It's May, mid COVID-19 lock-down season, when we receive an urgent message from Malton's Cutthroat Barbers. They are moving into their new premises and the exterior needs decorating before their reopening in July. Cutthroat's branding did not match the current look of the bridal shop. It needed a complete overhaul!
Before: The Bridal Studio. Painted in Antique
White with Black gloss trims.
That's where we came in with our specialist service. The first part of the process was to choose the look. The owner was initially indecisive and considered two colour combinations: Farrow & Ball's "Elephant's Breath" with "Pelt" or Farrow & Ball's "London Stone" with "Black Blue". To assist in the decision-making process, I took the original photographs and I gave them an idea of what it could look like:
The shop front visualised in Elephant's Breath & Pelt
The shop front visualised in London Stone & Black Blue
To achieve this, I sought the hexadecimal code for each colour and combined that with Photoshop's masks to change the colour of the exterior.
To me and James, however, these looks were too plain for Cutthroat. It needed something to make it really pop. We suggested that some of the front's features be picked-out in the same colour as the door and the masonry banding at the bottom. We were able to give the owner an idea of what we envisioned:
This really helped the owner make the decision. We all agreed that the London Stone & Black Blue combination with the picked-out features would look the best!
The next step and perhaps the most important, was the physical preparation. That was where James, our experienced Painter & Decorator, stepped in.
James cleaned the front from top to bottom. This ensured we had a fresh pallet to work on. Then, he sanded down and scraped out any cracks and removed any loose paint. The door and the framework were filled with two part wood filler. The masonry banding was filled with a Special Masonry powder filler. Next, where all the filler had been placed, it was sanded down thoroughly to achieve a smooth texture. James then primed the filler with acrylic primer. The picked-out features were covered in a Grey undercoat.
After the first physical step of preparation.
Finally, it's time to paint the main framework! James painted the largest part of the front leaving a band around the beading of the features. This was important to ensure a straight line later in the process. When it was dry, it was denibbed with very fine sandpaper.
The picked-out features were then given a second undercoat of Grey, before adding a coat of "Black Blue" eggshell paint to those parts, as well as a coat on the door.
After a first coat on the frame, features & doors
Then it's time for a second coat of the London Stone on the main frame work. The gap again left around the features to ensure a perfect finishing line in the final step.
At last, everywhere gets a finishing coat. Particular attention is taken when painting the lines where the Black Blue features mete the London Stone. A small paintbrush was needed for this part. You can really see the concentration and attention to detail needed for this intricate work.
The final look:
The owner was ecstatic! She said:
"Over the moon with our new shop front ...we have had so many compliments already!! James is professional, friendly and meticulous. Will definitely be using again"
On 4th July 2020 they opened their doors with a fresh new look.
Before Photoshop After