The walls here and elsewhere in the house were very carefully painted, and we tried to imitate this as exactly as possible during the recent reconstruction. Part of the original ivory-coloured paint has been left visible high up on the wall, underneath the ceiling at the top of the stairs. The paint was applied over a smooth Swiss fabric and lightly stippled with a brush to give the surface a fine texture. Oil paint was used for most of the walls, which is why they're slightly shiny.