Magical Touches Female Painter and Decorator has been named Painting & Decorating Business of the Year at the North East 2026 Local Awards, recognising a County Durham sole trader who has built a trusted, award-winning business through quality workmanship, personal service, colour expertise and genuine customer relationships. Founded in 2019 by Sharon, Magical Touches is a female-led painting, decorating and home styling business helping homeowners transform their properties into beautiful, personalised spaces. The service goes beyond paint on walls, combining high-quality decorating with colour advice, interior design knowledge and styling support to create homes that feel carefully considered, comfortable and completely individual. For Sharon, this award is an incredibly meaningful achievement. As a sole trader, every recommendation, review, message, share and vote carries real weight. Winning through public vote makes the recognition especially powerful, because it reflects the trust and loyalty of the customers whose homes she has worked in over the years.

A Female-Led Decorating Business With a Personal Touch

Magical Touches was founded in 2019 after Sharon decided to turn her passion for transforming homes into a business. What began as a love for interiors and helping people create spaces they truly enjoy has grown into a respected painting, decorating and home styling service across County Durham. From the start, the business was shaped around more than technical skill. Sharon wanted to offer a service that felt personal, thoughtful and reassuring. Decorating someone’s home is intimate work. A decorator is invited into private spaces, often for days or weeks at a time, and that requires trust. Customers need to feel comfortable not only with the standard of work, but also with the person carrying it out. That is where Magical Touches stands out. Sharon treats every home with the same care and attention she would give her own. She understands that a decorating project can change the way someone feels about their home, whether it is refreshing one room, styling a full property or helping bring a long-awaited vision to life. Her personal approach has helped the business grow steadily through reputation, repeat customers and word of mouth.

More Than Painting and Decorating

What sets Magical Touches apart is that clients receive far more than a standard painting and decorating service. Sharon brings interior design knowledge, colour expertise and styling advice to every project, helping customers achieve a complete transformation rather than simply a fresh coat of paint. This wider approach can make a huge difference. Many homeowners know they want change, but they are not always sure where to start. Choosing colours, finishes, textures and styling details can feel overwhelming, especially when trying to imagine how everything will work together. Sharon’s additional knowledge helps clients make confident decisions that suit their home, taste and lifestyle. Her qualifications in interior design have strengthened the service even further, allowing Magical Touches to offer advice that is both creative and practical. The result is a decorating experience that feels more joined up. Instead of treating walls, woodwork, colour and styling as separate choices, Sharon helps clients see the full picture. That is why the business has become known for creating spaces that feel polished, personal and genuinely loved.

Building a Business Through Word of Mouth

One of Sharon’s proudest achievements is building Magical Touches entirely through reputation and word of mouth. For a sole trader, that kind of growth is a powerful sign that customers are not only happy with the finished result, but confident enough to recommend the service to people they care about. Recommendations are one of the strongest compliments in any trade. When a customer tells a friend, neighbour or family member to use a business, they are putting their own trust behind that recommendation. It means the experience was positive enough to share. It means the quality, communication and care all made an impression. Magical Touches has grown year after year because customers continue to recommend Sharon’s work. That says everything about the standards she sets for herself. In painting and decorating, the details matter: preparation, finish, tidiness, reliability and respect for the home. But the overall experience matters too. Customers remember how they were treated, how comfortable they felt and whether the process was calm and stress-free. Magical Touches has built its success by getting both the workmanship and the customer experience right.

Recognition as One of Durham’s Top Decorators

In 2025, Magical Touches was voted one of the Top 3 Painters & Decorators in Durham, a milestone that meant a great deal to Sharon. For a small business built through reputation, local recognition like this is a sign that customers and the wider community value the work being delivered. That achievement was already a proud moment, but it also became part of a bigger journey. To be recognised locally and then go on to win Painting & Decorating Business of the Year at the North East 2026 Local Awards shows clear momentum. It reflects the strength of the business and the loyalty of customers who have supported it along the way. What makes the latest award especially special is that it was decided entirely through public vote. For Sharon, that makes it a true reflection of customer trust. As a sole trader, there is no large team or corporate brand behind the business. Every vote represents someone who felt strongly enough about their experience to show support. That is something she is immensely proud of.

Balancing Business, Family and Caring Commitments

Like many small business owners, Sharon has faced the challenge of growing a business while balancing family responsibilities and caring commitments. Running a sole trader business can be demanding because so much depends on one person. There are customers to support, projects to complete, messages to answer, quotes to prepare and standards to maintain. Balancing that with personal responsibilities takes resilience. It requires organisation, determination and the ability to keep moving forward even when life feels busy or difficult. Sharon has built Magical Touches through hard work and consistent quality, showing that small businesses can grow successfully when they are rooted in care and reliability. This makes the award even more meaningful. It recognises not only the visible decorating work, but also the effort behind the scenes. Every project completed, every customer cared for and every recommendation earned has helped build the business into what it is today. The journey has not always been simple, but Sharon’s commitment has allowed Magical Touches to continue growing year after year.

Giving Back Through Community Projects

Giving back to the community has always been important to Sharon. Over the years, she has worked within a local women’s refuge, supported community painting projects and carried out work in homes for vulnerable adults. These contributions show how decorating skills can be used to make a real difference beyond ordinary commercial work. A freshly decorated space can change how people feel. It can bring comfort, pride, safety and a sense of dignity. In settings such as refuges or homes for vulnerable adults, that impact can be especially meaningful. A room that feels cared for can help someone feel more settled, valued and hopeful. Magical Touches also actively supports local businesses and trades wherever possible. This reflects Sharon’s belief in local connection and mutual support. Small businesses often thrive when they lift each other up, recommend each other and work together. By contributing her skills and supporting others, Sharon plays a positive role in the wider County Durham business community.

Proud to Serve County Durham

County Durham is home for Sharon, and the local community has played a huge part in the success of Magical Touches. Most of the business comes from local people, recommendations and repeat customers, which makes every project feel connected to the area she cares about. There is something especially rewarding about improving homes within your own local community. These are not anonymous jobs in distant places. They are homes belonging to neighbours, families, friends of friends and people who may go on to recommend the business to others nearby. That local connection creates pride and accountability. For Sharon, working in County Durham is not just about earning a living. It is about helping people feel happier in their homes and supporting the community that has supported her business. Each finished room becomes part of a wider story of trust, local reputation and personal pride. Winning Painting & Decorating Business of the Year is therefore not only a business achievement, but also a celebration of the community that helped make it possible.

Customers Who Miss Her When the Job Is Finished

One of the things Sharon is most proud of is the relationship she builds with customers. Over the years, clients have told her they were genuinely sad when a project came to an end because they had enjoyed having her in their home. That kind of feedback says a lot about the experience Magical Touches provides. One customer wrote that after decorating their house from top to bottom, they “couldn’t be happier with the results” and that it had been “a pleasure to have Sharon around for a few weeks,” so much so that they missed her being there when the project was finished. Another customer praised not only the quality of the decorating, but how seamless and stress-free the experience had been, explaining that despite working from home, they “wouldn’t even notice she was there.” Comments like these mean a great deal because they show customers value more than the finished walls. They value the respect, calmness, cleanliness and trust that come with the service. Decorating someone’s home is built on trust, and Sharon works hard to make sure every customer feels comfortable, respected and delighted with the outcome.

An Overwhelming Award Win

When Sharon found out that Magical Touches had won Painting & Decorating Business of the Year, she was genuinely overwhelmed. Being recognised as one of Durham’s Top 3 Painters & Decorators in 2025 had already been a huge honour, so winning the North East award through public vote felt incredible. As a sole trader, much of the working week is spent focused on the customer and the job in front of you. There is not always time to pause, step back and recognise what has been achieved. Awards like this create that moment. They offer a chance to reflect on the years of dedication, the long days, the careful finishes, the customer relationships and the reputation built one project at a time. The public vote made the win especially emotional. It meant that people whose homes Sharon had worked in felt strongly enough to vote and support the business. For a small, personal business like Magical Touches, that kind of recognition is powerful. It is not just a title. It is a message from customers saying that the work, care and service have mattered.

What Winning Painting & Decorating Business of the Year Means

For Sharon, this award represents years of dedication, hard work and commitment to customers. It provides reassurance that the standards she sets for herself are valued and appreciated by the people who matter most. As a sole trader, the business is deeply personal. Every project reflects Sharon’s name, skill and reputation. There is no large team behind the scenes and no corporate structure to hide behind. That makes every review, recommendation and vote even more meaningful. Customers are choosing her personally, trusting her with their homes and supporting the business because of the experience they have received. The award also confirms that Magical Touches’ wider approach is making an impact. Customers appreciate not only the painting and decorating, but the colour advice, styling input, attention to detail and friendly, respectful presence in their homes. The win celebrates all of that. It recognises a business that combines practical skill with creativity, care and genuine connection.

Recognition Built on Trust

Because the award was decided entirely through public vote, Sharon believes it reflects the trust and relationships she has built over the years. Every vote represents a customer or supporter who felt strongly enough about their experience to back Magical Touches. That trust is at the heart of the business. Customers allow Sharon into their homes, sometimes for several weeks, and rely on her to treat their space with respect. They ask for advice, share ideas and trust her judgement on colours, finishes and styling. That relationship is personal, and it needs to be handled with care. This recognition means the world because it comes directly from those relationships. It shows that customers not only liked the final result, but felt positive about the whole experience. In a trade where word of mouth matters so much, this award is one of the strongest signs that Magical Touches has earned real customer loyalty.

Expanding Premium Home Styling Services

Looking ahead, Sharon’s focus is on continuing to provide the exceptional service her customers know her for while expanding the premium home styling side of Magical Touches. This is a natural development for a business that already combines decorating with interior design knowledge and colour expertise. Home styling allows customers to go further than decorating alone. It helps them maximise the beauty and potential of their properties, whether by refreshing a room, creating a more cohesive look or adding finishing touches that bring the whole space together. For many homeowners, those details can be the difference between a room that looks freshly painted and a room that feels truly transformed. As Magical Touches grows this side of the business, Sharon remains committed to maintaining the personal approach that has made the company successful. The goal is not to become distant or impersonal. It is to keep offering thoughtful, tailored support that helps homeowners create spaces they love while continuing to deliver the care and quality customers already trust.

Thanking Customers, Family, Friends and Local Businesses

Sharon would like to thank every customer who has trusted her with their home, recommended her services, left reviews and voted for Magical Touches. Their support has made the business what it is today and continues to make a real difference. She also thanks her family, friends and fellow local businesses who have supported her throughout the journey. Building a small business takes encouragement, patience and belief, and that support has helped Magical Touches grow from an idea into an award-winning service. From the bottom of her heart, Sharon’s message is thank you. Every recommendation, review, message, share and vote has helped build a business she is incredibly proud of. As a sole trader, there is no big team behind Magical Touches. It is just Sharon, so every customer who chooses her, recommends her or supports her business genuinely matters. Winning Painting & Decorating Business of the Year means so much because it came from the people whose homes she has worked in and whose trust she has earned. Thank you for allowing Magical Touches to be part of your homes, your projects and your stories. That support will never be taken for granted.