When we talk about new trends it can be hard to keep up. Wall decals, paper murals and inspirational quotes go up and come down. Generally easily enough these days, but trends of the past can be a different matter!
Wood chip.
If your house is more than 25 years old, you’ve gotten away with it if you have no wood chip on your walls. Wood chip was a paper with just that, wood chip throughout it. You could paint over it to freshen it up and it gave a little ‘something’ to a room. Some people painted over it often. Making it like a second plaster board. When a decorator sees an aged wood chip wall they know there’s a good couple of shifts to get the wall underneath prepped. This is the stuff of nightmares for a painter.
Artex.
Massive in the 70’s and 80’s, artex went from your ceiling to wall art, some even going as far as the pampas design (we had one of these).
As pretty as it was, it was later found out that many artex coverings have asbestos in them. Only dangerous when stripped as spores can be inhaled, there are specialists who now remove this. Another option is to plaster over artex, however you have to keep that in mind for future works.
Portaflek.
I’d never heard of this before, but on chatting with David I realised I had seen it. Often a more commercial or industrial type of decor it can have a great effect on your walls. However, if you want to change your look it’s not as simple as painting over. The paint spatters create bumps, these have to be machine sanded to achieve a flat surface. In some cases having the wall skimmed may even be the best solution.
Blu Tak.
This one surprised me! Landlords often say not to use blu tak on walls, but I thought that if you weren’t allowed to use tacks surely this was the best option? I learned that the blu tak leaves behind a grease that sits on your wall. If you paint over this the grease will go through the new paint. Touching up all marked areas with stain block is the only way to ensure these marks don’t ruin your newly decorated walls. Oh and don’t presume that because it’s now white it won’t stain…. the grease is still there.
Smoking.
Smoking has pretty much become a trend of the past, but not altogether. The worst stain to get rid of is nicotine. We don’t come across this half as often as we did 20 years ago, but it’s still out there. In most cases we’d have to start by washing down the walls, ceilings and wood work. Then stain block all surfaces at least once before decorating. The thing with smoke is that it’s not just the staining, the smell sinks into the walls too. Out least favourite job, but most satisfying before and after!
Professional start to finish.
These are the elements of decorating people don’t think of, or at least don’t talk about. The more practical, less glamorous side. However if you want a professional finish, this preparation must happen before any decoration. If your job is more expensive than you expected, or more than someone else quoted, make sure you find out why. If this prep work isn’t done you’re newly decorated space won’t feel that way for long. This is what sets the professionals apart!
The painters wife xxx
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