Earthborn makes paint that is designed to be gentle to the planet, your kids and you. Its paints help the environment and help you create an environment that your family will love. If you are decorating your baby’s nursery and want paint that compliments your colour scheme and is made from good quality and safe materials, Earthborn is the brand to choose from.
The 10 Best UK Paint Brands
Choosing the right paint for your project can be daunting, but we’ve compiled a list of the best paint brands in the UK. We’ve meticulously compiled a definitive list of the top ten premium paint brands currently available in the UK. Our range extends from the time-honoured favourite, Dulux – a staple in many a television advertisement – to numerous other brands that promise exceptional coverage and enduring durability. This comprehensive guide aims to assist you in choosing the impeccable paint finish to suit your every need, no matter the task at hand. So, whether you find yourself contending with a horde of playful Old English Sheepdogs routinely scampering through your home, or simply wish to refresh your living space, rest assured. With this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to make an informed choice that results in a top-notch, quality paint finish that stands up to the test of time!
What to look for when buying paint
When shopping for paint, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind. From price and sheen level to ease of application and coverage, making the right choice can make all the difference in your decorating project. Here is some key point to consider:
So, make sure you buy enough paint to cover the area you need and make sure it is good quality so that you won’t spend the rest of your life painting your walls!
Don’t choose the cheaper paint; it will make you work harder
While shopping for paint, it’s often tempting to gravitate towards the more economical options. However, going for a cheaper paint might not be the cost-effective choice you anticipate it to be. The coverage provided by such paint often falls short, meaning you may end up needing more paint than initially estimated. That’s why it’s a sound investment to spend a little extra on higher-quality paint.
Higher-quality paint tends to provide superior coverage, requiring fewer coats for a satisfactory finish. Plus, it’s generally more durable, which means your beautifully painted walls will retain their fresh appearance for longer, reducing the frequency of repaints. What’s more, top-tier paint is typically much easier to apply. It spreads evenly, adheres well, and often dries faster. Consequently, the time and effort you need to commit to painting your walls can be substantially reduced. So, while it may seem counterintuitive, spending a bit more upfront on quality paint can prove to be a smarter, more cost-effective decision over time.
All colours available in one paint brand
There are thousands of paint colours available now. But if you have a particular theme or colour palette in mind, it makes sense to find one brand that offers all the colours you’re looking for. This ensures consistency in terms of paint thickness, coverage, cost and application.
Small pot samples available
Taking some sample pots home before committing to a large purchase of paint can be a wise decision. This will allow you to test out the colour and finish and get a better idea of what the finished project will look like, as well as check for any discrepancies in coverage or quality. Sample pots are often relatively inexpensive and can save you both time and money in the long run by allowing you to see exactly what colour you’re getting and see it in your wall and lighting.
Check paint VOC levels.
VOC levels are an important consideration when buying paint, particularly if you’re concerned about the environmental impact of your purchase. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals which evaporate easily and contribute to air pollution, so it is important to check the VOC level of any paint that you buy. Low VOC paints such as Earthborn have much lower levels than conventional ones and contain fewer hazardous pollutants, making them a better choice in terms of health and sustainability. Be sure to read reviews carefully before deciding on a particular paint, as quality can vary significantly even among low VOC types.
So, when buying paint, think about the four C’s; convenience, coverage, cost and colour and a couple of other points we have covered above. But which ten brands in the UK make the best paints and your life a bit easier? Well, let’s find out, shall we?
Here are 10 of the best paint brands in the UK that make life easier:
Johnstone’s is a fantastic paint brand that makes a variety of paint for almost every application you could ever need. They make brilliant wall and ceiling paint. Metal and wood paint and care products and even more. One of their most popular paints, though, is their anti-bacterial paint that comes in 10 colours and is perfect for any room in the home. As well they make one of the best paint for exterior wood. Johnstone’s doesn’t have the largest colour range available, but all of its paints are very high quality and hard-wearing. In terms of price and quality, Johnstone’s is one of the best.
What’s the difference between interior paint and outdoor paint?
Don’t think you can just pull out that old leftover can of exterior paint to add a splash of color to the kids’ room. Exterior paint is made with chemicals to prevent mildew, chipping, peeling, fading, and stand up to the rigors of outdoor weather—and these aren’t the kinds of things you want inside your home.
Photo: liquorice/Getty Images
Though the term is used interchangeably with oil-based paints for most practical purposes, alkyd paints are actually not oil-based but alkyd resins mixed in some sort of thinner. When most people refer to “oil-based” paints, they’re actually talking about alkyds. They take longer to dry but tend to paint more evenly and blend better.
Though alkyds are a popular choice for outdoor painting because of their consistently high performance, they’re a poor choice for interior walls because they give off fumes during and after painting (sometimes for years). Those fumes can contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that are harmful to humans and animals and include known carcinogens. If you’re considering alkyd paints for the interior of your home, it’s advisable for you to consider not going the DIY route and at least consult with, or hire, professional painters.
“Even in my commercial experience, we never used oil-based paints, ever,” North Carolina–based interior designer Heather LaBoda says. “Oil-based paints were used outside and to adhere to existing substrates in old buildings where you needed that adhesion and were covering an oil-based paint already there.”
Water-based paints come in two common varieties for painting the interior of your home: acrylic and latex. Acrylic paints have additives that make them more elastic and clingy and more mildew-and water-resistant, so they’re a popular choice for humid rooms like bathrooms. They dry faster than oil-based paints and can be cleaned with simple soap and water in most cases. Though they don’t contain as many VOCs as alkyd paints, they do contain more than latex paints and should be used with appropriate safety measures like wearing R95-rated respirators, opening windows, and running fans to blow the fumes out of the house. Acrylic is more expensive than latex paints and typically comes in one-gallon cans—you’ll probably see more acrylic paints in even smaller tubes and pots in art-supply stores than in the indoor aisles of paint stores.
Some manufacturers have recently introduced waterborne alkyd paints, which they say combine the best qualities of alkyd paints with the best qualities of acrylic paints, all with low VOCs.
Latex paints are far and away the most popular paints to use for interiors and are probably the type you’ll be painting with. Like acrylic paint, it’s a quick-drying (you can often finish two coats of paint in a single day), easily washable paint that’s much cheaper than the other common bases (sold in five-gallon buckets as opposed to one-gallon), with low VOCs emitted while drying. It’s great for covering large areas and comes in the most colors of any wall paint, but it can go on unevenly or let underlying paints show through if you’re not careful.
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When you’re buying paints, look for low-, no-, or zero-VOC paints. Low-VOC paints are required to have less than 50 grams of VOCs per liter, whereas zero-VOC paints aren’t literally zero-VOC — they’re required to have under five grams of VOCs per liter. Though that’s a lot less than the paints previous generations had to choose from, they can still contain VOCs and other harmful chemicals, so it’s still good practice to wear the appropriate respirators and keep the area well-ventilated until the paint is completely dry.
Paint finishes you can buy: Matte/flat paint versus eggshell paint versus satin paint versus semi-gloss versus high-gloss
Just as important as the color of your paint is the finish (or gloss or sheen). Generally speaking, matte (or flat) paints absorb light and are better for covering up imperfections. The glossier the paint gets, the more light it reflects.
Consider the conditions of your painting surface as high-gloss paint will show more imperfections.
Photo: David-Prado/Getty Images
Though the terms gloss and sheen are often used interchangeably, gloss refers to the amount of light reflected at a 60-degree angle and describes a sharper, crisper look. Sheen, on the other hand, is the amount of light reflected at an 85-degree angle and describes a softer reflected appearance.
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But don’t get too wrapped up in the exact names of the paint finishes, as there’s no industry standard and each manufacturer uses its own terms. You may notice that Sherwin-Williams’s eggshell is shinier than Benjamin Moore’s eggshell or even equivalent to Benjamin Moore’s semi-gloss, for example. Some manufacturers even use different names for gloss grades between their own paint lines! Suffice it to say that, in order of increasing glossiness, paints are generally understood to go from flat (or matte) to eggshell to satin to semi-gloss to glossy or high-gloss. In general, and in this article, we default to the terms most resembling the glossiness scale of Benjamin Moore.
Keep in mind that bases and pigments are mixed together to make the paint you walk out of the store with. So just because you don’t see your favorite color in an eggshell finish doesn’t mean you have to settle for semi-gloss—the store can simply mix the right color with the eggshell base, says Jennifer Levy, interior designer and founder of CAVdesigns in New York City
What is the most popular paint finish to buy for interior walls?
Eggshell paint is probably the most popular choice for interior paint, especially for lived-in areas like living rooms and dining rooms, and is seen by many as a great compromise between the easy maintenance of glossy paints and the ability to cover up imperfections of matte paints. (Some manufacturers have recently started putting out matte or flat paints that they tout as being as easy to wash as eggshell paints.)
One of the disadvantages of eggshell, however, is that it’s more difficult to touch up later compared to matte. “So if you don’t paint the whole wall, you get splotches where you touched up that you can see when the light hits the wall just right,” LaBoda says.
For millwork, like trim for windows and doors or features that see a lot of use like kitchen cabinets, semi-gloss finish is traditional, as it’s easier to clean for these areas that are often painted white and naturally attract more fingerprints.
For high-traffic areas, rooms that will get messy (kitchens and anywhere with young kids), and areas where humidity will be an issue, go toward the glossier end of the spectrum. Just keep in mind that the glossier you get, the more any imperfections in the wall will stand out. “In order to use a full-on gloss paint, the condition of whatever you’re using it on has to be really pristine, because it’s going to show any little flaws or defects or inconsistencies,” Levy says.
