Hand painted kitchens Tyne and Wear

About 5Bridge

For what seems like forever, I have always had a passion for interiors, buildings, architecture, so ten years ago, I followed that passion. After a long career in construction and project management, which saw me working around the world, I started my business.

Thankfully, kitchen painting is not for all, which is why I love it – I love niche and bespoke, I’m a rare bird, its the attention to detail and fastidious requirements which appeals, I like the test.

It means entirely different brushes, techniques, even different paint to that which is commonly known about or available on the high street. These gems are freely volunteered on the Traditional Painter website where, as Andy says, there are no secrets!

At the age of 16 I painted a hundred thousand windows !

Don’t worry, you don’t have to call child protection, I used to work for a company which painted small porcelain houses and village schemes, I can reasonably claim to fame that I’ve also painted the Globe Theatre, The Cutty Sark, The HMS Belfast, HMS Victory and The tower of London. In one Day !

This was harder than it sounds…. meths based paint, porous material, working time around 10 seconds with a 1mm sable artists brush. One mistake at the end of the job could mean a several thousand pound model being whacked with a hammer and smashed….No pressure then….!

Working with my father, a long term master craftsman, my apprenticeship was a steep curve, no certificates, but a few medals for bravery! The first job I was involved on, with my father, was the full restoration of a Victorian detached house. Talk about a baptism of fire !

Six months on, the job was finished and from that day, what struck me is the attention to fine detail and the need to get that right, 100%, of the time.

The end result of a job is entirely based on all of this minutiae; the precision of joints on wallpaper, the trowel marks on plastering, the consistent brushing and finishing. Nothing brings this more into focus than hand painting kitchens and furniture.

Think about it, the client is in the space most days, for a few hours. Probably half of the kitchen is at eye line hence EVERY brush stroke will be looked at, critiqued, analysed, ruminated and cogitated on, for hundreds if not thousands of hours, maybe for ten years ? No pressure there then…?

As one client said a few years ago, “you have found your métier”, I agree, I love interiors!

Why 5Bridge ?

Well, I’ve always been a proud Geordie so what better way than to name my company after the five bridges which pass over the River Tyne from Newcastle to Gateshead. It’s a pride thing, it's simple really!

As well as a hand painted kitchen specialist, I am Traditional Painter's Joinery Consultant. So if you have any unanswered questions about choice of timber and materials for constructing a kitchen, or fitting or design, I am happy to help.