Gold to Silver Transformation

Yet again, John Charles Interiors of Birmingham asked me to work my magic - this time on a beautiful, Mahogany-based Gilt bed-frame.

My brief was to take it's rather tatty and battered gold leaf finish and create a silver finish to fit within a modern room set.

Following much careful sanding and preparation, coats of Ardenbrite No.6 Silver were applied along with the appropriate primers and glazes... a vision of silver-lovelyness was created.

Following on from my work, it was then taken to an upholsterer to be covered in the appropriate material. Below you can see the completed bed, but, still to be dressed.

Master Decorator, Master painter, paint effects, painter and decorator, wolverhampton, birmingham, west midlands

Frame Restoration

Birmingham based Interior Designer, John Charles Interiors, invited me to restore this beautiful wood and plaster mirror frame for his client... the project was no light undertaking;

The frame arrived in bubble wrap, in several pieces and finished in gold leaf (in bad repair). Firstly, it was necessary to repair and restore many of the leaf and flower details, once completed (weeks of work!), the frame was treated to coats of Ardenbrite QD primer, coats of Ardenbrite Silver No.6, coats of Ardenbrite Protective Glaze, Treasure Gold "Silver" creme and finally Treasure gold sealer. An exhaustive process, but worth it when you look at the result.

Above you can see the finished frame in-situ... adding a touch of traditionalism into this beautifully elegant modern en suite bathroom.

Master Decorator, Decorator, Furniture Restoration, Furniture Rennovation, Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Cameoid in Caversham

Working on this project was a joy - the Cameoid ceiling covering - an early Lincrusta derivative, (pictured top), was in a pretty bad state, following water damage from a dripping pipe from the bedroom above. Over time the water had spread to almost the width of the room, which then, of course, formed mould.

I was tasked by my clients' insurance company to restore the Cameoid ceiling covering back to it's original glory.

Firstly, I removed any damaged Cameoid that was still on the ceiling (not too much!) then cleaned the substrate down with a 5:1 solution of bleach to kill the surface spores. The back of the covering was cleaned and any remaining mould was "removed'. Next, the long strips of the covering were cut into manageable lengths (cut across the pattern) and reinstalled to the ceiling with Lincrusta LG100 adhesive.

Once the joints were dressed and finished, the ceiling received 2 coats of Brilliant White emulsion (pictured bottom).

I hope you will agree; a beautiful restoration on a unique historical ceiling covering.

Lincrusta restoration, Cameoid restoration, Repair Lincrusta, Repair Cameoid

Georgian Restoration

We were originally asked if we could provide an insurance quotation to redecorate a dining room in a Birmingham Georgian property that had suffered water damage. The client had been informed by an interior designer that the ceiling was Lincrusta, and felt that we were the obvious choice for advice.

Upon inspection, the ceiling did not appear to be an existing pattern. Following a good deal of research with Lincrusta, English Heritage, The Victorian Society and Birmingham City Council, we were able to identify the covering as "Cameoid", which was an early Lincrusta-like product (C. 1900).

Once identified, the ceiling covering and substrate underwent a full restoration, which basically entailed cutting around the patterns, removing the covering, dressing and restoring the the covering itself, repairing the substrate and reinstalling the covering to the ceiling... the room will then be fully painted in a appropriate scheme by ourselves, in the near future.

The image you see above is prior to restoration.

Salamander, Lincrusta, Cameoid, west midlands, Birmingham, restoration, wallcovering decorator, painter and decorator, painter & decorator