Stucco terraces, Victorian mansion flats, mews houses, Holland Park residences. 70% of RBKC is conservation area. We know what that means for your job before we quote it.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has 70% of its area designated as conservation zones. On listed buildings, unauthorised external painting works carry fines of up to £20,000 in a Magistrates Court, or unlimited fines in the Crown Court. Using the wrong paint on stucco facades traps moisture and causes structural damage. We check RBKC planning requirements before quoting any exterior job. Historic England guidance ↗ · RBKC planning checks ↗
Painters & Decorators Kensington
Kensington has some of the most complex decorating conditions in London. Stucco-fronted terraces near Queen's Gate and Holland Park need breathable, flexible paint systems — not standard plastic masonry paint. Trap moisture in stucco and it cracks, delaminates, and eventually causes structural damage to the façade underneath.
Interior work isn't straightforward either. The mansion flats around Campden Hill Square and the Victorian townhouses off Kensington Church Street have ceilings at 3.5–4 metres, original plaster cornicing, wide hallways with complex pattern-matched wallpaper drops, and joinery details that need hand masking. These aren't jobs where speed is the priority.
Prima Decor's office is in Twickenham TW2. Kensington is a regular working area — not a prestige job we take on once a year. Roman visits the property, quotes the work, and oversees it throughout.
How we work
Every Kensington job follows the same four stages. No shortcuts, no skipped preparation. The process is the same whether it's a single room or a full five-storey townhouse.
Roman visits, assesses surfaces, and checks RBKC conservation area or listed building requirements before any quote is produced.
Itemised quote — labour, materials, VAT. Separate line items for stucco repairs, render work, or specialist primers if needed. Price doesn't change.
Filling, sanding, priming, stucco repairs, lime-compatible products on period surfaces. On Kensington properties, preparation often takes as long as the painting.
Roman reviews the finished work with you before the job is signed off. Any snagging addressed before we leave.
Services in Kensington
Interior and exterior decorating across Kensington — all carried out by our own team. Stucco exterior work, period interiors, high-end wallpaper, spray finishes.
Breathable, flexible paint systems for Kensington's stucco-fronted terraces. Render repairs carried out before painting — no shortcuts. RBKC conservation area requirements checked first. 12-month warranty on all exterior work.
Specialist service →High-ceilinged rooms, period cornicing, mansion flat interiors. Farrow & Ball and Little Greene as standard.
View service →Farrow & Ball, Zoffany, de Gournay, hand-prints. Long drops in high Kensington hallways need careful alignment.
View service →Fitted joinery, cabinet doors, architectural details. HVLP spray for a factory finish in period interiors.
View service →Offices, retail, and hospitality across W8 and SW7. Evening and weekend scheduling as standard.
View service →Kensington specialists
Everything specific to Kensington W8 and SW7 is handled before the first coat goes on. That's why our quotes are accurate and our finishes last.
What most pages don't cover
Every decorator page for Kensington mentions stucco and conservation areas. None explain what those things mean on the day the work starts — the products needed, the checks required, and the legal exposure if it goes wrong.
These four points come up on almost every Kensington job we quote.
Sources: Historic England: Redecorating your home · Listed building painting guide 2026 · Painting & Decorating Association · RBKC planning checks
Stucco
Stucco and lime render are porous — they need to breathe. Standard plastic masonry paints seal the surface and trap moisture inside, leading to cracking, spalling, and delamination. Historic England specifically recommends limewash, mineral paint, or silicate-based systems on lime render. The wrong product on a Kensington stucco facade causes damage that costs far more to fix than the painting job itself.
Listed buildings
Kensington has a high density of listed properties. Painting the exterior of a listed building — even in the same colour — may require listed building consent. Unauthorised works carry fines of up to £20,000 in a Magistrates Court, or unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment in the Crown Court. We check consent requirements before quoting any listed or conservation-area exterior job.
Conservation areas
In conservation areas, changing the colour of an exterior significantly — or painting previously unpainted brick — may require planning consent under Article 4 Directions. What looks like a routine repaint can become a planning matter. We check the relevant RBKC conservation area guidance and Article 4 status before quoting exterior work anywhere in W8 or SW7.
Interior work
Three-and-a-half to four-metre ceilings in Kensington period properties can't be painted properly with an extended roller pole. The pressure is uneven, the finish is patchy, and cornicing can't be cut in properly from floor level. Correct access staging takes half a day to set up but produces a finish that a roller pole never will. We include staging in every quote where ceiling height requires it.
Free site visit · RBKC checks included · Fixed written quote
Credentials
The highest vocational qualification in the trade. Not a short course. Covers surface preparation, specialist finishes, colour theory, and project management.
PDA members are vetted before joining, must hold public liability insurance, and agree to a code of practice. Membership is verifiable directly on the PDA website.
Every job covered to £2 million. This is the standard level required by managing agents and freeholders across Kensington and the Royal Borough.
Every Kensington job is visited, quoted, and overseen by Roman Pelykh. No dispatching to subcontractors. The person responsible for the quote is the person responsible for the finish.
Instant estimate
A rough figure in under a minute — based on London premium rates. Note: stucco exterior work, listed building repairs, and scaffold costs are calculated separately on-site.
Step 1 of 4
What type of work?
Step 2 of 4
About the property
Property type
Paint / material quality
Step 3 of 4
Surface condition & extras
Surface condition
Additional items
Your estimate
Kensington project
Estimated project range · Kensington · London premium rates
Indicative · Includes labour & materials · VAT may apply · Scaffold & render repairs quoted separately
Client reviews
"We used Prima Decor for our house which has a lot of wall panelling and crown moulding details. They did a fantastic job. Roman manages his team really well — professional, prompt and very efficient. I had peace of mind which is rarely the case when dealing with other tradespeople."
"Roman and his team are efficient, hardworking, professional and tidy up at the end of each day. They have painted and wallpapered most of my home. Would recommend every time."
"Professional, exact, efficient and reliable after our complex Edwardian home extension. We were impressed how the squad went about their business in unison."
People also ask
These are the questions that come up most often from Kensington homeowners — and the ones Google shows as featured snippets for this area. We've answered them properly.
Get in touch
Every Kensington enquiry is handled personally. Roman visits the property, checks the planning requirements, quotes the job, and manages it throughout.
Kensington W8 & SW7
Site visit · RBKC checks included · Fixed written quote
Book a consultation