Julian and Caroline live in Ickleton, a beautiful village 12 miles to the South of Cambridge. Loving their surroundings they wanted to move to a house that would better suit their tastes and needs. Having looked at every property for sale in the area (and these were scares) they could not find what they were looking for. The solution came unexpectedly.
Their old house was built on the corner between two streets, giving separate access to a garden that was large enough to accommodate two houses and still leave enough space for two good sized gardens. Julian and Caroline hired an architect and applied for planning permission. The process of obtaining permission to build was lengthy and not easy. Being an old village with many listed properties, Ickleton tries hard to retain its character and charm by restricting new developments. However, Julian and Caroline eventually got their permission.
The new house was to be timber-framed, giving it a luxury country home feel yet being very sympathetic to the style of surrounding properties. Julian and Caroline divided the garden, old their old home and started the building works. After very thorough research they hired the most recommended timber frame house builders. We joined the project when the house was ready for plastering. Our quote was accepted and the start date agreed upon. As it often happens in the building, the start date got postponed a couple of times due to unforeseen issues. Being very flexible, we moved our non-urgent projects to ensure we can do our work when required.
Working with Caroline and Julian has been a pleasure. They have excellent taste and chose paint colours to complement the style of their new home. The ceilings were first primed and then painted in Farrow and Ball colours Skimming Stone and Stone White. They gave the house a lived-in feel. The height of the ceilings was sufficient to bear such colours. We used our trusted paint sprayers to paint the ceilings. The beams and windows were carefully covered with masking tape and film to protect them from paint and possible dust. The paint sprayers let us finish the ceilings much faster than if done traditionally by brush and roller.
Please note: We did this project many years ago. Since then we do not offer exterior or interior painting services as we only specialise in wooden window refurbishment and exterior window paint spraying.
The paint for the walls was chosen from Farrow and Ball and Little Green collections. Having primed bare plaster, we painted the walls with an airless sprayer paint roller. It looks like a traditional roller attached to an extension pole which you don’t have to dip into a paint tray as the paint is supplied by an in-built hose. Working with it makes the whole job of painting fun.
In this project, we worked around other traders so the project was done in roughly 3 stages to allow other people to do their job and finish the house on time. We really enjoyed our work. Working with so many wonderful people – the fantastic clients, the builders, the amazing perfectionist electrician and other traders was a very humble experience. Knowing that Julian and Caroline were very happy with our work was a cherry on a cake. Thank you guys for your trust!
We offer a wide range of painting and decorating services. Come and have a look for yourself
