The devil's in the detail

The second room to be completed at my Walsall client's property - the same specification to my previous posting... complementing the theme of the dining room. The "window wall" (pictured above) was probably the trickest wall I have encountered; not a single straight drop of wallpaper to be found. 4 radii, wall light, light switch, wall brackets, radiator, power socket and 2 windows and pelmets... a challenge to say the least!!!

Work in Progress

A substantial property in Walsall, West Midlands... the first room completed of many!

Walls were horizontal lined with wallrock55 ready for Galerie "Simply Silks" wallpaper. Woodwork - 2 coats Permoglaze white undercoat followed by 2 coats Crown Brilliant White Full Gloss giving flawless finish. Coving treated to Permoglaze white oil based eggshell. Ceiling 3 coats Crown brilliant white matt emulsion... building textures and finishes.

Lincrusta dot com

Lincrusta have created a fantastic new website; www.lincrusta.com, the site is awash with information, hints and advice about how to get the best from this Great Bristish product.

The site has trade and architect portals to allow the professional user to gain industry specific information and ask queries on a dedicated forum.

Great, useful site - worth a visit!

Preston North End FC

Invited to decorate an executive box at Preston North End Football Club. Both myself and a colleague worked Lincrusta magic on a blank canvas of a room; Below dado Georgian Panel RD1650, above Crichton RD 1805 and border RD1640.

Crown oil based eggshell was used for Crichton and artist oil colours for Georgian Panel - this was then grained to give a "beechesque" feel.

The client was delighted, both inside and outside the box - the deadline was met in time for the first match of the season... and Preston North End won!

Euroart Shanghai

How to show 30 people who don't speak English how to install Lincrusta in 3 hours;

In a room full of designers, decorators and sales people in Euroart's showrooms and offices in Shanghai, I stood infront of a projector screen listening to Lincrusta's Brand Manager talk about Lincrusta's heritage, durability and flexibility. The out of body experience me, saw the real me standing there, holding a piece of Gothic Dado RD1961... A blur of activity and translation and a wall with straight lengths, internal and external angles was preped, hung, finished and primed ready for base coat.

Things to remember; Always line the substrate. the substrate itself must be sound, dry and free of dust and grease... Allow the Lincrusta the appropriate time to soak, use a felt roller to apply pressure to the product, get one from A. S. Handover Ltd.

That's how.

10th Chinese Building Decoration Show (Guangzhou) 2008

What a fabulous opportunity - to travel 5500 miles to demonstrate how to effectively paint Lincrusta in 95% humidity; well, the product stood up to it, but I'm not too sure if I would have, without the air conditioning.

The main issue that I found was materials sourcing, as the paints that were sent over for me to use were impounded (Chinese Revenue & Customs like their paperwork!). I use waterbased paints - not my first choice, but work with what's available. Working on Italian Renaissance RD1952, primed with a Dulux acrylic primer and base coated with a Dulux emulsion. The decorative paint effects worked a treat (dried out a bit too quickly at times) - but stood up to the job.

After a few "Ooos" and "Ahhhs", I found that the Chinese people seemed to prefer the metallic finishes (gilt cream on black emulsion) over the red and gold that I would have presupposed.

Lincrusta was incredibly well received - the stand was popular and orders were taken.