Decorating St James's Place

St James's Place was developed in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries as part of the broader urbanisation of the St James's district. Its cul-de-sac form, terminating at the garden wall of Spencer House, has always lent it a seclusion unusual in central London, a quality that has attracted residents seeking privacy alongside prestige. The street's history is illuminated by its roster of remarkable inhabitants. Frederic Chopin gave his final London recital at number 21 in 1848, just months before his death. Oscar Wilde lived at number 13 before his trial and imprisonment. Francis Chichester, the solo circumnavigator, occupied a flat at number 9 during the 1960s. The street's architectural development spans three centuries, from early Georgian brick townhouses to the Victorian and Edwardian rebuilding that introduced mansion flats and small hotels. Dukes Hotel, occupying several converted houses, maintains the domestic scale that characterises the street. Spencer House, designed by John Vardy and completed by James Stuart in 1756 for the 1st Earl Spencer, closes the vista at the southern end of the street with its magnificent Palladian facade overlooking Green Park. Though Spencer House's entrance is on St James's Place, the house itself is typically accessed from the park side. The street has maintained its residential character more completely than most of St James's, with only a handful of discreet commercial establishments at ground level. The conservation area designation and the watchful stewardship of the Crown Estate ensure that the street's intimate character is preserved against inappropriate development.

The decoration of St James's Place demands a particularly discreet and high-quality approach, consistent with the expectations of its predominantly residential occupants. The varied materials palette requires a correspondingly diverse range of specialist treatments. For stuccoed elevations, Keim mineral silicate paint provides the breathable, self-cleaning finish appropriate to heritage substrates, with colours selected from the Crown Estate's approved range. Exposed brickwork — whether the warm red of the Stuart-era houses or the yellow-grey of the Georgian stocks — requires maintenance through lime-putty repointing matched precisely to the original mortar in aggregate type, colour, and joint profile. The flush pointing typical of the earliest houses contrasts with the slightly recessed pointing of the Georgian buildings, and these distinctions must be faithfully replicated. Portland stone elements, including Spencer House's magnificent facade, demand cleaning by the gentlest means: nebulous water spray for general soiling, or micro-abrasive techniques for localised deposits of biological growth or paint splatter. Timber sash windows throughout the street should be decorated using a traditional linseed oil paint system, with careful attention to the correct profile of putty fillets, which must be formed from genuine linseed oil putty (whiting bound with raw linseed oil) rather than modern acrylic alternatives. The decorative ironwork, which includes some fine Regency balconettes and Victorian railings with foliate castings, requires hand preparation and a multi-coat protective system. Interior decorating in the older houses must respect surviving lime plaster by employing breathable finishes: limewash, distemper, or casein-based paints for walls and ceilings, with flat oil paint for joinery.