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Dulux Trade helps St Teresa's shine for it's Golden Jubilee
The interior of St Teresa's Church in Glasgow has undergone a complete transformation using a striking range of shades from the Dulux Trade portfolio. A tailored colour scheme was created for the church by Page/Park Architects, as part of a restoration project for its 50th anniversary.
Due to regular use from parishioners, the decoration at St Teresa's had naturally become worn and faded over the years. As such, the main emphasis for the refurbishment was on brightening the building to restore the church back to its former glory.
To achieve this, Page/Park Architects drew colour inspiration from the original features of the building, with emphasis on the vibrant hues of the church's stained glass windows. Malcolm Mitchell, of Page/Park Architects described his thinking: "Often churches are painted with little reference to existing colours, but with St Teresa's we picked out prominent shades from features like the glasswork, but also used colours that would complement areas such as discoloured brickwork, which we were unable to paint over."
"Part of the brief was to work with the traditional decoration in the church, so we needed access to a wide variety of tones in order to help us recreate the original colours that had been used, as well as select new shades that would work well with the existing dcor. Therefore, we turned to Dulux Trade, as the extensive range of colours available allowed us to be flexible and creative with our design scheme, while preserving the heritage of the church. We selected over ten different colours from the Dulux Trade range, including pastel pinks and yellows."
Dulux Trade offers a number of tools to help specifiers select creative palettes, including guides, colour cards and DVDs, all of which provide guidance on the range of colours available and suggestions as to how these can be used as part of an inspiring design scheme.
Malcolm continued: "We made some bold design moves at St Teresa's in order to highlight the church's exquisite architecture. For instance, the previously white mortuary chapel was painted black to emulate the existing granite, while the black railings were painted white to soften their presence and make them less of a barrier."
Alongside injecting colour and radiance into the building, the architects wanted to ensure longevity in its finish. "We were conscious of selecting products that would allow the colour scheme to remain pristine for as long as possible," added Malcolm. To achieve this, the church was painted in Dulux Trade Diamond Matt. This tough and durable emulsion boasts excellent performance characteristics, and is ten times more durable than vinyl silks. Diamond Matt was also chosen for its ability to be wiped clean without affecting the finish.
Brendan Keenan from Dumbreck Decorators worked on the contract and is a Dulux Trade Contract Partner. Brendan describes further challenges: "As the building is very tall, and we were painting everything from the walls to the arches and the ceiling panels, there was a vast surface area to cover. We had 11 weeks to finish the whole job in time for the church's 50th anniversary, but we also had to ensure the church could still be used by parishioners at weekends throughout the refurbishment process. Fortunately, Diamond Matt is extremely easy to apply, and is recoatable within four to six hours."
The community is thrilled with the completed project and the fresh new look. Reverend Hendry, from St Teresa's Church in Glasgow, describes the end result: "The church looks spectacular. The pastel pink which was used on the ceiling panels draws your eye as soon as you enter the building, and the overall effect is radiant and bright, making a much more welcoming space for parishioners."
