Decorating Ossington Street

Ossington Street is a charming residential street in northern Notting Hill, W2, running south from Pembridge Place toward Notting Hill Gate and lined with a tight terrace of two and three-storey mid-Victorian stock brick houses with stucco window dressings. Developed in the 1860s as part of the gradual urbanisation of this part of the Ladbroke Estate, the street has a village-like intimacy and has long been appreciated for its scale and community character. The street falls within the Pembridge Conservation Area, and its consistent brick and painted-stucco streetscape is carefully managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The painted stucco window surrounds and door cases on Ossington Street's brick terraces are a defining feature of the street and must be maintained in colours consistent with the Pembridge Conservation Area character appraisal — typically soft whites or creams. Front doors are a particular focus of decorative attention in this street, where owners invest in high-gloss or eggshell finishes in period colours that complement the warm stock brick elevations; thorough preparation of the timber substrate is essential given the street's exposure to westerly weather.