Decorating larger Great Shelford houses
Of the village's 2,030 households, about 64% own their home, and close to 40% own it outright. Owners staying put tend to want a scheme that hangs together across the house: Farrow & Ball or Little Greene colours carried from hall to landing, woodwork in eggshell rather than gloss, and ceilings properly filled before anything else goes on.
On a house with four or five bedrooms, we can work floor by floor so you aren't living in chaos. Belinda organises the order with you, and the team tidies every evening. Our Cambridge hallways and living rooms project shows a scheme carried right through a family home.
From 1950s semis to Victorian villas
Council Tax records put the median build band here at 1955 to 1964, with about 570 homes from that decade alone. Rooms from that era are usually straightforward, though dated Artex ceilings are common. At the other end, roughly 320 homes predate 1919, a reminder of the Victorian years when Cambridge academics settled in the village, and their plaster needs more patient preparation.
There is also a rented side to Great Shelford: about 35% of households rent, privately or from a social landlord, and we refresh rooms between tenancies too.
Great Shelford at a glance
- 14 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 21 minutesOSRM routing
- 2,030householdsCensus 2021
- 64%of homes are owner-occupiedCensus 2021
- 18%of homes are privately rentedCensus 2021
- 14%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 14%are flatsCensus 2021
How we approach interior decorating
In a Great Shelford house we start with the ceilings, filling cracks and skimming any Artex through our plasterers. Older walls are lined where the plaster is uneven; post-war walls are filled and sanded with Mirka dust-free sanders. We paint tester pots in several places, then apply two coats of emulsion and finish the woodwork in eggshell or satin. The full method, products and FAQs are on our interior decorating page.