Period flats & townhouse rooms

Work from the room’s proportions

Consider where the wall meets a deep skirting, how a door sits within panelling and what is visible through the next opening. A darker lower wall can feel quite different beside a painted stair than beside a plain doorway. Test the relationship on site, including the ceiling, before treating every room as a separate colour decision.

Distinguish retained fabric from later work

List existing plaster, timber panels, replacement partitions and built-in storage individually. Mark cracks, staining and loose finishes for assessment, rather than hiding them inside an instruction to repaint. Where decoration may be historic, pause before removal: Historic England identifies old paint layers and wall finishes as evidence that stripping can destroy.

Sources: Historic England: redecoration of older buildings

Include the rooms that connect the home

A stair soffit, landing cupboard or deep window reveal deserves a line in the scope. State whether shutters open, whether furniture can move and whether a bed or desk must remain available. For a split-level flat, agree how materials will pass between floors and where they can be kept without occupying the household’s only route through.

Confirm the boundary of a private commission

Ask the freeholder or managing agent which permissions and contractor instructions apply to the proposed decoration. Pay particular attention to the flat entrance door, external window faces and shared stair. Supply any building-wide colour schedule before selecting those finishes. The accepted proposal should distinguish the rooms you can instruct from elements awaiting another party’s approval.