Making An Entrance! Chatting Hotel Transformations With Martin Reynolds

We got in touch with our latest Brewers Spotlight winner, Martin Reynolds at ReNew Professional Decorating Services to chat about a project we are very excited about! 

Mural: Classic Italian Landscape Set of 8 panels by Anaglypta.

As a Brush Wizards member, Martin was selected by Brewers to receive some goodies and have the chance to share some of his work. Brush Wizards is the #1 community for Painters & Decorators, with the group built around respect for each other and a place where people are encouraged to thrive in their business and in life.

"I formed Brush Wizards with the intention of cultivating a safe space for fellow painter and decorators to share their challenges and provide mutual support, to ease the sense of isolation often prevalent in our industry." 

Gary, Founder of Brush Wizards

Hi Martin, congratulations on becoming our latest Spotlight winner! 

How did you get into painting and decorating as a career?

I have been running my decorating business for just over 4 years, after struggling with my mental health during the pandemic and wanted to reevaluate my career options.

I found the concentration required and the creativity needed for decorating helped immensely with my mental health. After working on a few personal projects, it was time to retrain!

I went back to college, which was difficult during covid and with my age, but I was determined to fill the gaps in my knowledge. I also went on several paid for courses so I could provide the best possible service to my customers.

Wallpaper: Allure by Graham & Brown.

It looks like all the hard work paid off with your latest project! 

Can you tell us more about it?

Solberge Hall near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is a Georgian house of historical significance. It was built in 1824 by John Hutton, a local landowner and it remained in the Hutton family for about a century.

It was purchased by Benjamin Talbot (a famous inventor!) after this and has been used for a range of purposes. It was once the headquarters for North Yorkshire Police as well as a hotel for a large hotel chain.

Recently, it was purchased by The Wharfedale Group and is currently undergoing an extensive multi-million-pound refurbishment and restoration programme, transforming it into a stunning private hire wedding and events venue set in a private estate in North Yorkshire.

Solberge Hall has been an amazing project to be involved with, and though not without its challenges, possibly the most rewarding work we have had the pleasure to work on.

Wallpaper: Fantoosh by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Speaking of challenges, what has been some of the trickier elements of the project?

The refurbishment works started with the transformation of the grand staircase, probably the largest single space project that we have had the experience of working on so far, though daunting to look at, we were excited to challenge ourselves and be able to put every aspect of our skills to the test.

Our first challenge (and who doesn't love a challenge!) to overcome was the fact that above all else, this is still a fully functioning venue, with planned events, and that we had to keep disruption to a minimum.

We used a combination of mobile tower scaffolds and staircase towers to be able to reach those higher areas, allowing us to be able to fully remove them from the area when required.

We were also able to drape and hide the upper areas when the ground floor spaces were being used for functions.

With years of poor previous decorating and patching up to contend with, we knew the prep work to be able to provide a quality finished product would be intense, and with only a 4 week turnaround time, the project required more hands than our 2-man team could handle!

Mural: Classic Italian Landscape Set of 8 panels by Anaglypta.

What did you do to solve the problem?

I brought in the fantastic John and Kay from H2H Decorating Services to assist with the hefty task of preparing the space for its final finishes for the first 2 weeks of the project.

It is so important to us to have great working relationships with other decorators who share the same vision and level of detail - H2H have never failed on this front! I am really excited to continue our work together on Solberge Hall and other projects.

Wallpaper: Mad Dogs by Albany.

That’s fantastic! So, tell me more about the prep work you carried out?

We found areas that had been filled with excessive amounts of silicone sealant and with previous coatings on all woodwork that were in terrible condition.

The coatings had to be removed before we could consider flattening the surfaces…which was no small task when you consider how many spindles had to be fully stripped and sanded!

Once the woodwork was stripped, filled and sanded, we got to work stripping the previous wallpaper, repairing any damage to the walls, treating areas of water ingress (by various methods), and all of course covering up the floor.

Wallpaper: Fantoosh by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

What were some of the painting and decorating techniques you used?

We were finally able to apply the coatings to each surface, with the walls and handrails being finished by traditional brush and roller methods, and the intricate ceilings, woodwork and panelling being finished using our airless spray systems to give the best possible, flawless finish.

Once these coatings were dry and solid, we applied 9 wallpaper murals at the ground level, up the staircase and its two landings.

Before any paper was hung, the full layout was planned meticulously to ensure maximum visual impact, cohesion and flow between each wallpaper panel.

We knew that this section of the project gave the truly striking finish that would make this project sing!

Wallpaper: Crane Flight by Galerie.

Were you happy with the finished result?

Once it was finished, the space was full of drama, impact, and with the great design choices in colour and paper, a truly glorious backdrop to any wedding entrance!

Mural: Classic Italian Landscape Set of 8 panels by Anaglypta.

It looks incredible! What did you work on after the entrance hall?

With the success of the staircase behind us, we brought in additional help from another incredible decorator (Sean from Strokes of Genius Ltd) to then transform the 2 corridors that follow off directly from the staircase in a similar matching design, with another 4 bedrooms.

Every bedroom is finished with its own bespoke design, and we spent a long time ensuring the highest possible standards, despite problems such as damaged plaster and restoring coving.

It has been a pleasure to work with great products supplied predominantly by Brewers, including Johnstone's Trade Perfect Matt and Aqua Guard, and all the wallpapers.

Our local Brewers store is Durham, and I love the convenience of being able to just swing by and take a product from the shelves. 

If I find myself short for any reason, though with this project, we have been able to work closely with our Area Development Manager, Garry Burlinson, who has been key in making sure that we have the products required when needed to keep the project moving.

We look forward to working closely with him for the rest of this project!

Wallpaper: Allure by Graham & Brown.

That’s great to hear! What have been your highlights of the project so far?

A project of this age and scale can be truly daunting, but the excitement to work on it, the chance to work alongside other talented tradespeople, and the opportunity to collaborate and work with a client who has such a meticulous eye for design gives such a great sense of satisfaction when you finally step back and look at the beauty of each finished space.

It does, however, make it very difficult to pick out a favourite finished area due to each space having such individuality!

Wallpaper: Fantoosh by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Is there an end date in sight?

We don’t have an end date for the project, but this month will see us return to apply our touch to the remainder of the 25 bedrooms, then later in the year, the rest of the corridors.  

Following that we continue with any remaining restoration and refurbishment projects that our client requires.

Wallpaper: Crane Flight by Galerie.

What an incredible space! We cannot wait to see how the project progresses. Could you be our next Brewers Spotlight winner? 

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