Dulux Trade Masters: David Law

For 10 years, the Rowner Family Centre in Gosport, Hampshire has provided a range of activities, courses and services for local families including Dinky Ducks, a nursery for under-fives. Any play area should be a happy, cheerful place for children to have fun. However, after five years of being battered by the elements (not to mention little fingers holding crayons) Rowner Family Centre's Sharon Higgs decided the internal quadrangle and play area needed a face-lift and chose David Law, the 55-year-old owner of DRL Decorators in Fareham, for the job.

A decorator of over 35 years' experience, David's specialty, he admits, is wallpaper hanging. It seems however, he's also a dab-hand at priming surfaces and using colour to brighten up spaces because it was this and his 'cutting in' skills demonstrated in his work at the family centre that has earned him the title of Dulux Trade Master in a national competition run by Dulux Trade.

The once uninspiring play area was put into Law's decorating hands back in May 2015. The brief was simple: to transform a faded and worn outdoor space into a bright and happy play area for children. The job took Law, his apprentice son Samuel and employee Neil Davies, one week to prime, prep and paint the community centre's 10 by 20 metre quadrangle.

David says of the project: "The play area was in such a terrible state to start with; it took the three of us two days to fully prime and prep the surfaces before we could paint them. Normally a job of this size would take one of us about a day and a half, which gives you an indication of how bad things were. But we like a challenge and jumped at the chance to brighten up the space that should be a happy place to play. Some people are wary of using bold colours but, after many, many years of putting colours on walls, I know what works and what goes together. I use my experience to guide and help customers make better choices."

This is only the second competition David has ever won, his first being an obstacle race when he was 10 years old so unsurprisingly he is ecstatic to be a Dulux Trade Master winner. He says of his win, "I really didn't expect to win but am very pleased that I have. It's nice to be recognised for something I love doing."

David admits the project had its challenges but was really pleased with the end result and was glad to be involved in a job that has had such a positive effect on those using the play centre, a fact confirmed by Dinky Ducks manager Julia Batley who is delighted with the renovated space. She said, "The colour scheme took into consideration how the play area is viewed through a child's eyes. The children love it - the bright colours, the different pairings of colours on the surfaces all provide interesting and stimulating play time for them as they develop. The renewal of the area has made a huge difference to the centre and our children and enhances our Ofsted Outstanding nursery."

Check out our other Dulux Trade Masters winner Craig Hainey's colourful transformation.