Decorating is the final act of a renovation — and the one most often rushed because the project has overrun and everyone wants to be finished. Rushing decoration, particularly on new plaster, creates problems that take years to fully address: peeling paint, patchwork repairs where new plaster isn't properly primed, and colour selections made under site lighting rather than the finished ambient light of the room.
New Plaster: Wait and Seal
New gypsum plaster (hardwall, board finish, multifinish) must dry completely before painting. This takes a minimum of 4–6 weeks under normal conditions; in winter or poorly ventilated rooms, significantly longer. Painting wet plaster seals in moisture that then pushes paint off as it dries — typically appearing as localised bubbling 6–12 months later.
New plaster must be mist-coated before topcoating. A mist coat is standard emulsion diluted 70:30 with water — this seals the porous surface and provides a key for subsequent coats. Painting undiluted emulsion directly onto new plaster results in a scratchy, flaky surface. Many professional painters skip this step under time pressure; do not accept it.
Decorating Sequence
The correct sequence in any room: ceilings first, walls second, woodwork (architraves, skirting, doors) last. This prevents ceiling and wall splashes landing on finished woodwork. Within woodwork: prime bare timber or stripped surfaces; undercoat; sand lightly; apply topcoat. For doors and architraves, a silk finish on the walls with a satinwood or eggshell on the woodwork is the traditional UK combination — the slight sheen contrast reads as intentional rather than inconsistent.
Colour Selection
Paint looks different under construction site lighting (typically bright, overhead, cool-temperature) than in the finished room. Always test paint colours on a large area (at least A3 size, ideally a full wall section) and view them at different times of day in the actual space. North-facing rooms kill warm tones; south-facing rooms amplify them. What looks perfect in a showroom under halogen lighting rarely translates directly.
For a coherent scheme across a whole house, pick one undertone (warm or cool) and stick to it throughout — only the lightness and saturation vary room by room.