Paint Brands

[soupforbrains]

Hello all, I recently bought a house and the previous owner refurbed it before selling and has very ‘blank canvassed’ it with white walls throughout.

I plan to repaint a number of rooms a few in warm neutrals and some others in much bolder colours and rich tones.

I’ve been looking at a number of paint brands. Can people please give any feedback on COAT, Little Greene, Farrow & Ball (recent purchases and use) and also make any other recommendations.

thank you!

I’ve used Little Greene and love the way it goes on, the colours, minimal “splashing”, and low odour. Yes more expensive but for me these things made it worth it. Recommend using good quality rollers/brushes as well. I haven’t used any of the others you mentioned.

thank you for the info. I do like the look of little greene and has seen reviews online. Good to hear one ‘in person’.

I am an extremely clumsy person and intend to pay a decorator to do the painting for me but I will source the paint myself.

Dulux is the best paint. The Heritage Range is great. The velvet matte is lovely.

Another vote for Little Greene. Excellent coverage and opacity.

I can't afford Little Greene, but my friend who can swears by it.

Deluxe heritage has a nice finish, The more premium brands my favourites are Mylands, Little Greene & Sanderson I’m not fond of Farrow & Ball I’ve always found it a bit of a pain to work with & needs more coats than the other brands I mentioned have heard good things about Edward Bulmer but haven’t used it

Another vote for Little Greene. F&B also good. Sign up for Patrick of F&B 's videos on Instagram. Very delightful ("hello Farrow & Ball friends"). Importantly don't listen to any moaning decorators who say these paints are crap. They would all paint everything magnolia trade if they could. Hire the decorator who comes round with an F&B colour card and looks at the amount of wall prep needed.

I’ve used all three recently and wouldn’t say there’s much to choose between them. They all do a lovely range of colours and are pleasant to work with.

Thanks all.

while I’m here has anyone used the peel and stick sample patches (rather than actual sample paint) to try out paint colours? If so how have you found them? Do they peel and restick easily? Are they really true to the colours?

For many years we used Farrow & Ball and Craig & Rose, but have found the opacity of F&B increasingly bad (and C&R harder to get locally these days).

We began using Little Greene a couple of houses back and love the colours/low odour/application.

At our last house we also used some Dulux Heritage which we were just as happy with as LG.

Last September we moved again and decided to try some Edward Bulmer colours as their paints had popped up a lot on my Instagram and their green credentials impressed us.

We've used three colours so far (colour drenching rooms, so both emulsion and eggshell). Nowhere has required more than two coats - unlike F&B which always seems to need a minimum of three!

We had to take a punt on ordering samples online as again there are no local stockists, but we've been really delighted with every aspect of Edward Bulmer paints and plan to use them again in at least one other room. The colours we've used are deep, saturated tones (Pompadour and Nicaragua) and paler (Jonquil).

I've also heard great things about Mylands but haven't tried them yet.

I bought soooo many samples (the paint) 🙈 Mind you I now have a file of A4 cards painted with sample colours in case I need again.

In my experience there can be a slight variation in colour only because of the type of paint that is used for the sample pots. but not sufficient to have affected things. There’s also active Little Greene and F&B groups on Facebook.

I must admit though that if I wasn’t painting myself I might be tempted to get a colour match. Though I love the colours, for me it’s the joy of using such lovely paint, it’s like a treat that I factor cost in for.

We have recently repainted our whole house, some rooms more neutral, some more bold.

We have used Farrow and Ball Modern Eggshell on woodwork in white, yellow and terracota pink and the application has been a dream. Also, Dead Flat in bedrooms, perfect coverage with two coats and the depth of colour is just fab. Even their All White on our kitchen ceiling in Modern Emulsion screams saturation.

We have also used Little Greene on a built in wardrobe in their eggshell and will be using their paint on woodwork in the utility.. Very happy with the result.

Paint and Paper Library in Flat in our own bedroom and I just love it. Also their emulsion on ceilling and eggshell on woodwork.

Would also highly recommend Mylands for kitchen and hallway walls. Their marble finish is very durable.

You cannot go wrong with any of these paints. Choose the colour and go for it! We never found any issues with application or coverage with any of them.

So much good info here. Thank you everyone.

Johnston’s trade is worth a look if you wanted something less spendy. Brewers can colour match to F&B pretty accurately normally too.

Zinsser is definitely worth looking at. Really good quality paint.

“…..Importantly don’t listen to any moaning decorators who say these paints are crap. They would all paint everything magnolia trade if they could…..”
😂 I had one of those @nongnangning.
He called it “Farrow and Sh*te.”
No he didn’t paint my house trade Magnolia but not far from it - however I was happy with the ivory/cream.,

Dulux Trade, far superior to their regular paint.

Most of the paints do a good job but check what finish you want and depth of pigment. We’ve used F&B snd initially had a moaning decorator. They do change their minds though! I buy the paint! I still have ones saying they will get the colour mixed. Not happening. Little Green, Edward Bulmer and Paint & Paper Library are all good. f&B do a low sheen wall paint that’s great for halls and high traffic areas. It’s in our cloakroom and works well in there too.

Honestly don’t get hung up on the make, although of course it helps when narrowing down.

All the premium brands have certain stand out colours or areas they do well. Little greene do fab tonal shades if you’re going for the layered look. Paper and paint library neutrals are excellent for depth and interest. Zoffany do “dreamy” really well. If you want a coordinated look using different colors the f&b website makes that really easy with their suggestions., far better than any of the others imo which makes them more accessible and you’re closer to a coherent look when doing multiple rooms or areas.

Honestly don’t get hung up on the make, although of course it helps when narrowing down

This.

Once you’ve painted dozens of rooms (as a semi pro decorator) you learn that a lot of this is in the mind. Yes, a certain companies particularly palette might appeal to you more, or less, but as long as the overall consistency and coverage of a paint reaches a certain level (which is generally very good for all premium brands) then essentially you’re clutching at straws: they’re all good.

So pick your colour and go paint!

Edit to add; a customer I had after trying a million different tester pots looking for the perfect lilac, decided on a very cheap Albany hue. Slapped it on; was perfect. Far cheaper than all the other premium brands we tried!

Thanks all! I’m going to go with COAT. Mainly because they do the colour shades/hues which I want and I can’t find a couple of them anywhere else.

On a different note has anyone bought wallpaper from LUST?

I’ve never really heard of them but they’re the only place I can find the kind of pattern I’m looking for at the moment.

@soupforbrains Emma J Shipley at House of Wallpaper or Clarke and Clarke might interest you.

We’ve got wallpaper from lust in our hallway and it’s lovely. Quality great. Also rate coat for colours (although have just colour matched ‘cold brew’ with dulux trade from them as needed it straight away)

Another vote for this - quality is excellent, thick paint with great coverage. Cheaper than F&b and little greene too.