Painting & decorating · Central London
Painters & decorators for London's finest homes.
The Finishing House delivers museum-standard interior and exterior decorating across Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Marylebone. Written specifications, a long-standing team of trusted craftsmen, and preparation most decorators never attempt.
Get in touch
A free consultation & friendly expert advice.
Tell us a little about your project and we'll be in touch within one working day — with honest, no-obligation advice from a senior decorator. Leave your name, email and telephone, and a senior decorator will arrange your free, no-obligation consultation.
By submitting, you agree we may contact you about your project. We never share your details — see our Privacy Policy. Prefer to give more detail? Use our guided enquiry below.
The house view
Anyone can make a wall look painted. Very few can make a room feel finished — flat in raking light, crisp at every architrave, identical in sheen from skirting to cornice. That difference is not talent. It is discipline, applied long before the first coat.
The Finishing House was built for clients who notice. We are a close-knit team who have worked together for years — the same trusted hands on every project, never subcontracted out to whoever is available — held to a snagging standard of zero at handover.
We work quietly in occupied homes, concierge buildings and listed properties — protecting floors, furniture and your patience in equal measure.
Services
Painting & decorating services, done properly.
From a single drawing room to a full-property redecoration programme, every project is specified in writing, sequenced correctly, and led by a senior decorator from first survey to final walk-through.
Interior painting & decoration
Walls, ceilings, cornice, panelling and joinery in period and contemporary homes. Dead flat, eggshell and specialist sheens, colour-matched and laid off by hand.
ExteriorsExterior & façade decorating
Render, masonry, sash windows, railings and front doors. Weather-correct systems, conservation-aware detailing, and full management of access and neighbours.
PapersWallpaper & specialist finishes
Hand-printed, wide-width and grasscloth papers hung with precision, alongside limewash, polished plaster and decorative finishes where paint alone is not enough.
HeritageHeritage & period property
Listed townhouses, Georgian and Victorian interiors and conservation-area façades — breathable systems, careful restoration of original features, and conservation-aware methods throughout.
The Finishing House method
The finish is decided before the first coat.
Most decorating failures are preparation failures. Our four-stage method exists to remove luck from the result — each stage protects the one that follows, and none is shortened to flatter a programme.
Survey & specification
Every surface assessed — moisture, movement, existing coatings. A written specification follows: products, systems, colours and a programme we will actually keep.
Protection & preparation
Floors, furniture and fittings sheeted and sealed. Dust-controlled sanding throughout. Repairs, filling and the correct primer for each — never one primer for all.
Application
Premium paints applied in the right conditions with proper drying times. by hand, woodwork, and consistent sheen across every elevation, in every light.
Snagging & handover
A joint daylight walk-through, completed on the spot, the house returned clean — with labelled paint and a record of every product used left behind for you.
In motion
Period London, up close.
A few short films of the kind of period London interiors we're trusted to look after — crisp painted woodwork, original plasterwork and considered colour. Films of our own completed projects will follow as they finish.
Selected commissions
Recent work, in the rooms that demand it.
A representative selection. Detailed references, product schedules and client introductions are available on request.
Lateral apartment
Full interior redecoration across nine rooms — walls, ceilings, cornice and joinery in heritage dead flat and eggshell, completed around the client's residence.
Knightsbridge · SW1XGeorgian townhouse
Exterior façade programme: render repair, sash window restoration and full redecoration to conservation requirements, with scaffold and neighbour liaison managed end to end.
Marylebone · W1UDrawing room & hallway
Specialist scheme in hand-printed wallpaper and dead flat trim, hung and finished to the designer's specification with a zero-snag handover.
Chelsea · SW3Portfolio
Finishes worth looking closely at.
A selection of recent interiors and exteriors. Every surface here was prepared to the same standard — the difference shows most in raking light and at close range.
Knowledge
The difference is in the detail.
Choosing a finish is as important as choosing a colour — it decides how light falls, how a room feels, and how the work wears over years. Here is how we think about the houses we paint in, and the finishes we specify.
Select a topic below to explore each.
Little Greene
Heritage British paintKnown for richly pigmented colour and a respected historical palette. Their gives a soft, chalky depth, while their range adds washability for hard-working rooms.
Best where colour depth and a heritage flat finish matter most.
Farrow & Ball
Dorset, EnglandFamous for colours with remarkable depth and a quality of light that shifts through the day. gives the signature chalky matt; and the newer Dead Flat add durability without losing character.
Best for atmospheric colour in period and contemporary rooms alike.
Paint & Paper Library
Architectural colourPrized by designers for sophisticated, tonal colours arranged to layer beautifully within a single room — paler to deeper shades of the same hue across ceiling, walls and woodwork.
Best for considered, designer-led tonal schemes.
Mylands & Edward Bulmer
Specialist & naturalMylands is a family London colour house with a theatrical heritage; Edward Bulmer makes genuinely natural, plant- and mineral-based paint for period and ecologically minded homes. We specify both where the project calls for them.
Best for specialist, historic or natural-paint requirements.
Finishes are measured by — the percentage of light they reflect. Flatter finishes feel soft and hide imperfections; higher-sheen finishes are tougher and more wipeable. Choosing correctly for each surface is what makes a scheme feel resolved.
The softest, chalkiest finish. Deepens colour and disguises uneven walls — ideal for ceilings and walls in calmer rooms. Marks more easily, so best away from busy hands.
The flat look, engineered to be scrubbed clean — Little Greene Intelligent Matt or Farrow & Ball Modern Emulsion. The right choice for hallways, kitchens and family homes.
A gentle, barely-there glow with real toughness. The traditional finish for woodwork, skirting, doors and panelling, paired with flat walls.
A clearly polished, hard-wearing finish — Farrow & Ball call theirs Modern Eggshell. Suited to kitchen cabinetry, radiators and surfaces that take daily wear.
The most reflective and hardest-wearing finish, traditional on front doors, railings and fine joinery. Demands flawless preparation — gloss reveals every flaw beneath it.
Much of prime Central London — Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Notting Hill and Hampstead among them — sits within conservation areas, and many of its finest houses are listed. That changes what may be done to a façade, and how. We survey for this before any exterior work begins.
Conservation areas
External appearanceIn a conservation area, the character of the street is protected. Colour and materials on the front elevation can be controlled, and some changes need consent from the local authority. Where there is any doubt, we'd advise confirming with the council's before we start.
Best approached with a survey and honest advice, not guesswork.
Listed buildings
Consent may applyFor a listed building, can be required for work that affects its character — sometimes including exterior redecoration and colour. We flag this at survey and never paint over a question.
Best handled before the brushes come out — we'll tell you plainly.
Breathable, period-correct paints
How old walls workSolid masonry and lime plaster need to breathe. A finish — limewash, mineral or breathable masonry paint — lets moisture escape. Seal an old wall behind a modern plastic film and it blisters and traps damp.
Best specified to suit the building, not the convenience.
How we work within it
From first surveyWe survey the elevation, identify where consent or a like-for-like colour matters, and specify materials sympathetic to the building. You receive honest, no-obligation advice and clear next steps — never a finish that puts the property at risk.
Best for owners who want it done correctly, and on the record.
A colour is never one colour. It shifts with the light a room receives, the hour of the day, and how the room is used. The same white can feel warm in one room and cold in the next — which is why we sample on your own walls before anything is committed.
North-facing rooms
Cool, even lightNorth light is steady but cool, and can leave pale, cold colours looking flat or grey. Warmer or deeper shades answer the chill — soft greens, warm neutrals, or a colour with enough pigment to hold its own through the day.
Best with warmth and depth rather than stark, cool whites.
South-facing rooms
Generous warm lightSouth-facing rooms are filled with warm light from morning to evening, and flatter almost any palette. They carry cooler tones, pale shades and stronger colours beautifully, with the finish reading true for most of the day.
Best for the broadest range — from quiet pales to confident colour.
East & west aspects
Light that movesEast rooms take a crisp, bright morning and soften by afternoon; west rooms warm towards a golden evening. The question we ask is a simple one: when is the room most used, and lit, and which colour serves it then?
Best chosen around the hour the room truly lives.
Aspect, use & finish
Colour and sheen togetherHow a room is used shapes the choice as much as its light. A calm bedroom can take a soft, chalky matt; a hard-working hallway wants a washable finish in a forgiving tone. We on the wall and view them morning, midday and evening.
Best decided in the room itself, in its own light.
Over half of every programme is preparation. It is the part you never see in the finished room, and the part that decides whether the finish lies flat in raking light and lasts for years — or fails within months. Here is what it actually involves.
Protection first
Your home, not a siteFloors, furniture and fittings are sheeted and sealed before a tin is opened, and sanding is throughout. The room is treated as a home that happens to be occupied — because it usually is.
Best done thoroughly, so the disruption stays invisible.
Making good
A sound surfaceCracks raked out and filled, run where woodwork meets wall, damaged plaster repaired, and everything sanded back to a smooth, sound base. The finish can only be as good as what sits beneath it.
Best where the wall is made right before it is made beautiful.
The right primer for each surface
Never one primer for allBare wood, new plaster, metal and previously painted work each need their own primer or sealer for the beneath. Using one primer for everything is where most finishes quietly fail.
Best matched surface by surface, in the correct sequence.
Why it is over half the work
Where the finish is wonMost of the programme, and most of the cost, sits in preparation rather than the colour coats. It is unglamorous and entirely the point: it is what lets the finish lie flat, hold its sheen, and stay crisp at every architrave for years.
Best understood as the reason a considered finish lasts.
Materials
Your choice of paint, expertly applied.
Our decorators work daily in the leading heritage paint ranges and know how each behaves — coverage, sheen, drying behaviour and touch-up character — on real London walls.
The finish is only as good as what sits beneath it. We prepare with trade-grade materials, chosen for the surface in hand — so every coat lands on a sound, properly made base.
Where we work
We work in Central London & the surrounding prime locations.
Tall windows, raking afternoon sun and discerning eyes. We decorate where a poor finish has nowhere to hide.
The preparation alone took longer than our previous decorator's entire job. You can see the difference in every room, in every light.Private client — Marylebone, W1
Questions, answered honestly.
How much does painting and decorating cost in Central London?
Every property is different, so we price from a written specification rather than a guess. Most projects begin from £3,000 for a single room finished to our standard, and full-property programmes are quoted after a site survey. You receive a fixed written proposal before any work begins — no day-rate surprises.
Can you decorate while we are living in the property?
Yes — most of our work is in occupied homes. We seal and protect each working area, use dust-controlled sanding, clean down daily and agree quiet hours around your household, including concierge and building-management requirements.
How long does a full redecoration take?
A single room is typically three to five working days; a whole apartment or townhouse runs to a programmed schedule agreed in writing at the survey stage. We never compress drying times to flatter a deadline — that is how finishes fail.
Are you insured, and is your work guaranteed?
We carry full public liability insurance, and our work is carried out by our own trusted team — a close-knit group who have worked together for years, never subcontracted out. Every project is handed over snag-free with a written record of the products used, and our workmanship is guaranteed.
Can you help us choose colours and finishes?
Yes. We advise on colour, sheen and the right finish for each surface, and prepare sample areas on your own walls so you can judge them in the room's natural light before committing. We work fluently across the leading heritage paint ranges and will guide you to the right specification for how each room is used.
Who will actually carry out the work?
Your project is led by a senior decorator from first survey to final walk-through, working with our own trusted, long-standing team — the same skilled people on every job, many of whom have worked together for years. You have a single point of contact throughout — the same person who surveyed the work oversees it to completion, so nothing is lost between trades.
Which areas of London do you cover?
We work in Central London and the surrounding prime locations, including Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Marylebone and St John's Wood. If your property sits just outside these areas, do still get in touch — we consider each enquiry individually.
How do we get started?
Send us a few details about the rooms and your timescale, with photographs if you have them. A senior decorator will respond within one working day to arrange a site visit or, where it is quicker, a video call — followed by a clear written proposal with no obligation.
Prefer to tell us more?
The guided enquiry.
If you'd rather give us the full picture, these few quick questions help us prepare properly before we speak. You'll still hear back from a senior decorator — not a call centre — within one working day, with an honest assessment and clear next steps.
We accept a limited number of commissions each month, so every project receives the senior team it deserves.
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What does your project involve?
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When would you like the work completed?
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Would you like help with colour & finishes?
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Do you have a preferred paint house?
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Do you have a budget in mind?
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