Let's deal with the obvious confusion first. If you search for a "Melbourne painter and decorator", the internet is apt to assume you live in Victoria, Australia, and are in the market for someone who paints verandas in forty-degree heat. You don't, and you aren't.
There's a pleasing irony in this. Melbourne in Australia was named after Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, whose title came from this Melbourne: the small Georgian market town in South Derbyshire with a Hall, a pool and one of the finest Norman churches in the county. The original, in other words, has been somewhat overshadowed by the copy.
We'd like to redress the balance in one small way, by being the painter in Melbourne, Derbyshire that actually comes up when you look.
"The original has been somewhat overshadowed by the copy."
What we do is unglamorous and, we hope, useful. We paint and decorate the inside and outside of Melbourne's houses, and the occasional shop, café and office. We prepare walls properly, hang wallpaper straight, strip the old stuff without taking the plaster with it, and leave each room tidier than the decorating process would naturally suggest.
We're in Melbourne (DE73) most weeks, and in Kings Newton, Ticknall, Weston-on-Trent, Stanton by Bridge, Aston-on-Trent and Castle Donington the rest of the time.
Interiors
Interior decorating in Melbourne
Kitchen walls: washable finish, cut in by hand.
There's a theory, popular among people who have never decorated a room, that painting is the hard part. It isn't. Painting is the reward. The hard part is everything that comes before it, and that's the part worth paying a decorator for.
In a Melbourne house that usually means filling the cracks that older walls develop as they settle (which they have been doing, in some cases, since the reign of George III); sanding until the filler disappears to the hand as well as the eye; sealing stains, especially the brown water marks old ceilings collect; priming bare plaster and timber; and cutting in by hand along ceilings, cornices and skirtings. Then the colour goes on: two coats, more where the colour demands it.
Rooms and details we decorate
Sitting rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms
Hallways, stairs and landings (the rooms everyone puts off)
Cornicing, picture rails and ceiling roses, picked out properly
Doors, frames, skirtings, panelling and staircases
On paint, we recommend what suits the room rather than what's on offer. Breathable paints in old, solid-walled houses. Hard-wearing washable finishes for halls. Flat matt for ceilings, because flat is kind to imperfections and shine is not.
Exteriors
Exterior painter in Melbourne
The outside of a house does two jobs. It protects what's inside, and it tells passers-by what to expect. In a town where many people walk to the shops, the second job matters more than you might think.
As an exterior painter in Melbourne, we're asked to do:
Windows and doors, often original sashes and panelled front doors
Fascias, soffits and bargeboards
Brick and render, in masonry paint suited to the wall (breathable on old brick)
Shopfronts in and around the town centre, out of hours where needed
Railings, gates and garden walls
"A coat of paint is cheaper than a new window."
The principle is simple. Timber that's kept sealed lasts for generations; timber that's left bare for a winter or two starts to rot. If we find soft wood during preparation, we'll show you before we paint over it. Nobody likes that conversation, but it's better had now than in three years.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper stripping and hanging in Melbourne
Wallpaper stripping is the most underestimated job in decorating. It looks like peeling and turns out to be archaeology.
In older Melbourne houses it's common to find three, four or five layers: a 1990s vinyl over a 1970s floral over something brown from just after the war, with the original lime plaster somewhere underneath, holding on by habit. Strip too aggressively and the plaster comes away with the paper.
How we strip wallpaper
Score and soak, or steam, depending on the paper
Remove layer by layer, protecting the plaster beneath
Wash off old paste residue (it makes new paper bubble if left)
Fill, sand and seal, ready for paint or paper
How we hang wallpaper
Line the wall where needed, for a smooth, even surface
Plan the drops, centring patterns on chimney breasts and focal walls
Paste the wall or the paper, as the maker specifies
Match patterns at every join and trim cleanly at ceiling and skirting
We hang standard, designer, paste-the-wall, grasscloth and mural papers, and lining paper for walls destined for paint.
Local news
Decorating in Melbourne, Derbyshire
Melbourne is easy to love and slightly hard to describe. It's a market town small enough to walk across, built mostly of brick, with Melbourne Hall and its celebrated gardens at one end, the great Norman church of St Michael with St Mary beside them, and Melbourne Pool lying quietly behind. Thomas Cook, who invented the package holiday, was born here in 1808, which suggests a local talent for going elsewhere and coming back.
Georgian and Victorian houses and terraces close to the centre, with sashes and high ceilings
Former market-garden cottages and workers' terraces
Twentieth-century and modern homes on the edges of town
Independent shops, pubs and cafés, which need decorating too, ideally without closing
We also work in Kings Newton, Ticknall, Weston-on-Trent, Stanton by Bridge, Aston-on-Trent and Castle Donington.
Hospitality interiors can be decorated around opening hours.
The money page
How much does a painter and decorator cost in Melbourne?
The honest answer to "how much?" is "it depends", which is irritating but true. A price printed on a website would be wrong for most of the houses in town, so we don't print one. Every quote is written for the job in front of us.
What makes a job bigger: stripping several layers of old paper; cracked or uneven plaster; high ceilings and stairwells; lots of woodwork; exterior access needing a tower or scaffold.
What makes it simpler: sound walls, standard colours, and doing several rooms in one go, which means fewer start-up days.
We price each job after a visit and put it in writing. That way the number you agree is the number you pay.
Farmhouse kitchen: walls, ceiling and shelving, decorated in a week.
Classifieds
Your questions, answered in print
Are you based in Melbourne, Australia?
No. We're painters and decorators in Melbourne, Derbyshire (DE73), near Derby.
How much does it cost to strip and re-hang wallpaper in a room?
It depends on the number of layers and the condition of the plaster underneath, which is why we quote each room individually after seeing it.
Can you decorate my shop or café out of hours?
Yes. We can plan work around your opening hours, so you can keep trading.
What paint should go on an old brick house?
A breathable masonry paint, or none at all if the brick was never meant to be painted. We'll give you an honest view.
How do I find a good decorator in Melbourne?
Ask neighbours, look at real photos of work, and get a written, itemised quote. A good decorator will happily explain their preparation.
How long does it take to decorate a room?
Usually one to three days, depending on preparation and whether there's wallpaper to strip.
Do you cover Kings Newton and Castle Donington?
Yes, along with Ticknall, Weston-on-Trent, Stanton by Bridge and Aston-on-Trent.
How quickly do you reply?
We aim to respond to every enquiry within the day.
Situations vacant: your hallway
Decorator sought for tired hallway, stairs and landing. Must be tidy. Melbourne area. Apply: 07526 022230, or fill in the reply slip and we will be in touch by telephone. Replies within the day.
