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John Lewis Wellbeing Hotel, Ambleside
We successfully quoted for the full redecoration works to the reception areas at the John Lewis Wellbeing Hotel in Ambleside. The works involved removing all existing wallcoverings, preparation of all surfaces and then the subsequent redecoration. As the hotel is a provision for staff and partners of John Lewis, the standard of work had to be exemplary. The property is part of the way through an overhaul programme and this time was the turn of the public/dining areas.
The selection of wallcoverings was made by the hotel design team with the rest of the brief left open for interpretation, to this end we involved Christine Atkinson (technical support manager - north) early on to ensure we were providing the best solution and supplementary colour choices. Where to hotel had always used, and were happy with, oil based trim paint, we suggested switching to diamond satinwood. Primarily for the environmental benefits but equally important was the non yellowing long term durability and the fact that any future damage could be repaired/touched up and back in use within an hour with almost no odour as oppose to the long drying times and the unfriendly smell of oil based, which would not be conducive to a great guest experience. Vinyl matt was chosen for all ceilings as a versatile, long lasting, fast drying product, which again could be touched up further down the line once the rooms are back in use. The painted walls were finished in a durable matt to compliment the regatta stripe wallcovering and provide that hard wearing, low maintenance finish.
Once the works were underway the task at hand became more evident with the previous wallpaper covering up a number of imperfections and almost all of the woodwork was extremely well worn under the previous coatings. Our team set about washing all of the walls down after stripping and flushing out all ceilings and walls initially to provide a smooth surface ready for lining. A few areas of deeper issue were discovered including plasterboard patching then tape and filling, and window reveals that required bonding and flushing out.
The woodwork in itself was no small task, with a number of hours spend raking the top edge of skirting back to bare for that super sharp edge, which had been moulded into a curve over the years. Wood filler, fine surface filler and two part filler were all used between a number of passes with the mirka sanding kit to bring the woodwork up as new.
After four man weeks of preparation we were now placed to start the decoration works which involved lining all walls, finishing the ceiling and frieze in white cotton vinyl matt and all woodwork in white cotton diamond satinwood. A final check over to ensure all surfaces were in pristine condition was conducted ready for paper hanging. The details that were afforded to the paperhanging should not be understated, with every consideration given to the fall of drops, vertical lines and the fluidity between change of finishes. Historically paperhanging is a case of starting in the corner that is behind you and accepting that the mis match will fall there, we offered so much more than that here, planning every panel in to ensure the imitation was as close to manufactured joinery as it could be. Subtle and invisible splices made to offer symmetry and continuity, hand mixed paints to hide unsightly details in with the paper and precision lasers to offer definitive levels. This has been an excellent example of craftsmanship and decorating excellence.
Completed ahead of schedule on an already tight timescale due to other trades involved and a hotel shut down further enhanced our reputation of delivering this type of project.
The selection of wallcoverings was made by the hotel design team with the rest of the brief left open for interpretation, to this end we involved Christine Atkinson (technical support manager - north) early on to ensure we were providing the best solution and supplementary colour choices. Where to hotel had always used, and were happy with, oil based trim paint, we suggested switching to diamond satinwood. Primarily for the environmental benefits but equally important was the non yellowing long term durability and the fact that any future damage could be repaired/touched up and back in use within an hour with almost no odour as oppose to the long drying times and the unfriendly smell of oil based, which would not be conducive to a great guest experience. Vinyl matt was chosen for all ceilings as a versatile, long lasting, fast drying product, which again could be touched up further down the line once the rooms are back in use. The painted walls were finished in a durable matt to compliment the regatta stripe wallcovering and provide that hard wearing, low maintenance finish.
Once the works were underway the task at hand became more evident with the previous wallpaper covering up a number of imperfections and almost all of the woodwork was extremely well worn under the previous coatings. Our team set about washing all of the walls down after stripping and flushing out all ceilings and walls initially to provide a smooth surface ready for lining. A few areas of deeper issue were discovered including plasterboard patching then tape and filling, and window reveals that required bonding and flushing out.
The woodwork in itself was no small task, with a number of hours spend raking the top edge of skirting back to bare for that super sharp edge, which had been moulded into a curve over the years. Wood filler, fine surface filler and two part filler were all used between a number of passes with the mirka sanding kit to bring the woodwork up as new.
After four man weeks of preparation we were now placed to start the decoration works which involved lining all walls, finishing the ceiling and frieze in white cotton vinyl matt and all woodwork in white cotton diamond satinwood. A final check over to ensure all surfaces were in pristine condition was conducted ready for paper hanging. The details that were afforded to the paperhanging should not be understated, with every consideration given to the fall of drops, vertical lines and the fluidity between change of finishes. Historically paperhanging is a case of starting in the corner that is behind you and accepting that the mis match will fall there, we offered so much more than that here, planning every panel in to ensure the imitation was as close to manufactured joinery as it could be. Subtle and invisible splices made to offer symmetry and continuity, hand mixed paints to hide unsightly details in with the paper and precision lasers to offer definitive levels. This has been an excellent example of craftsmanship and decorating excellence.
Completed ahead of schedule on an already tight timescale due to other trades involved and a hotel shut down further enhanced our reputation of delivering this type of project.