Cadogan Estate Flat Refurbishment, Cadogan Gardens

The Challenge

Working within a Cadogan Estate specification adds a layer of rigour that distinguishes these projects from typical residential redecorations. The Estate's surveyors inspect completed works against detailed standards covering preparation depth, number of coats, finish quality, brand compliance, and even the direction of brush strokes on woodwork. Any shortfall results in remedial works at the contractor's expense, and repeated failures can result in removal from the Estate's approved list. Coordinating our programme with five other trades in a confined three-bedroom flat required precise scheduling to avoid conflicts — we could not paint a room while electricians were chasing walls for new wiring, nor hang wallpaper while joiners were fitting replacement skirting boards, nor apply finish coats while the flooring team was sanding parquet in the next room and generating fine dust. The existing woodwork throughout the flat had accumulated decades of paint build-up — in some cases fifteen or more layers — that had completely obscured the crisp profiles of the original Victorian mouldings on door panels, architraves, and skirting boards. The Estate's specification required this build-up to be fully addressed, restoring sharp, defined edges to every moulding before new paint was applied. The drawing room wallpaper — Cole & Son's Geometric II range — featured a complex repeating pattern that required precise alignment across the chimneybreast, two flanking alcoves, and the return walls, with any misalignment immediately visible in the bold geometric design.

Our Approach

We attended the project manager's weekly coordination meetings throughout the programme, aligning our work precisely with the other trades' schedules and adjusting our sequencing in real time as the inevitable minor delays and changes rippled through the programme. Woodwork preparation was our most intensive task and the area where the Cadogan Estate specification was most demanding: all twelve doors, their architraves, every linear metre of skirting board, the picture rails, and all window frames were hand-sanded through progressive grits — starting with 80-grit on heavily built-up areas and finishing with 240-grit — to remove accumulated paint layers and restore sharp, defined moulding profiles. Where paint build-up was most severe, particularly on the six-panel door mouldings, we used Peelaway 7 chemical stripper to remove the bulk of the layers before finishing by hand. All woodwork was then primed with Zinsser BIN shellac-based primer for superior adhesion and stain blocking before receiving two full coats of Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell in the Estate-approved shade of Linen Wash. Walls throughout were lined with Erfurt Mav 1200-grade lining paper before painting — a Cadogan Estate requirement that ensures a perfectly smooth base, conceals minor surface imperfections, and extends the life of the paint finish. The drawing room wallpaper, Cole & Son's Geometric II in Riviera colourway, was hung by our senior paperhanger over two meticulous days, with pattern matching across the chimneybreast and two flanking alcoves requiring precise mathematical calculation to maintain perfect symmetry at every corner and return. The master bedroom Zoffany damask was hung with equal care, with the vertical pattern repeat demanding consistent plumb lines across every drop. All rooms received a thorough final inspection from our foreman, including a full check under raking light for surface imperfections, before the Estate's surveyor was invited for their formal sign-off visit.

The Result

The Cadogan Estate surveyor passed the decorating works at first inspection with no snagging items — a result that, in our experience, fewer than half of all Cadogan Estate inspections achieve on the first visit. The surveyor noted the quality of woodwork preparation and wallpaper hanging as particularly commendable, commenting that the restored moulding profiles on the door panels and skirting boards demonstrated exactly the standard of care the Estate expects from its approved contractors. The owner, who had experienced a failed decoration by a different firm on a previous Cadogan Estate property — resulting in costly remedial works and considerable stress — was visibly relieved at the standard achieved and the absence of any remedial items. The flat was relisted for rental at a premium rate through a leading Chelsea letting agent, who commented that the presentation was among the finest on their books that season, with the Cole & Son wallpaper in the drawing room drawing particular praise from prospective tenants. The flat was let within two weeks of completion at the asking rent. We have since been added to the Cadogan Estate's list of approved decorating contractors and have completed three further Cadogan Estate flat refurbishments on their recommendation.