Painting a Wine Cellar or Utility Room in a London Home

The Rooms That Get Forgotten Until They Cause Problems

Wine cellars, utility rooms, boiler rooms, plant rooms — these are the spaces in a London home that rarely feature in the initial decoration discussion but often end up being a significant project in their own right. Paint a basement badly and within two years you'll have mould, flaking, or that faint damp smell that permeates upwards into the living rooms above. Do it properly, and you get a room that functions well and looks genuinely good for a decade or more.

We've decorated a lot of these rooms across London basements, and the approach is quite different from a standard bedroom repaint.

Understanding the Moisture Challenge

The fundamental issue with underground rooms and utility spaces is moisture. There are several sources to consider:

Rising damp can affect floor slabs and lower sections of walls in properties that lack a proper damp-proof membrane or where an existing membrane has failed. It manifests as tide marks, salt crystallisation (efflorescence), and eventually flaking or bubbling paint.

Condensation is particularly common in wine cellars, where the temperature differential between the cool air in the room and warmer surfaces can cause moisture to form. It also occurs in utility rooms wherever cold water pipes run close to walls, and around washing machines and tumble dryers.

Penetrating damp in basements can come from outside — from a raised garden bed against the external wall, from inadequate tanking around a basement extension, or from an old drainage run that's lost its integrity.

Before any paint is applied to a wine cellar or utility room, a proper diagnosis is needed. There is absolutely no point in applying even the best moisture-resistant paint over a wall that's actively wet or drawing water from below. The paint will fail within months. The damp source needs to be identified and addressed first.

Specialist Preparation for Below-Grade Rooms

Once any active damp issues are resolved, the preparation sequence for a wine cellar or basement utility room is more involved than for a standard interior room.

We typically follow this sequence:

1. Treat any mould present on walls or ceiling with a fungicidal wash. Allow to dry completely.
2. Apply a damp-proof membrane paint — a heavy-bodied bitumen or epoxy DPM — to the lower metre of masonry walls and the floor perimeter junction. Products like Ronseal Damp Seal or Wykamol Tanking Slurry are effective for this.
3. Allow full cure time before proceeding — this can be 24–48 hours depending on the product.
4. Apply a stabilising primer to any chalky or powdery surfaces to consolidate the surface before finish coats.
5. Apply moisture-resistant finish paint — not standard emulsion, which will absorb moisture and fail.

Best Paints for Wine Cellars and Utility Rooms

For the finish coats, we recommend:

Moisture-resistant masonry paint for brick or block walls — Dulux Weathershield, Sandtex, or similar products that include fungicide and are formulated for damp-tolerant applications.

Damp-seal emulsion products specifically for interior basement walls — these have a degree of waterproofing built into the formulation and are more forgiving in environments where humidity fluctuates.

Epoxy or polyurethane floor paint for concrete floors — much harder and more chemical-resistant than standard floor emulsion, and easier to clean.

For a wine cellar specifically, we also consider the effect of the paint on humidity regulation. Breathable lime-based paints are worth considering for wine cellars that rely on natural rather than mechanical humidity control — they allow the wall to absorb and release moisture, helping to moderate the humidity level passively.

Dark, Moody Colours: Why They Work Underground

Wine cellars in particular have embraced the current trend for rich, dark interiors, and with good reason — a deep colour on brick or rendered walls, a painted timber wine rack, and some considered lighting creates a genuinely atmospheric room that feels intentional rather than just functional.

Colour choices that work particularly well in wine cellars:

• Farrow & Ball Pitch Black — a warm, very deep black with a slight brown undertone, applied in an eggshell on rendered walls and in a flat finish on brick
• Little Greene Obsidian Green — a deep forest green that references wine bottle glass in a subtle way
• Farrow & Ball Hague Blue — a rich inky blue that reads almost as a dark neutral
• Edward Bulmer Invisible Green — a complex, deep green that works beautifully in underground rooms

In utility rooms, clients tend towards slightly more practical choices — a clean mid-grey or a utility blue is common — but there's no reason not to be bold here either. A utility room painted in Railings with white-painted shelving and good task lighting is a pleasure to use rather than a space you rush in and out of.

What to Expect from a Belgravia Painters Wine Cellar Project

We'll inspect the current condition of the room thoroughly before quoting. If we identify active damp issues, we'll advise on the best remediation route before proceeding with decoration. We carry all the relevant products for a full specialist preparation and can complete most wine cellar and utility room projects within two to three days, including drying time between stages.

If you're in the process of converting a basement or already have a cellar room that's looking tired or showing signs of damp damage, get in touch for a site assessment.