Seven jobs across Melbourne. One photo each, and a straight account of what we did.
The feature wall behind the reception desk is limewash. Limewash is not a normal paint. It goes on with a wide brush in thin coats, and each coat is worked in a different direction. As it dries it settles into light and dark patches, which is what gives the wall that soft, cloudy texture. The look comes from the brushwork, so it has to be done by hand and it takes a few coats to build up properly.
Front room of a Victorian terrace in Footscray. We painted the walls, the ceiling, the cornices and the skirtings. Plaster this old is never flat, so the first job is filling the cracks and dips and sanding everything smooth. If you skip that, every mark shows through the new paint. Once it was prepared, the room got two coats. The timber fireplace was left as it was.
Long hallway in a working office. We painted the walls, the bulkheads and the ceiling from one end to the other. A long straight wall is harder than it looks, because the light runs along it and shows up any spot where the paint was rolled unevenly. Each wall was done in one run so it dried as one even surface.
Open-plan living room in a newer build. We painted the walls, the ceiling, the doors and the skirtings. The doors and skirtings were sanded first so the new enamel has something to grip, then given two coats for a hard, smooth finish. The walls and ceiling had two coats as well.
Converted brick warehouse with a high ceiling. We sprayed the timber lining, the beams, the trusses and the pipes white. Spraying is the right way to do a ceiling like this, because a brush or roller cannot get into all the gaps between the timber and steel. The brick walls were left bare.
Entry hall and staircase of a Victorian home in Essendon. We painted the walls, the ceiling, the balustrade, the wainscoting, the cornices and the architraves. Old timber like this is sanded and prepared before any paint goes on, otherwise the new coat peels off the old. Everything was then brushed in enamel, which dries harder than wall paint and stands up to hands on the rail and feet on the stairs.
High-ceilinged front room in an old period building. We painted the walls, the ceiling, the cornices, the picture rail and the window frames. The walls have two tones, with a lighter band between the cornice and the picture rail, so every line where one colour meets the next was cut in by hand. The window frames and sashes were sanded and given two coats of enamel, which stays hard and clean on timber that gets opened and closed. The walls and ceiling had two coats as well.