It was decided to concentrate on a hand-painted sign and an associated treatment that would soften the large area of white plastic.

All the work on this premises was carried out by the signwriter. The fascia sign was installed first, then an artificial pilaster was attached to the blank plastic area between the shop door and residential door. This pilaster had some 3D effects and mimicked the original pilasters between many of the shops on the Square. Additional hand-painted signs with the shop number and flat number were installed on another blank plastic area above the two doors.

The fascia sign is in Edwardian 7 (a pale cream) with "Oxford Blue" and "Sky Blue" all from Dulux Heritage range. The signage incorporating the numbers uses the same colours in reverse - using an Oxford Blue background. The blank ceiling area under the bay is also painted in "Sky Blue" to introduce some more colour to echo the signage.

The fake pilaster was painted in to match the masonry area with a light stone colour.

The scheme has now pulled in some quite disparate elements of the shopfront to give a more co-ordinated approach and a better image for the business.

Sign writing, pilaster and painting/decorating: Rod Gazeley.