Louis Poulsen PH5

We’d like to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2016.

We have a varied mix of blog posts in the works for the weeks and months ahead, mixing our portfolio of work with examples of interesting interior design and decoration from London, Europe and beyond.

I thought we would begin the new year by taking an admiring glance at the Louis Poulsen PH5 lamp shade, named for its justifiably-respected Danish designer, Poul Henningsen.

louis-poulsen-ph-50-pendelleuchte-l-lp-p-p50-1 (1)

Here is a picture of Henningsen himself, looking every inch the king of 20th century design…

Poul-Henningsen

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Tuckpointing

Perhaps your eye has once or twice been drawn to the incredibly thin and beautifully elegant pointing on a handsome Georgian building in London?

The technique which yields this appearance — bearing the wonderful name of tuckpointing — is an illusion…

 Tuckpointing is a way of using two contrasting colours of mortar in the mortar joints of brickwork, one colour matching the bricks themselves, to give an artificial impression that very fine joints have been made.

You can see the contrast between the more common weather struck pointing on the left, and tuckpointing on the right, here:

weatherstruck-pointing-tuckpointing

And here is an image which illustrates the care and skill involved in the deception…

Tuckpointing brickwork

Should you wish to add another brick to the foundations of your pub quiz knowledge, 10 Downing Street features tuckpointing…

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Lighting and electrical work

Unusually among decorating businesses, we are qualified to carry out electrical work — this means that we can remove and replace old lighting, enhancing the impact of our redecoration work.

The large metal and glass pendant fitting below was one we recently installed…

Ceiling-rose-with-metal-and-glass-pendant-light

 

 

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How to decorate no.6: Use Frog tape

There are big differences between the widely available budget masking tape — which can be picked up for less than £1 a roll — and the far more expensive professional versions, such as Frog Tape.

As well as its paint-blocking properties, Frog Tape is also a winner for its lower tack level, allowing it to be used where strong adhesion could damage the surface. It’s worth noting that one of the main properties of all budget masking tapes is their very high adhesion level — this can be damaging, particularly to varnished surfaces.

Each has its place: always have both.frogtape-multi-surface-uk

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