Decorating Lowndes Street

Lowndes Street is a broad, handsome thoroughfare cutting through the eastern edge of Belgravia, connecting Knightsbridge to Sloane Street and lined with imposing stucco-fronted terraces developed by the Grosvenor Estate in the 1840s under the direction of architect George Basevi. The street is notable for its large, well-proportioned Italianate façades and generous entrance porticoes that speak to the ambitions of the original estate developers. Luxury apartments, private residences and a number of embassies and diplomatic missions occupy its impressive buildings today.

The imposing stucco Italianate facades along Lowndes Street require periodic repainting with high-quality mineral or silicate masonry systems to protect against damp penetration, while the elaborate entrance halls and principal rooms inside typically feature original plasterwork that demands the highest standard of preparation before decorating.