139 perfect 5-star Google reviews. Ames taping specialist. Trusted Trader Scotland accredited. Run by Jamie Stevenson out of Portobello — straight-talking, neat work, fair prices.
No paid advertising. No filters. Just 139 Edinburgh homeowners and landlords who put their decorating in the hands of Jamie and his team — and came back to tell Google about it.
When you're picking a painter in Edinburgh you're really asking three questions. Here's our answer to all of them, on one page.
A flawless 5.0 average across 139 reviews. Edinburgh homeowners, landlords and letting agents who took the time to write us back.
Ames taping is the gold-standard mechanical jointing system used on the cleanest plasterboard finishes. Few Edinburgh decorators offer it. Jamie does.
What is Ames taping?Vetted and monitored by Edinburgh Trading Standards. 4.9/5 from independently verified Trusted Trader reviews. Real accountability.
Jamie set up JS Decor (edin) Ltd in April 2022. He's 31, he's been on the brushes since he could hold one, and in four short years he has put together one of Edinburgh's strongest decorating reputations — five stars across one hundred and thirty-nine Google reviews, and a Trusted Trader Scotland badge to back it up.
He's a finisher first. The kind of decorator who takes the cover-up off, walks back to look at it twice in different light, and only then says he's done. That's how you get to a 5.0 average without ever begging for a review.
The team works across Edinburgh and the Lothians out of a yard in Great Carleton Place, Portobello. Tenement halls in the New Town, full repaints in Morningside, fresh-build flats in Leith, sash-window refurbs in Stockbridge — and the bit nobody else wants to do, the Ames-taped plasterboard finish that needs a proper specialist.
Most painters can roll a wall. Fewer can refurb a Victorian sash, strip 80 years of paint off a stone surround, hang a £200-a-roll wallpaper, and finish your plasterboard with Ames tape. Jamie's team does all of it.
Walls, ceilings, woodwork, full-room repaints. Dustsheets, masking and prep treated as part of the job — not an afterthought.
Render, masonry, render-on-stone tenement frontage, soffits, fascias, garage doors and railings. Weather-watched, properly primed.
Mechanical jointing of plasterboard. Bazookas, flat boxes and corner rollers — the same finish you see on commercial fit-outs, brought into your home. Mirror-flat seams, no shadow lines.
LEARN MORE →Pattern matched, lined and hung properly. From feature walls to full hallways. Heavy-weight, paste-the-wall, lining paper — we hang the lot.
Sash-window overhaul, sticking doors, draught seals, fresh paint. Bring tired Edinburgh joinery back to life without replacing it.
Years of overpaint off original woodwork, stair spindles, mantelpieces and stone surrounds. Heat, chemical or sanding — the right method for the surface.
Bathrooms, splashbacks, kitchen floors. Tiling that actually lines up with the doorframe, the window and the next wall.
Letting agents on a turnover deadline. Parents who don't want a painter underfoot at the school run. Offices that need a weekend repaint. We do evenings and weekends — just ask.
Most painters skim, fill and hope for the best. Ames taping is different. It's a mechanical jointing system — tools called bazookas, flat boxes and corner rollers — that lays paper tape and joint compound onto plasterboard seams in one continuous pass. The result is a glass-flat surface with no shadow lines, no popped tape, no telegraphing under low-angle light.
It's how high-end commercial fit-outs and Hollywood film sets get away with bare-painted plasterboard walls. It costs a bit more in tools and skill — that's why most decorators don't offer it. We do, and we're one of the few in Edinburgh who can quote for it confidently.
A small selection from the last six months — interiors, exteriors, drywall, sash windows. Follow @j_s_decor for the rolling feed.
"Jamie and the team painted our tenement flat in Marchmont — cornicing, two huge halls, four rooms. Cleanest job I've ever had done. Dustsheets up before the kettle was on, brushes washed, no mess. Cannot recommend enough."
"Had Jamie in to Ames-tape the plasterboard in our loft conversion. We'd had two other decorators look at it and pull a face. He just got on with it. Walls came out flat as glass — you can't even see where the boards meet."
"Our letting agent recommended JS Decor between tenancies. Quoted Monday, in on Wednesday, finished by Friday. Property snapped up in two days. Honestly, the cheapest expensive thing I've ever paid for — the place looks brand new."
"Jamie did our exterior render-paint and the railings on a New Town flat. Weather kept turning — he kept turning up. Polite, respectful of the neighbours, fair price. Old building has not looked this good in 20 years."
"Hung a Cole & Son wallpaper in our bay window in Morningside. Fiddly pattern, awkward corners. Jamie matched every join perfectly — you genuinely cannot find a seam. Will be using JS Decor for everything from now on."
A perfect score across 139 reviews on Google, plus 4.9/5 from independently verified Trusted Trader Scotland reviews. Read the full set on either platform.
The questions Jamie gets every week. Anything missing? Just call.
Based in Portobello, we cover the whole city and out into the Lothians. Tenement, terrace, new-build flat or detached — we know the housing stock.
Not on the list? We still travel. Drop us a line — most of the wider Lothians are no problem.
No callout fees. No pressure sell. Jamie or one of the team will come out, have a look, and send you a written, itemised quote within 48 hours.