Notting Hill Project

This project involved a complete interior decoration of a period property in Notting Hill, W11. Our team carried out a full repaint of all rooms, hallways and staircases, restoring the home to an exceptional standard while preserving its original character.

Careful surface preparation and premium materials were used throughout to ensure a flawless, long-lasting finish — the level of craftsmanship Modernus clients have come to expect.

The starting point

The client wanted the whole house redecorated without losing what makes a Notting Hill period property worth living in. That meant treating the original features — cornicing, ceiling roses, panelled doors, deep skirtings — as part of the finish rather than obstacles to work around.

The property stayed occupied while we worked, so the schedule was built around the household. We took the house in sections, kept each working area contained, and cleared down at the end of every day.

What the work covered

The programme ran for eight weeks on site and covered:

• Full repaint of walls and ceilings in every room
• Hallways, staircase and landings, including balustrade and handrail
• Skirting boards, architraves, panelled doors and door frames
• Cornicing, ceiling roses and original plaster detailing
• Window reveals and sash window frames

Bringing the mouldings back

Period houses in W11 have usually been decorated many times over, and the layers underneath dictate how much preparation the job actually needs. Every room was assessed before work started: unsound and flaking coatings were removed, cracks raked out and filled, and filled areas sanded flat and spot-primed so they would not flash through the finish coat.

Original mouldings need a different approach from flat wall surfaces — too much paint smothers the profile, so build-up in the detail was cut back and the edges reinstated by hand before recoating. Joints between woodwork and plaster were re-caulked to give straight, clean lines, and floors, fittings and staircases were fully sheeted and masked throughout.

What went on the walls

Premium paints were specified for each surface type: a durable, washable finish for the hallways and staircase, which take the heaviest traffic in a family house, and a harder-wearing coating on the joinery. Colours were checked on site under the property's own light before committing — north-facing period rooms read very differently from a colour chart.

At handover

The house reads as one continuous scheme rather than a series of separately decorated rooms, with the original detailing sharper than it was before the work started. Everything was put back where it came from and the house handed over clean.

If you are planning something similar, see our painting and decorating services in Notting Hill, read more about our interior painting work, or browse the rest of the Modernus portfolio.