Throughout the first three quarters of 2020 I have worked on a wide range of decorating projects; each one has been totally different. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has interfered with some of my business this year, I’ve been extremely busy before and after the lockdown.
As we professional decorators all know, every project comes with its challenges and a “quick and easy” job is rare. I’d like to say that every project has gone to plan but sometimes you are faced with problems that are out of your control. Having the ability to overcome these issues is what makes a good professional decorator.
When I think about my favourite project of 2020, a job in Ferndown Dorset comes to mind that I did early this year. This large home project required professionalism and attention to detail as the homeowner was a little worried and struggling to visualise the end result.
As part of this big project I needed to redecorate a home cinema room, a large extension, open plan dining area and four bedrooms. When I first arrived at the house the walls were bare, and I was excited to turn this blank canvas into the home that the client was looking forward to.
I started the project, as always with the most important step – preparation! One of my most important steps to reassure clients, is to prepare my job sites very carefully, taking extra care when it comes to protecting fixtures and furniture. Everything gets covered up so that no unnecessary accidents can happen – and yes, they do happen. Therefore, I used prep dust sheets and the prep Multisurface Protection Film to cover up furniture, floors and doors.
This indoor project involved enormous amounts of spraying which is seen to be the way forward at the moment. Therefore, I was fully prepared with lots of masq Painter’s Tape and my absolute favourite masking film the Covermasq. Due to the size of the project, significant areas needed to be covered and protected, without these masq products I would have struggled to complete this part of the project so quickly.
One of the challenges I faced throughout this project were poorly plastered walls. Thankfully I had my prep tools on hand to help me out. The prep tools that I used by far the most were my prep Sanding Block and prep Long Handle Scraper. These tools were amazing at helping me prepare the walls. Preparing a jobsite well, will result in a speedy painting or spraying job. It took several weeks to work my way through all the rooms, but I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this project.
I used the Kana Star brush, which is fantastic allrounder brush, the Kana Professional Synthetic brush, as well as ROTA!’s Microfibre and Dualon roller refills from the Premier range for the finishing touches.
When I reviewed my work, I was very happy with the result. Luckily, I was not the only one, my client was also extremely pleased with the transformation and delighted with their choice of paint. The plain magnolia walls, my most unliked paint colour ever, changed to rich, deep colours that suited this lovely house and gave it a homely and cosy feel once the furniture was uncovered again.
I’m extremely proud that I managed to satisfy another client. As a professional decorator, I value nothing more than having a result both the client and I are extremely satisfied with.
