SHAUN MOLYNEUX
PAINTING, DECORATING, RESTORATION & RENOVATIONS
Traditional craftsmanship & work ethic with cutting edge solutions caring for your home.
OVER TWENTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN CARING FOR LISTED BUILDING, OLD & NEW BUILDINGS
SPECIALISING IN THE REPAIR & DECORATION OF BUILDING EXTERIORS.
As part of my complete service, I provide the best of traditional craft & work ethic with tried & tested & contemporary materials.
Woodwork & masonry repairs, lime washing, mineral silicate & microporous paints
I offer clients a complete range lower impact paints beyond those normally offered by most decorators. Providing a comprehensive range of stunning colours to choose from, all of which give the most suitable & therefore best possible protection for your home at the most competitive rates.
Dulux & Crown paints work great on new buildings, but they are not designed for older buildings & are are not always suitable for listed buildings, timber framed, lathe & plaster, pargetting & lime rendered buildings. Given the range of high quality alternatives available for the near same costs, off-the-shelf products are sometimes less relevant to people looking to care for their homes thoughtfully, with style & panache.
I can help you select the best product for your building - one which will not cause problems in the future by being unsuitable.
The range of paints I can offer include paint technologies specifically designed to minimise the chemical footprint of high VOC solvent based paints, which are detrimental to you, your home & the environment.
I can offer from a wide range of sources paints & washes that can be used for the decoration, restoration or renovation of your home whether it is brand new or hundreds of years old.
Everyone has heard of Farrow & Ball paints, you may or may not like their paint (or prices) However there are now many other options for the decoration & protection of your home including Bedecs' stretchable & breathable Acrylic resin paints, along with Technos water based technology paints. I can also offer a range of superior finishes & materials available in thousands of colours from companies who care about your home, including:
Little Greene has been making quality paints since 1773 (works in association with English Heritage & the National Trust), & for the interior Earthborn breathable clay silicate based paints, along with other paints produced by smaller scale craft companies producing cutting edge products that easily out-perform global giants Dulux & Crown.
I use breathable Toupret fillers which are not hostile to lime renders & plasters as they are free from Portland cement & used on all of my repairs on old buildings as these will not damage your home like cement based renders can.
Combining the use of new generation of paint systems & conventional paints produces the best results for clients in all ways.
A more environmentally ethical way of painting, with lower VOC's they are both better for the buildings I care for, people's health & the environment.
A beautiful old grade two home with a cladding front after being decorated with a traditional clean white finish.
This is the 'once' Kings head pub in Thaxted, this stunning historic building is shown off in all its rich Character here after the redecoration in the summer.
This is Saddlers. Yes another historic building in Thaxted & yes it was once the saddle makers shop & home looking its best after re-rendering & some woodwork replaced before decorating.
A complete face lift for the Hurst cottage in Littlebury now deporting a stylish green where there was once nuclear Orange!
Rectory farm in the process of being redecorated & its conservatory below having extensive woodwork replaced to bring it back to its prime.
The Kings head (yes again) this time in Quendon on the main road. This magnificent building was completely redecorated with considerable woodwork repairs returning it to its former glory as it approaches its 300th birthday
Above is a brand new home which i decorated inside & out.
Below here are two more modern houses which have received a facelift, returning them to their modern, professional finishes.
Pictured above is Chelmer house part way through its renovations.
Above the dilapidated state of a grade two cottage located in a beautiful woodland & while the colour may not be to everyone's taste, the restoration of this grade two listed building is immediately apparent when compared to the final result below. Experience & care in this restoration project brought some much needed attention to this beautiful cottage. Home to a parapsychologist & his various dinosaurs - (they growl too)!
Above local bed & breakfast Steepleview, after being decorated in with a contemporary palette showing clean lines for the business.
I had some reservations about this colour when it was in the tin - but fortune favours the brave & I think this striking finish is absolutely fabulous. The bright deep red & brilliant white show off sharp crisp lines & create a gorgeous front for this home - one that received many plaudits form passersby.
While most of my work is on the exterior of buildings I do also work indoors - above are some I have worked on & to the left above & below are all from the same complete redecoration of a three storey home inside & out. This transformed the entire building into one of a much higher spec, displaying each room to its full potential & showing off the character & design chosen by the owners.
Some shots of a recent project capturing various aspects of the renovations.
There was a lot of rot in these old windows but in the end they were restored to their original state - cornflower blue against a white background, creating a smart complimentary finish.
This beautiful character grade two building stands in the heart of Thaxted. Part of this building was once within the house to its right, itself once the Kings Head pub. It stands opposite Thaxted's historic church in ancient Watling St, the dividing line between the Danelaw & Wessex. You can see from the photo diary that after much care & attention (& elbow grease) this home is now restored to its rightful condition.
Above are two modern homes decorated with sharp contemporary colours show off these new builds to the full, creating a stylish new finish.
Below another listed building with a country cream masonry highlighting the pargeting & stained windows.
On this project I had to strip the entire front cladding prior to decorating a preparation process that took days & without which the subsequent decorating will be less effective & not as durable. I pride myself on fastidious preparations & the best making good achievable, in order to give the best finish & greatest durability for the client.
Mayfield house which I have decorated extensively inside & out over the years for my clients, is shown here looking at its best after decoration. Around the back the orangery was painted with Technos water based technology paint which along with Bedecs' Acrylic resin paints. These are smaller scale companies whose products easily compete with the global rivals of Dulux & Crown. This is part of the service I can offer to clients with a more environmentally ethical way of painting, with lower VOC's & a smaller chemical footprint. They are both better for the buildings, people's health & the environment.
Here is a series of shots taken during the renovation of the Church Hall, Margaret St in Thaxted. The final result was a brighter, warmer & more congenial place for the people who regularly use the hall for all the various activities which take place there. Several years later it still looks good today.
This picture was taken some years ago; it shows Leggatts Farm, now also a B&B, after complete exterior decoration looking beautiful.
Above is the Barley barons' farmhouse after its' external renovation.
Above a beautiful grade two in Little Bardfield. Lime washed walls look great, a traditional finish on this cottage, for a lime plasterer who was snowed under with work.
A farm house at Oxen End after decoration, some window sills replaced & extensive woodwork treatments.
Above is a cottage with lots of pargeting, a traditional finish which can involve complex work to decorate and maintain well, but something I have many years' experience in handling. 18 months on after decorating, still looking good despite the traffic doing its best to cover everything in dirt.
This cottage three & a half years on after decorating. Like the one above & below (all on the same road) they have a heavy traffic burden to deal with as well as the elements & as you can see look great.
Above a lovely cottage still able to contend with the weather & pollution after it was decorated five years ago, some signs of fatigue but still able to deal with the winter & retaining a descent appearance for time elapsed. The average term I would recommended between external decorations is around 5 years, depending upon where the building is situated & the weather.
- Not the best shot I grant you - but it shows my house & the two either side all of which I decorated & are pictured here after they were chosen to represent Thaxted in the 'STOP STANSTED EXPANSION CAMPAIGN' calendar of that year
Above is a new building recently painted in thaxted
Above a series of pictures showing the completed decoration of Mill hatch farm house looking splendid in its new coat of Suffolk pink, the out buildings & stables in black barn paint & a deep red gloss.
