We are fortunate that our portion of the house includes the original entrance, hallway, and stairs – they retain much original character.

When we first bought the flat this area was very tired, having been subjected to decades of public traffic.

The sheer size of the space meant that decorating was more of a challenge than I felt like taking on, and so I contracted with our neighbor at the other end of Bankers Lane, Pete The Paint. Pete has always been a good neighbor and was a great decorator – he’s retired now. He covered all the walls with lining paper before painting, repaired some damaged plaster, and laboriously painted all the cast iron balusters.

The results were spectacular