A good lick of paint can be transformative, whether you’re upcycling a last-chance piece of furniture or fancy giving your entire home a makeover.
With spring here and bank holiday weekends on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to tick off your DIY to-do list and make your space feel brand new with a fresh coat of paint.
But be warned: there’s more to it than slapping a loaded brush on the wall. There are different tools depending on what you’re refreshing: think brushes, rollers and even spray guns. You should consider how big your surface area is, not to mention whether you’re painting indoors or out, and in damp rooms like the bathroom or areas that are well-ventilated.
But before any of that, there are a few golden rules to know.
How to paint like a pro
King of DIY, B&Q has a few helpful tips for painting interior walls:
- To ensure a smooth, professional finish, examine the surface of the wall for flaking paint, bumps and holes. Use filler for any cracks and holes. Let it dry, sand down the surface and apply sealant. For flaking paint and bumps use a scraper to even the surface before sanding and sealing.
- If your previous paint is satin or gloss rub the walls with sandpaper, using gentle pressure in a circular motion - this will help to create a layer that’ll help the paint stick.
- Clean your wall thoroughly to remove any dirt or dust with sugar soap and a bucket of water. Be sure to wear gloves and goggles as sugar soap can be an irritant.
- Once the wall is dry, cover switches, sockets and skirting boards with masking tape. If you’re painting it a different colour to the ceiling or adjacent walls, run masking tape along the edges so you get a nice, clean finish. Between coats, remove and reapply masking tape to avoid the adhesive removing any paint.
- If you’re painting over a darker colour, use a primer first - we recommend a grey one to make it easier to cover. Stir the paint thoroughly before starting. Apply with a roller in an M or W motion, using a small brush or roller for the edges and corners.
- If the wall needs another coat, now’s a good time to apply it so it has a chance to dry. Two coats are usually recommended, but check the directions on your paint for guidance.
- Once your wall is dry, carefully remove the masking tape, et voila! Your wall’s transformation is complete.
You can largely follow the same tips for sprucing up furniture but if you’re painting outdoors, such as sheds, benches and garden fences, you’ll need special paint that’ll stand up to the elements.
When it comes to paint brands, established main players have ruled the roost for decades, but with recent growing interest in home décor, renovation and general DIY, a few new contenders have joined the party too.
See our list of the best paint brands below
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Dulux
Prices: from £12
The best-known brand on our list (and forever linked to the Old English Sheepdog that starred as its mascot in its ads in the 60s), Dulux has been around since the fog of WWI cleared in 1919. Over the decades, the company persuaded tradesmen that its product was better than its lead-based predecessor and after the DIY boom of the 50s, Dulux secured its status as one of the leading paint brands in the professional field.
Its website is packed with ideas and inspo to help your next DIY project, be it painting a whole room, casting a mural, or transforming cupboards without gutting the entire kitchen. There are more colours than you can shake a roller at, for all sorts of surfaces, rooms and finishes. Go forth, and colour yourself happy.
Widely available at B&Q, Homebase, Wickes, Wilko
Buy now, Dulux
Crown
Prices: from £13
This brand can trace its roots all the way back to 1777, making it one of the most established paint brands around. A royal warrant-holder, there are paints galore to explore each offering superior pigments and coverability. As well as trade websites and decorating centres, Crown has developed a Breatheasy formulation, which offers virtually solvent-free paint.
As for finishes, choose between sheen, gloss and eggshell.
Buy now, Crown
Valspar
Prices: from £18
The human eye can detect around 2.2m colours and Valspar claims it can match them all with its state-of-the-art colour matching technology using a sugar cube-small samples - handy if you’ve got one signature piece of furniture you want to theme the rest of your room.
For those not as particular, Valspar offers a choice of 2000 pre-selected shades ready to roll across everything from walls and ceilings to wet rooms and radiators. If you’re looking for outdoor colours, Valspar has a garden and decking range with 200 shades.
Buy now, B&Q
Frenchic Paint
Prices: from £9.95
Want to revive an old piece of furniture, or give a new lease of life to charity shop find? Make a beeline for Frenchic, makers of eco-friendly chalk and mineral paint. Perfect for rookies as well as pros, its 16-strong Original Artisan Range is self-priming, skipping a lengthy extra step if you’re planning to paint over dark colours.
The Lazy Range is even better: not only is it self-priming, but it’s also self-levelling too which means you’ll barely see brush marks on your finished surface. Both ranges are safe to use on children’s toys but the Lazy is water resistant too, which makes it a fabulous choice for areas like the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom.
The brand also offers the Alfresco Range which can be used both indoors and out; Chalk Wall Paint that gives an ultra-matte finish on walls, ceilings, ceramic wall tiles, and concrete; and Trim Paint that’s perfect for skirtings, doors and radiators. Its Instagram account makes for addictive scrolling if you’re waiting for inspiration to strike.
Buy now, Frenchic Paint
Farrow & Ball
Prices: from £32
The Grande Dame of paint brands, having Farrow & Ball paint in your home is a status symbol, on par with a Mulberry bag or sleek Jaguar in the drive. Choose from 156 hues, each whispering elegance with names like Lulworth Blue, Radicchio and Rangwali. Shaking up the tranquillity, there are a few brights in the mix too for those who want feature walls, trims and masonry to pop. Don’t miss their Liberty collab collection for double design points.
You can order sample pots or paper swatches if you’re undecided on wall colours and Farrow & Ball offer chic wallpaper too for full on interior renovations.
Available at, Homebase, B&Q, Brewers Decorators Centre
Buy now, Farrow & Ball
Laura Ashley
Prices: from £40
Soft calming colours are the MO in Laura Ashley’s paint charts, which spans 70 timeless shades in a choice of matte, eggshell or water resistant finishes. Widely available at retailers including Next, B&Q and Homebase, try 100ml tester pots before investing in the colour of your choice.
Buy now, Wallpaper It
COAT
Prices: from £25
Life is too short to spend scrutinising endless variations of magnolia. COAT, who bills itself as a ‘climate-positive’ paint brand, has curated 56 colours to make the most of your space.
Paint is mixed to order in an effort to cut waste and delivery is fast so you can get on with your home renovation makeover as soon as possible. Doing away with tiny pot samples of paint, the brand offers hand painted adhesive-free peel and stick cards (around £1 each) which you can affix to walls to see how they look in different lights. This creates 95 per cent less waste than traditional tester pots.
It’s not the only way COAT is cleaning up home decor’s reputation. The emulsion is water-based, uses no solvent and comes in recyclable tins and packaging. In fact, the entire business is carbon neutral and it also supports charity Crisis UK to help end homelessness.
Buy now, COAT
Lick Paint & Wallpaper
Prices: from £42
If you thought you had a hard time choosing colours at the nail salon, just wait until you see Lick’s colour selection. As well as a fabulous line of wallpaper, the brand offers endless paint colours to agonise over, but none are too outlandish - it’s an elegant colour wheel of muted, earthy and warm pastel tones.
As well as shopping by colour and surface (handy for those with metal or concrete to give the once over), you can further narrow the selection by the direction your room faces too, a great tool if you’re short of inspiration. As for finishes, choose between matte and eggshell.
Whichever shade you choose, rest assured that each is made from an eco-friendly formula and is packed with mood-boosting pigment that will bring your walls to life.
If you’re flummoxed by the selection, order a batch of Lick’s samples, which resemble giant post-its and can be stuck onto the walls without damaging the surface to give you a better idea of the finished effect.
Buy now, Lick
YesColours
Prices: from £20
Born from the first lockdown, this newly launched paint brand is rewriting the rulebook on colouring your interiors. It’s out with 18 slightly different versions of greige, and in with a rainbow of bright and pastel shades that’ll have you tumbling down a whimsical Wes Anderson rabbit hole - if you dare to paint with more than one colour.
YesColours is more than just paint; each shade has been carefully selected using colour theory to promote good vibes and great moods, making your space the escape it should be. It’s a Millennial/ Gen Z dream.
Paint waste is a huge issue in the UK with a third of recycling centres unable to accept waste. To answer this, YesColours 100 per cent water-based emulsion is packed in recyclable pouch packaging (which most local supermarkets will accept), making it not only vegan but pet and child safe too.
Buy now, YesColours
Fenwick & Tilbrook
Prices: from £32
Choosing colour for childrens’ bedrooms can be quite tricky, as their tastes change with every passing playground trend. The independent family-owned brand operates from Norfolk and offers a huge choice of high-quality, pigment-rich paint to suit all rooms and all ages.
The brand’s colour palette veers towards the earthy and muted (very few shocking electrics to see here) and you can choose either sample pots or sheets to try them for size first.
There are six finishes to pick from as well, perfect if you’re hoping to cover varying surfaces like woodwork, internal lime plaster and external masonry.
Buy now, Fenwick & Tilbrook
