About George Coull Painting and Decorating
Painting and decorating has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I spent many of my school holidays helping my father, who ran his own painting and decorating company. From an early age I was surrounded by experienced painters and decorators, and it soon became clear that when I left school I would be a painter and decorator.
After leaving school in 1985, I started college in September that year, studying one day a week for three years towards my City and Guilds qualifications. The other four days each week were spent working for my father’s company, where I was taken under the wing of his experienced business partner and learned the trade properly through hands-on experience. My father’s company employed around twenty decorators, which gave me the opportunity to learn from a wide range of skilled tradesmen and develop practical experience in decorating, preparation and wallpapering.
I continued working for my father’s company for around fourteen years, building my experience and developing the skills that I still use today. By the late 1980s I considered myself firmly established in the trade, carrying out decorating and wallpapering work alongside experienced local painters and decorators. I later became self-employed in 1998 and have continued working as a painter and decorator in Bedford, helping homeowners across Bedford and Bedfordshire ever since.
Looking back, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn the trade properly from the very beginning. The combination of formal training, practical experience, wallpapering skills and years spent working alongside experienced decorators gave me the foundations to build the business I continue to run today.
Why I Still Love Painting and Decorating
After many years in the trade, I still genuinely love my job. Every customer, home and decorating job is different, and there is still a great sense of satisfaction in seeing a room transformed from start to finish. Whether I am redecorating a room or completing a wallpapering job, I still take the same pride in the finished result.
One of the things I enjoy most about being a self-employed painter and decorator is the relationships I have built with customers over the years. Many homeowners across Bedford and the surrounding area have used my services more than once, while others have recommended me to friends and family. That continued support is something I never take for granted.
Over the years I have learned that being a good painter and decorator is about much more than paint and wallpaper. Customers want somebody they can rely on, somebody who turns up when promised, treats their home with respect and takes pride in their work. Those principles have guided me throughout my career and remain just as important today as when I first entered the trade.
Tools, materials, wallpapers and decorating products have changed considerably over the years, but my approach has remained the same. I believe in preparing every job properly, treating customers fairly and always aiming to leave them completely happy with the finished result.
There is no better feeling than completing a job, checking everything over and knowing it could not have gone any better. Seeing a happy customer and knowing they would be pleased to recommend me to somebody looking for a reliable local painter and decorator is still one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
If I had to choose my career again, I would still choose to be a painter and decorator. Being self-employed means every week can be different, from decorating a room to hanging wallpaper, meeting new people and working in different homes across the county. I still get the same feeling of pride and satisfaction from standing back at the end of a job and thinking, I did that.