Painters & decorators · Berkhamsted
We work across Hertfordshire and North London. Every job we have ever done came from somebody passing our name on.
Panelled stairwell, Hertfordshire
The part nobody photographs
Sanding, filling, caulking, priming. It is slow, it is dusty, and it is the entire difference between a finish that still looks right in five years and one that starts showing its seams by Christmas.
We use dust extraction and dustless sanding throughout, so the preparation happens without your house disappearing under a film of white powder.
← Preparation — 80% of the workWhat you see →
Recent projects
Let for over ten years and not decorated once in that time. The owner was in Australia, relying on us to tell them the truth about the condition of the place. We worked with them and their estate agent to prioritise the rooms that would move the valuation most.
Living room, dining room, hall, stairs, landing and a nursery. The client was expecting twins in five weeks and that deadline was not movable. We finished with time to spare, and they added the kitchen while we were still there.
New panelling, vision panels, bannisters and handrails, all needing to be finished as one continuous piece of work. Staircases are the hardest thing in a house to decorate well: every angle differs, and there is nowhere to hide a poor line.
Our story
I have been decorating since my early twenties, but it did not become serious until I met Pam. I did up her house, the neighbours saw it, and they asked whether I would do theirs. That was 2014. Every job since has come from somebody passing our name on. We have never advertised.
In 2022 I made it a limited company and gave it a proper name. Ivy has been by my side through most of it, and it had a ring to it. Not a grand origin story, but an honest one.
I am a Crew Commander in the fire service, and so is the rest of my team — more than twenty years of service between us. Josh has been decorating alongside me since 2020. That is not a novelty: it means the people in your home are vetted, trained to work to protocol, and used to leaving a place better than they found it.
What I actually specialise in is listening. Anyone can put paint on a wall. The difference is what happens underneath it.
Matt SeymourFounder
How we work
Text or a phone call, whichever suits. We arrange a visit at a time that works around you.
You show us what you have in mind. We talk through options, finishes, colours and realistic timescales.
How we protect the room, what equipment we use, how much noise the sanding makes, how long preparation takes. You will know what you are agreeing to.
We explain our hours and shift patterns and fit around you, not the other way round.
We photograph the work, tell you when the quote will arrive, then send it when we said we would. Written, itemised, no pressure afterwards.
We hoover, lay floor protection, cover furniture, mask everything staying, and loosen and tape the sockets. Only then does preparation start.
We clean down, pack away, and leave the room as we found it. If a room needs to be usable overnight, tell us and we will work around it.
We go through the finished work with you, room by room. The job is not done until you say it is.
The work
Walls, ceilings, woodwork and joinery, finished by hand or sprayed.
Increasingly the reason people call us. Detail work finished as one continuous piece.
Render, masonry, timber, fascias and soffits, correctly prepared and properly protected.
Victorian terraces, thirties semis, cottages. Older houses move, and they need patience.
Hung to line up everywhere, including the awkward corner nobody else wanted.
Empty houses, rentals and pre-sale work, managed start to finish.
Paints we work withFarrow & BallLittle GreeneBenjamin MooreDulux
Questions
No. We prepare properly, and preparation takes time. A cheaper quote almost always means less sanding, less filling, and a finish that looks fine for a year. If price is the only factor we are probably not the right choice, and we will tell you that rather than cut corners to win the work.
It depends on the condition of the surfaces underneath, not the size of the room. We give you a realistic timescale after seeing it, and we do not quote a number we cannot hold to.
Considerably less than you are expecting. We use dust extraction and dustless sanding, protect and seal the working area, and clean down at the end of every day.
Yes, and we can advise on colours and finishes. If you or your designer have already specified something, we will work with it.
Regularly. We are used to working to someone else's specification, and to reporting to a client who is not on site.
Berkhamsted and the surrounding villages first, then roughly forty miles out. Regular work in Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham, Amersham, St Albans, Harpenden, Stevenage, Hatfield and North London.
Get in touch
Send a message or call. We will arrange a visit at a time that works for you, walk the space together, and talk it through properly. No charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards.