Showing posts with label georgian houses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label georgian houses. Show all posts

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Turning the clock back on a Georgian stone porch | Art of Clean

This week Gavin was in Cambridgeshire, cleaning a beautiful Georgian stone floor and porch. As you can see from the before and after photographs, underneath the grime, the stone was in really good condition, with no damage or repairs but over time and the external elements, like the rain, wind, sun, car fumes and general dirt, the stone had faded from a clean bright creamy colour to a dull grey mottled putty colour. Some people like this effect, as it shows the age of the stone, but as it's an individual taste, with a really good clean the porch came up really well.

The difference in the appearance after cleaning is very noticeable

Gavin jet washing the stone floor


Stone column before cleaningStone column after cleaning


Georgian architecture

As with this Georgian porch, architecture of the 18th century is synonymous with all the major cities including London, Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh and Dublin and because of its popularity, the style spread out into the towns and villages.  The designs and features were so admired that they became transatlantic and travelled to other cities across the world.

There is no mistaking Georgian housing with its uniformity, symmetry and a careful attention to proportion, sometimes known as the golden ratio.  Georgian architecture came about after the Baroque period with a bit more toned down style. Inspiration came from the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome that had been rediscovered during the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Other famous cleans

One very famous building in London, which is very familiar with tourists and the general public, is Buckingham Palace.  The facade of white Portland stone was erected in 1913 because the original soft french stone had decayed due to pollution.  At the time people were surprised by the transformation of the front from grimy black to gleaming white.

Dirty old town pictures of London landmarks being cleaned and repaired over the past 110 years.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 



Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk



Tuesday, 16 February 2016

How Do I Choose An Interior Designer? | Art of Clean

If you're like me and fascinated by interior design, then you'll be able to sympathies with me about the numerous amount of design magazines such as design week, icon and in.design are on offer, each showing glamorous rooms with the latest news on trends, fabrics, upholstery and architectural features.

Working with a good interior might be expensive but will be worth it

I have numerous accounts on Pinterest for interior design trends and I love the makeover shows on television, which are a lot less 1990s BBC Changing Rooms and a lot more The Great Interior Design Challenge, which I have been avidly watching, although I do find some of the interiors slightly not to my taste, but they do get to make over some lovely rooms in some amazing properties.  If you haven't seen the programme, it takes three novice interior designers and sets them loose on a different style of room, they shake it up a bit and then you see what comes out the other end.  One of the most recent programmes, featured three Georgian houses in the City of Bath.

Watching these programmes got me thinking about how I would go about choosing an Interior Designer, it is just a minefield, but there is help at hand.

As with most products and services, Interior Designers do not come cheap and the really good ones, well they can command what they like but you won't find yourself disappointed by the results.  To start with, do a bit of research and shop around for a designer at a fair price.  Its not an impossible objective to get a quality service at a reasonable price.

An interior designer will usually change their style according to the clients brief

Start with friends and neighbours and get recommendations and ask questions. Ask your friends questions and if you get the number of a designer, also ask them questions.  The more questions the better and in fact they'll be expecting it.  Even better still, if you got to see some of their work before they start on your scheme but remember the designer will usually change their style according to the clients brief.

Once you have found an interior designer with the style and experience you are looking for and with enough positive reviews, contact them all to see if they are interested in your project.  You'll also be able to engage whether you can afford them.  If you find that they exceed your budget, take a look at your project, perhaps there are certain parts of it where you can save money and do it yourself.  Remember, by doing this you are literally 'cutting your cloth to suit your means,' which will enable you to have a good designer.



Art of Clean
 is a specialist cleaning firm in: 



Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk