DH Painter & Decorator paints interiors across Dallington, the NN5 suburb about 1.3 miles north-west of Northampton town centre. Dean prepares each room to suit what it is built from, whether that is 17th or 18th century stone, a Georgian apartment or fresh new-build plaster, and quotes free of charge.
Four very different kinds of interior inside one NN5 suburb
Dallington’s housing spans more than three centuries. The old village round Dallington Green has cottages, the inn and the Raynsford Almshouses from the 17th and 18th centuries. Dallington Hall, built in 1720-30 for Sir Joseph Jekyll, is now divided into apartments. The 20th century added houses and flats along Harlestone Road and Dallington Park Road, plus small social-rent bungalows on Bants Lane (1966) and Brook Lane (1988). And on the north-western edge, Dallington Grange is adding new-build homes beside Harlestone Firs.
Each of those needs a different start to the job. The way we prepare a living room in a stone cottage would be wrong for a 2020s lounge, and the reverse is true too. The general method is laid out on our interior painting service page; what follows is how it plays out in Dallington’s own houses.
Solid stone walls round the green
The cottages near the church and along upper Raynsford Road are built of sandstone coursed rubble and ashlar. Their inside walls are rarely flat or plumb, and solid stone walls of this age often carry older plaster that needs to let moisture move through it. Sealing that in with a heavy vinyl emulsion can lead to blistering and flaking a season or two later, particularly in a village sitting in the damp valley of the Dallington Brook.
So in these houses Dean starts by finding out what is on the wall. Loose or powdery paint comes off, cracks get filled with a compatible material, and the paint is chosen to suit the surface underneath, which may mean a breathable mineral or clay-based finish rather than a standard supermarket emulsion. Cutting in along uneven ceiling lines and around deep window reveals is slow brush work, and we price for that honestly rather than pretend a cottage room is a box.
- Deep stone reveals around small casements, painted by hand
- Uneven ceiling lines where a roller frame will not sit flat
- Old timber doors and window boards that may need a different product from the walls
Inside the Dallington Hall apartments
The hall is Grade II* listed, and its Georgian interior includes a panelled staircase with twisted balusters. Flats there may keep period features such as sash windows with glazing bars and moulded joinery. Painting there is a careful, brush-led job: masking glazing bars, keeping a sharp line where wall meets cornice, and choosing a finish that sits well on old timber.
Because the building is listed, changing historic surfaces, or stripping old paint from original joinery, is something to clear with the conservation officer before we start. Redecorating like-for-like is routine; altering character is not. Communal parts of the hall are run by the freeholder or managing agent, so if you own a flat and want the shared stairwell done as well, that is a conversation with them rather than with us alone.
Bungalows, flats and the new Grange homes
The single-storey bungalows on Bants Lane and Brook Lane are let to over-60s by Northampton Partnership Homes, so decorating there is normally arranged through the landlord. They are compact rooms and quick to empty, which suits a short, tidy turnaround.
At Dallington Grange the challenge is the opposite of the old village. Walls are new plaster, often finished in thin builder’s emulsion, and the first redecoration needs a mist coat so the topcoats bond properly. Settlement cracks around door frames and ceiling joints are common in the first year or two and are worth filling before colour goes on, or they reappear through it.
Whichever part of Dallington you live in, we visit, look at the rooms and give a written quote. For how costs are worked out, see our painter and decorator cost guide, and for everything else we cover locally, our Dallington area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
