The Decorator’s Dialogue by Anthony Langstone
Most of my working life I have worked as a painter and decorator. From school I came away with O’level art (yes I’m of that age group, getting towards being ‘old school’). I never furthered my education nor ventured into art or design as perhaps I should, but feel decorating requires an artistic flare. I suppose with any skill a person is only as good as his/her desire permits when trying to obtain as good a job as possible. I aim to create a work of art every time through decorating and if something isn’t right I know and won’t be happy until I make it right.
Having a large clientele I find it fascinating, the complexity of characters which brings with it various types of standards and challenges. It’s a complex world and has an innate way of refining your own character and art at the same time, much like an interconnected relationship amongst things.
Decorating involves pricing the work, meeting new and interesting people and discussing what it is they require and the best approach we can take together. I feel decorating is quite an intrusive job as you are entering in to people’s environment so my aim is to always create as little disturbance and impact upon people’s lives.
When pricing a job, one needs to look at the condition the property is in. If walls need stripping there’s always the possibility of more than 1 layer of paper and may require more time than originally quoted. It’s important also to mention in any quote, if walls are in a poor state they may need lining with good quality lining paper, after all our objective is to make the room look great.
Not all jobs are a challenge, generally speaking older houses require more TLC. There’s often a lot of old and perished paint and plaster which requires a fair bit of filling and lots of sanding. When that’s the case I wear a really good face mask, I also try to open as many windows as I can maintaining good ventilation. I know I can’t avoid some pollution to my lungs but some steps towards looking after my health is better than none. It’s surprising how these pollutants affect and tire the body.
It’s ironic that most of my clients with older properties live in Yorkshire which can be an added 3 hours drive per day on top of a days work. Some properties can be 3-4 floors and if I’m working on the top floor or on the stairs, there’s a whole load of equipment that I need, to carry out my work. A staircase can include 2 pairs of steps, a wooden plank, sometimes 2 if I’m cross lining the walls, a 10 litre tub of ready mixed paste, paste table and papering tools so carrying that lot upstairs is like a days work before you actually start.
thanks to my dad
Thing is, my Dad was a decorator all his working life. He was a very strong man and I feel I have inherited his stamina and find I have an extreme amount of respect and love for him, I also immensely appreciate my inherited traits from him. He had me growing up as a child with a good work ethic. At an early age it was drummed into me, if I wanted something I needed to earn it. That’s not to say they weren’t generous, they were, but if I wanted more I needed to work. So, from the age of 13 to 16, I worked as a milk boy 3 mornings a week before school and every Saturday. I actually enjoyed it and got to meet lots of lovely people. This experience taught me a good foundation, for if you want something work hard.
I’ve always been grateful to have a skill and grateful to my Dad who took me on as an apprentice for 4 years working in London on refurbishments to pubs and wine bars. This was a crash course in hardship but paved the road to becoming a stronger character. What seemed like hardships at the time have turned into paving stones on the road to some level of success.
Some of my jobs are more challenging in the sense of adding dimension to my skills. For example, my more wealthy clients will present me with a mural or wide vinyl, these are a different kettle of fish and require careful planning and manoeuvring. Both mural and wide vinyls are 52 inches wide as opposed to the usual 21 inches. They require overlapping and splicing to create a seamless join. Often a pattern or image requires careful alignment.
I had a map of the world once. I don’t think cutting out Greenland or Ireland would go down too well. They are a challenge for sure. I often joke with my more familiar clients how dare they put me through this but they love the camaraderie. It’s all done in good humour!
Here are some photos of a mural I painted for a client in a 3-storey house in Hebden Bridge.
As a decorator I feel I’m only as good as the materials I use. I’m always on the look out for better quality paints, primers and fillers. The acrylic water based paints today have improved since 1st coming out though externally still requires further improvements, especially in places like Yorkshire where weather( and folk) can be open to harsher elements. They also need extra coats as coverage isn’t as good as the age old oil based paints. However I find acrylic for woodwork stays whiter longer. They dry quick and are useful if needing to hang wallpaper on the same day whereas oil based can take all day to dry. It’s pro’s and cons and having the knowledge goes along way.
I’d say I am self taught ( a part from my apprenticeship) as the degree of difficulty and learning new skills is ever evolving. I’m joined to a decorators forum and if ever I need advise can ask these grand ol professionals for some good tips, I love the learning of new things. It’s nice when I return to repeat clients to see rooms I’ve decorated previously still looking good. Through the use of good quality materials, I reap the reward of repeat work over and over again.
In these ever changing times it’s important not to short change myself. One should have the confidence to charge accordingly for your level of skills but also to raise prices during these times we face. My clients are understanding.
There is one thing I often point out to people. Most of my clientele are women so I give thanks and praise to the fairer sex because I’d be out of work if they didn’t exist. Men in general like a nice home but it’s the women who are the home makers. We men would be less bothered. Saying that I love my house looking good yet I’m merely the painter whereas my wife is the architect.
Many of my clients are happy with the standard I produce and this in turn brings with it, repeat work and recommendations to friends and family. I find it’s like circles of friends. For every good, respectful and decent client, you can be sure their friends are of the same yolk, more importantly they’re generally all good payers. Many have good work ethics, have worked hard to get where they are and have a good value towards money, it’s often hard earned. This I feel gives an added advantage of respecting me as a lone, self employed trader who often lives from week to week. The relationship between us is reciprocal, I provide an overall reliable service and they pay me, it’s a win win. I often gain the confidence of people over time through being honest, on time and trusting in their house. Trust is a huge element I feel between people and when earned people value it. Providing a service requires many aspects and becomes a whole package.
Every now and then a client will have higher standards which in turn pushes me to aim higher. I’ve found I cannot judge somebody negatively just because their standards are greater or lesser. Often times though many would not see the things I see unless I pointed it out to them, we can become blinkered within our own environments and not always see what others do.
This brings me on to recent events. Practically from the start of 2022, I found I was making very bad and often times clumsy mistakes. It hit me really hard as I don’t take lightly to making mistakes. However, after taking a step back and lots of inner perspective, I realised I’d become lazy in my work, along with complacency and lacking in mindfulness. I saw these occurrences or mistakes came about to jolt me out of my slumber. I knew something was amiss and a subtle hint to remind myself I needed to buck my ideas up, out of negative can come some positive outcomes and realisations. Also I have often found it is extremely wholesome and humbling to admit to ones mistakes. To show oneself in an honest way during times of upheaval, which means losing some credit or face, can seriously knock ones self esteem but is humbling too. Its a good way to remind myself I still have ego otherwise I wouldn’t have felt that way!! I’m not so above reprisal. Thankfully the job I was on, the clients were amazing which really humbled me. The lady even gave me a tip with which I bought her some flowers. She said her husband never buys her flowers so I was probably in his bad books again.
Out of the 17 years I’ve been working for myself I’ve only had 2 clients I had to part company with. I’ve realised there is a standard to be obtained and that can differ between people but sometimes standard becomes OCD. In fact one client stressed me out so much having me jump through so many hoops, I actually felt at 1 point I was having heart issues. It was only after the occasion I realised stress really can be a killer. On the plus side I learnt how to work with ‘2 pac’ filler effectively before it dries and becomes unmanageable!! So that was good.
Having gone through this episode at the beginning of this year of low self esteem, I found an age of friend had returned to haunt me, fear came back for a few weeks. You start to doubt yourself & even think you’re getting older by making mistakes. But then time elapses and you pick yourself back up. I truly believe things happen for a reason and I have a renewed alertness about me. Working alone can be boring and I noticed also, if I allow myself to be distracted by the politics of the world ( it’s gone bonkers in the last 2-3 years), I stray from concentration. It’s a lesson that I am here to do good work for people, that my time belongs to the clients and it’s an essential part of the working relationship, that my attention and focus belongs to them. It’s about the client and not me. Selflessness is a great attribute and can bring great satisfaction, but in the reverse of this selfishness is a dead end and can bring endless suffering until one realises where they’ve strayed.
Hence forth I hope I can keep my rekindled alertness and not put good people through any more hardship.
This over politicised world manages that well enough without me adding in to the mix.
My intention is to hopefully bring a little light, fun and reassurance, that good can and should happen to good people.
That is my aim.
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