04.26 - Interior Painting (Wandsworth)

For this job, I had the pleasure of totally refreshing a one-bedroom apartment in sunny Balham. I was slightly apprehensive going into this one, as I was unable to view the place in person first. Fortunately, the place had been kept in great condition and there was very little prep work to do before painting.

Some before shots of the bedroom. Usually, I like to show a side-by-side comparison of before and after on here. However, this property is now on Airbnb, and the client has kindly sent me their professional photos of the finished result. As these put my unedited iPhone pictures to shame, I'll save the good shots for the end.

'You take the left door, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to. You take the right door, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Either way, both doors need to be painted by the end of the week, so get a fucking move on.'

As tempted as I was to go down the rabbit hole, I chose the left door out to the hallway and started removing all the handles. Maybe next time.

.

Some before shots of the living area.

Some 'in-progress' shots of the living area. It's probably worth mentioning the paints used in this project - Camber in Eggshell for the woodwork and Naptime in Flat Matt for the walls. Both shades by COAT Paints. I love working with this stuff - it's definitely my go-to recommendation for clients who want something a bit more luxurious. In my experience, it has fantastic coverage despite being modestly priced compared to other 'high-end' brands. Sadly, I'm not being paid to say this.

And back to the hallway. Now with an ominous flat pack bed waiting for me in the background.

Time for the good photos! Hopefully, I don't get asked to take these down by Airbnb. My client has said they're fine to post, so I'll take his word for it. If the photographer would like me to add a credit, I'm happy to do so.

My favourite thing about this sofa is how it didn't fit in any of the apartment's lifts, even after removing the back. Fortunately, the client's mum (both the brains and brawn of the operation) was around to help us cart it up the stairs. Thanks to her, we triumphed, and I only dropped one c-bomb in front of her while doing so.

Some surprise shots of the bathroom, which I didn't take any photos of before starting. And one of the finished hallway.

And the bedroom. I may have assembled the bed but definitely can't take credit for making it so neatly.

The type of texts I get from clients vs my friends. I can't lie, I got a good laugh seeing these both pop up on my phone within a split-second of each other.