Painting furniture, wallpaper and interiors
There’s nothing like a lick of paint to add oomph to your space, whether it’s painting (or stripping) a piece of furniture or painting a wall or your whole home. Ronnie Ong, owner of Retro Dec, gives us some insights into the process.
Retro Dec was set up in 1991, and originally plied its trade as a subcontractor for large-scale painting projects such as Robertson Walk, Melody Villa, Albert Court and HDB Housing. From 1998, we transitioned into landed properties and residential units, becoming home transformation specialists through repainting works.
We now have over 25 years of experience in painting, and provide expertise in home styling, wallpaper installation, and varnishing and repainting of furniture. Whenever we see a home transformed, the happy faces of the proud owners are enough to keep us going. Furniture painting provides a wide range of options to breathe new life into old pieces. We can do a colour finish (which is a fun way to mix and match colours to accentuate the piece), metallic effects (like champagne), whitewash and distressed styles to achieve a vintage look. Following the makeover, some customers are unable to recognise their old furniture, while many remark how they feel like they’ve just bought a brand new piece.
Dining Tables and more
We find it interesting that stripping back timber pieces to bare is getting more and more popular, as people are eager to re-experience their furniture items in their natural, woody state. We regularly get requests to redo dining sets, as they are the centrepiece in a dining or living area – bedside tables, nightstands and consoles are popular too. A few years ago, we were asked to repaint an antique oriental scroll table in a pure white colour. It was an unusual request as customers typically engage us to spruce up such period pieces with varnish, but it did turn out to be quite a charmer in the end!
So if some of your furniture is looking a bit tired and you’re about to bin it, think again!
End-of-lease help
We can also help with end-of-lease fix-ups. Most tenants have done some painting or renovation work to their rented homes, and have to return these units in their original state to the landlord. This is common with expatriates who leave the country after their work period ends. These customers typically want a fuss-free handover before going back home, and we are more than happy to service such repainting and re-varnishing requests.
Want more home inspiration? See our home decor section!
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This article first appeared in the November 2018 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!
