Grade I Listed Building Flat — Specialist Interior Redecoration

The Challenge

Grade I listing places significant constraints on any decorative work, even on interior surfaces: we were required to demonstrate that all proposed coatings were vapour-permeable, reversible, and free from biocides that could harm the historic fabric. Several sections of the elaborate plaster cornicing in the principal reception room had suffered hairline cracking, and the client's brief included their careful consolidation and in-filling before redecoration. The quality of the cornice work demanded a specialist plasterer working alongside the decorating team.

Our Approach

We engaged an Historic England-approved conservation plasterer to survey and stabilise all cornicing before any painting began. A full specification was prepared and submitted to Historic England, confirming the use of Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion and Limewash throughout — both of which are recognised as lime-compatible and reversible. All surfaces were prepared by gentle hand-sanding only; no chemical stripping was used. Joinery was finished in Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell, applied with natural bristle brushes to achieve the hand-applied character appropriate to a building of this significance.

The Result

The apartment now reads as a genuinely historic interior in the finest sense: the cornicing, fully consolidated and repainted, forms a stunning frame for each room, and the restrained palette of Farrow & Ball neutrals recedes respectfully to let the architecture speak. Historic England confirmed the works as fully compliant.