Walls
Wall painting and wallpaper in Abu Dhabi
Anyone can put paint on a wall. The difference between a decent job and a poor one is almost entirely in what happened before the first coat, and in the discipline to let each coat dry properly before the next one. Neither of those is visible in a photograph, which is why painting is the easiest trade to undercut on price and the easiest to be disappointed by.
Arkan has been working on interiors in Abu Dhabi since 2003. Painting usually comes to us as the last stage of a fit-out, after the joinery is in and before the furniture arrives, which is the right point in the sequence for it. Getting that order wrong is how new cabinetry ends up with overspray on it and how a finished floor collects the drips.
Walls are more than paint, though. Custom wallpaper, panelling and other wall decoration come from the same team, so a feature wall matches the rest of the room instead of being ordered in from somewhere else.
Sequencing is the part people underestimate. The villa renovation checklist sets out the order the trades should run in and what to settle before anyone starts.
Process
How we work
- 01
Prepare the surface
Filling, sanding, sealing and making good. This is the majority of the labour on a proper paint job and the reason two quotes for the same room can be so far apart.
- 02
Protect the room
Floors covered, furniture moved or wrapped, fittings taken off rather than painted around. Cutting in around a switch plate never looks as good as removing it.
- 03
Prime and coat
Primer where the surface needs it, then coats laid on properly with drying time between them. Rushing the interval between coats is the most common shortcut and it shows in the finish.
- 04
Clean up and inspect
We walk the room with you in daylight. Touching up under a light at the end of the day hides exactly the faults you will notice the next morning.
Questions
Questions we get asked
- Why do painting quotes vary so much?
- Almost always because of preparation. Painting over a wall that needed filling and sanding is quicker and cheaper, and it looks fine for about a year. If our quote is higher than another, ask both of us what preparation is included and compare that rather than the total.
- Can you hang wallpaper, including custom designs?
- Yes. Wallpaper is far less forgiving of a poor wall than paint is, so the preparation matters even more, and a patterned paper needs the first drop set truly plumb or the pattern drifts across the room. We also produce custom wallpaper printed to your own design or image.
- Do I need to move out?
- For a room or two, no. We work around occupied spaces regularly and phase the work so you keep the rooms you need. For a whole villa being repainted at once it is worth discussing.
- Do you do ceilings and woodwork too?
- Yes. It is usually a false economy to paint the walls and leave the ceiling and the trim, because fresh walls make tired ceilings obvious.
Related services
Next step
Tell us about your project
Send a floor plan, a photograph, or just an idea. We will tell you what it takes and what it costs.