook . Another interesting and informed souce is Projectbook.

I have taken a picture of a local village building where lime render is being applied. I’m including a couple of pictures of exterior limewashed walls on previous projects we have enjoyed, (nowadays it is rarely used for indoors – we are however, sometimes asked for distemper inside older buildings).

You will see that limewash doesn’t give an airbrushed even level of colour, part of its beauty is the variation of colour. Same thing that which catches your eye when you go through Mediterranean villages and see the beautiful shade variations on old village houses. When its raining, the effects are highlighted again.

 White limewash is perfect for brightening up damp gloomy exterior old yard walls. A gardener I knew, Old Eddie, limewashed his back garden walls each year. 

Cheap, & effective. It can certainly work very well in the right situation.