Case study — Heritage decoration
We delivered the decoration package on the refurbishment of the Norwegian Embassy in Belgravia for main contractor Conistons, working across the principal rooms and circulation of a listed townhouse.
Client
Conistons
Location
Belgravia, London
Sector
Heritage
Scope
Principal rooms and circulation
We were appointed by Conistons to carry out the decoration package on the refurbishment of the Norwegian Embassy in Belgravia. The works covered the principal rooms and circulation areas of a listed townhouse, including cornices, panelled joinery and specialist finishes.
Belgravia townhouses combine two demands that pull against each other: the building fabric is listed and has to be treated as such, while the interior has to end up looking like a functioning modern embassy. Original cornice, panelled shutters and sash boxes were prepared by hand, and finishes were chosen to sit correctly against the period detail rather than flatten it.
Reception rooms and offices across five floors
Staircase, hallways and circulation
Hand preparation of cornice, panelling and shutters
Sash window overhaul and redecoration
Sample panels and colour approval in situ
Walls and ceilings were finished in flat, low-sheen emulsions appropriate to a period interior, with water-based eggshell to joinery, panelling and shutters built up over fully prepared substrates. Decorative plaster was cut in by hand to keep the profiles crisp, and the sash windows were prepared, repaired where sound and redecorated rather than replaced.
In Belgravia the constraints arrive before the paint does: consent, conservation, neighbours and a street with nowhere to park.
Original cornice, panelling, shutters and sash boxes were prepared by hand and repaired where sound rather than stripped or replaced, with methods agreed before work started.
Colours were signed off from sample panels viewed in the room they belonged to, under its own light — the only reliable way to judge a heritage palette against period detail.
No lay-down space, a single stair for every trade and residential neighbours on both sides. Materials were called off in small loads and the staircase was protected and kept clear throughout.
A small, consistent team of our own operatives from start to finish — which matters on a site with security requirements and on a finish that has to read continuously room to room.
On diplomatic work, what we do not publish matters as much as what we deliver. We work to the client's confidentiality requirements and agree in advance what can be photographed and what can be said.
What contractors, architects and conservation officers ask us before appointing a heritage decorator.
Yes. Heritage decoration is one of our core sectors and we work within listed building consent, agreeing methods and materials before anything is opened up. Our recent heritage work includes Brighton Pavilion, the Young V&A and this listed stucco townhouse in Belgravia.
Repair, wherever the timber is sound. Sash boxes, shutters and joinery are prepared by hand, made good with appropriate repair systems and redecorated, which is both what consent normally requires and what keeps the building reading correctly. Replacement is a last resort, not a starting point.
From the existing scheme and any paint analysis available, made up as sample panels and viewed in the room under its own light before sign-off. On heritage work the colour is matched to the building's decorative scheme rather than picked off a contemporary colour card.
Yes, directly or through the main contractor and architect. Method statements, materials and repair details are agreed in advance and recorded, which is what keeps a listed building job out of trouble and gives the client an audit trail afterwards.
We are CHAS and SSIP accredited with a 100 per cent RIDDOR-free record across our sites, and work to the standards main contractors expect on heritage and diplomatic projects. Policies and certificates are available for your prequalification pack.
See the sectors we work in →Talk to the team that decorated the Norwegian Embassy in Belgravia.
GSD London Ltd
Company Number: 10543768
VAT Number: 261280131
Head Office
40 Bowling Green Lane,
EC1R0NE, United Kingdom
