Decorating Industrial-Style Interiors in London Warehouse Conversions and New Builds
How to decorate London industrial-style interiors: sealing exposed concrete and bare brick, dark colour schemes, and finishing steel and metalwork correctly.
Industrial Interiors in London: What the Look Actually Requires
The industrial aesthetic — exposed concrete ceilings, bare brick, visible steel beams, dark palettes, raw-textured surfaces — has become one of the dominant interior styles in London's warehouse conversions and in new-build apartments that reference the same language. Bermondsey, Hackney, Clerkenwell, and parts of Battersea all have significant stocks of this building type, and the aesthetic has been imitated widely in new residential schemes.
The danger with industrial-style decoration is that it looks effortless but is technically demanding. Getting exposed concrete to look good requires specialist sealer knowledge. Bare brick requires a considered decision between leaving it raw, sealing it, or painting it. Dark colour schemes amplify any surface defect. Getting these elements right requires professional knowledge, not just a dark grey paint and a large roller.
Exposed Concrete: Sealing and Finishing
In genuine warehouse conversions, the concrete ceiling or walls are likely to be original and will have a natural variation in colour, texture, and porosity. This is part of the appeal. The question is whether to seal it, and with what.
Unsealed concrete is permeable, chalky, and will shed fine white dust (carbonation) onto surfaces below. In a bedroom or living room, this is not viable. Even in a loft space, long-term unsealed concrete above living areas is a maintenance problem.
Penetrating concrete sealers (Thompsons Water Seal, Ronseal Concrete Sealer, or the superior Impregnol from Tikkurila) seal the concrete without changing its appearance — they darken it very slightly when wet, but dry back to the same appearance. These are the right choice when the client wants to preserve the natural concrete look. Apply by roller or brush in two thin coats rather than one thick coat.
Water-based concrete floor and ceiling paint (Leyland Trade Floor Paint thinned for ceiling use, or Sherwin-Williams H&C Concrete Stain) can be applied to give a more uniform appearance while retaining concrete texture. This is useful where the concrete is visually inconsistent and patchy in a distracting way rather than a characterful way.
Polished concrete effect paint — products like Polyvine Concrete Paint or Rust-Oleum Concrete Effect — can be applied over plaster or masonry to create a concrete look where no concrete exists. This is common in new-build flats where the developer has specified plasterboard ceilings but the client wants the warehouse look. Application requires skill: the product is applied in irregular, overlapping passes with a rubber squeegee to create natural variation.
Bare Brick: Painting, Sealing, or Leaving Raw?
Exposed original brick is a strong element in industrial interiors, but it is also one that requires a decision: leave raw, seal, or paint.
Leaving raw is possible where the brick is well-pointed, sound, and not shedding particles. Unsealed older brick in London stock — most commonly London Stock yellow brick in Southwark or Hackney properties — will dust and shed mortar particles over time. A clear brick sealer applied in two coats (Ronseal Brick and Mortar Sealer or the penetrating Permaseal Brick & Mortar Sealer) consolidates the surface without altering appearance and is appropriate for sound brickwork.
Painting brick in a single dark colour has become extremely popular in industrial spaces and urban restaurants. Farrow & Ball Railings, Pitch Black, or Down Pipe; Little Greene Obsidian Green or Lamp Black all work well on brick. The key is using a masonry-formulated paint rather than an emulsion not designed for porous surfaces — Farrow & Ball Exterior Masonry or Dulux Trade Weathershield Masonry paint (used internally) penetrates and bonds correctly. Apply with a masonry brush or thick-nap roller (18mm) to get paint into mortar joints fully. Two coats are always required on first-time-painted brick.
Limewash on brick gives a more aged, textural look than full paint coverage and is well suited to spaces that want industrial character without a flat-painted finish. Bauwerk Limewash and Edward Bulmer Natural Paint both offer products appropriate for this.
Dark Colour Schemes
Dark colours in industrial interiors must be applied to a surface that is properly prepared and primed, or every defect is magnified. Skim-plastered walls painted in Farrow & Ball Railings will show every board joint, every trowel mark, and every nail pop. The preparation standard required for a dark colour scheme is, if anything, higher than for light colours.
For ceilings painted in dark colours — very popular in warehouse conversion living rooms — apply Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 as a primer coat to ensure the dark topcoat does not absorb unevenly into different sections of the ceiling. Two coats of the dark colour will be required; three may be needed if applying over an existing white or pale ceiling.
Trim and metalwork in dark interiors can go one of two ways: black or matching the wall. Black powder-coated or painted steel radiators, black window frames, and black-stained timber are the natural companions to a dark scheme. Farrow & Ball Black tie, Pitchblack, and Railings; Little Greene Lamp Black or Carbon are all used.
Steel and Metalwork Finishing
Exposed steel in genuine warehouse conversions — rolled steel joists (RSJs), box sections, steel window frames — should be treated with a rust-inhibiting primer before any topcoat. Hammerite Direct to Rust (smooth or hammered) in a single-coat application is effective for structural steel that is not in an extremely high-visibility location. For visible RSJs in a living room, a better system is: clean and degrease, red oxide primer (Rustoleum Alkyd Primer), dark topcoat in Farrow & Ball or Little Greene thinned slightly for brush application.
Powder coating is again the most durable finish for steel windows, balustrades, and doors and is worth the cost if the steelwork is a design feature.
Planning a warehouse conversion or industrial-style interior scheme in London? Get in touch for a free quote.