I. D Laidlow Decorating Services

I asked I. D Laidlow Decorating Services to redecorate the living room of my three-storey early-Edwardian property in August 2015. I chose Ian on the basis of the excellent work he’d carried out earlier in the year renovating the exterior of the building. (For this project, he sourced, managed and worked in tandem with an experienced joiner to restore and redecorate 20+ windows, gables, sofftits, fascia and original wooden, lead-lined gutters to their former glory – but that’s another story.) The living room presented a number of challenges. The paintwork and some of the wood on the sash windows were in poor condition. Equally, original ornate plasterwork running the circumference of the room above the picture rail needed careful, detailed attention. And the ceiling plaster was badly cracked. Ian clearly set out the options and pricing for the project – plus his recommendations, particularly in relation to the ceiling. I took his advice and we lining the ceiling with paper. I was taken aback with the diligence in which he did this, raking out and filling all the cracks prior to applying the paper. The finished result is on a par with having the whole re-plastered - simply stunning. We also discussed colour schemes, as I was keen to play up the room’s period features, especially the plasterwork. He was very helpful in advising on the shades and types of paint to use, which included introducing me to Dulux’s Heritage range. Ian is clean, tidy worker. The project was completed to schedule and budget – and to a standard well beyond my already-high expectations. Several months on and I'm losing count of the number of people who've walked into that room, knowing it from before, and fallen silent to then utter just one word: “wow”. Overall, I couldn't recommend I. D Laidlow Decorating Services more highly.

We do not normally respond to flyers, but there was something about the courteous openness of Ian’s approach that prompted us to call him and, ever since our first meeting, he has become an always welcome fixture. We have used a few decorators over the years and, although we were pleased with them all, Ian is truly in a league of his own. Ian’s thorough preparatory work is surpassed only by his outstanding attention to detail of the finish whether the work is inside or outside; he is indeed a perfectionist. Ian is also a delight to have around, not just for his warm and friendly manner, but for his kind and considerate spirit which even extended to watering our vegetables when we were on holiday. We simply cannot commend Ian more highly to anyone who is looking for genuine quality and professionalism at a fair price.

In the summer of 2014, Ian Laidlow redecorated much of the interior and some of the exterior of my house and I was very pleased with his work. Apart from that, he had some very good, helpful ideas. He had a pleasant manner and was trustworthy. I'm certain I'll be using his services in the future and would recommend him to anybody who wants a thoroughly professional job done.

We have used Ian Laidlow's decorating services for many years and have always been absolutely delighted with the work he does. The last work he carried out for us was the complete redecoration of the exterior of our previous house. This was a 17th century cottage, with many nooks, crannies and foibles! Ian always says that the success of a decorating job depends on the preparation and he spent considerable time ensuring that the whole exterior was perfectly prepared. The final work was outstanding and a year later, when we sold the house, the standard of the exterior decoration was commented on very positively by our purchaser's surveyor. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Ian Laidlow's services without any kind of reservation.

Ian has undertaken several jobs for me over the last 8 years or so (internal and external decoration). He has also then worked for several of my friends to whom I recommended him. I find him to be thorough and amazingly neat and tidy. His work is of a very high standard and lasts for many years. For example, the external painting he did for me 8 years ago has lasted exceptionally well. He gives a realistic time estimate of how long the job will take. He is polite and punctual and he is a friendly chap to have around the house. I found his quotes competitive, given the high quality of his work. I would thoroughly recommend him.