There’s something exciting happening in the paint industry. A whole new list of new-age paint brands has come to the stage. Emphasising sustainability and durability, these new paint brands offer it all – luxury, exciting packaging, fast delivery and extravagant colours for our walls. 

Perfect for these times, as we spend more time inside noticing how our environment influences our moods and well-being. Adding a new colour, refreshing our interiors with paint is a simple way to transform our interior decor and uplift our mood. 

To paint or not to paint? 

There are many reasons why you might want to decorate your walls with paint. From using light hues to brighten up a windowless room to adding a unique design element, paint has the power to transform any area in your home. And it's much more affordable than a full room renovation.

Colour

The colour of the walls can make one of the biggest impacts on the feel of a room. Paint is available in countless colours and shades, making it an effective way to enhance the feel and purpose of any room in the house. 

Prevent wear and tear

Interior paint has functional advantages too. It is an effective way to protect walls, doors, and trim. Paint minimises damage from moisture and can even help surfaces hold up longer from normal wear and tear.

Increase the value of your home

Research has shown that painting your home can increase the real estate value of the house. Even if you’re not looking to sell any time soon, investing in the maintenance and upkeep of your home will provide you a significant return on investment.

Improve air quality

Another good reason to cover your walls with paint is that today, an emerging alternative to chemical solvents, are eco-friendly paints. These use water-based solvents to reduce or eliminate the release of VOCs in indoor spaces. Plus, they're odour-free and have a significantly lower impact on the environment.Paints with zero or low VOC can create a healthier indoor air quality while also reducing the risk of harmful fumes or odours. Interior paint is also an effective way to minimise the amount of dust and dirt circulating in the air. In the UK there are numerous paint brands that not only use low VOCs and water-based solvents but are actively involved in sustainable activities like helping to clean up our oceans.

12 Most stylish paint brands in the UK

There’s nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with the colours you love most and which make you feel inspired, happy, serene, blissful, or excited... and these stylish paint brands will have you picking up a paintbrush in no time.

1. Lick 

Dress your walls with UK-based paint company Lick. Lick paint brand which launched the day the UK went into lockdown, was ready in time for all those would-be DIY pros to do up the homes they’d be spending the next few months in.

This durable designer paint in a range of pigment-rich shades, with matte, eggshell or exterior finishes uses low VOC, is eco-friendly, waterbased and wipeable. It's good for you and the planet — with wall-to-wall coverage for an outstanding look. Not to mention their flare for packaging... 

Lick's paint is different. First of all, it's super durable and wipe-clean. That means that you won't have to worry about re-painting your room every few months if your children happen to practise their artistic skills on the walls. Secondly, sor every 2.5 litre paint tin sold, 4ocean removes 18g of plastic from the sea (that's the equivalent of two plastic bottles). So far, Lick have helped to remove just over five tons of plastic from the sea – just short of 51,000 plastic bottles! But that's just a drop in the ocean compared to 4ocean's formidable work. For what can't be recycled, they employ local artisans – in Bali, Africa, Europe, and South America – to turn plastic waste into works of art. Like their bracelets, which are made from 100% recycled bottles. Working directly with the local communities, they organise beach clean-ups and help educate individuals on the damaging effects of single-use plastic, more eco-friendly alternatives, and how to dispose of plastic waste properly.

Another difference with Lick is that this brand supports Pride and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. Sharing their kaleidoscopic journeys with paint, they've kick-started their #LickCommunity initiative by supporting Pride.

If you'd like to incorporate elements of colour psychology into your home, read their guide on how colour affects our emotions. The most important part? Beginning with palettes that make you feel good. Choose Lick, choose colour, freedom and sustainability.

2. Farrow & Ball 

Whether it’s a top-to-bottom transformation or a one-wall overhaul, Farrow & Ball have everything you need to inspire your project. Farrow & Ball is a British manufacturer of paints and wallpapers largely based upon historic colour palettes and archives. The company is particularly well-known for the unusual names of its products such as Sulking Room Pink, Duck Green, Mouse'sBack,  IndianYellow to name a few. From their water bases to their responsible practises, Farrow & Ball are an eco-friendly paint brand committed to reducing their impact on the earth without compromising on quality.

3. COAT

Sustaining isn't enough – companies need to turn the tide. COAT paint brand is leading the way with cleaner products. The entire COAT range is water-based and low VOC. COAT is proud to use smarter solutions, and bigger thinking. For example, anything that’s made to be single-use like paint testers needs serious thought. Peel and stick swatches are the new, smart way to test colours: 

  • 95% Less waste than tester pots 
  • 100% Adhesive free (no glue) 
  • 100% Recyclable PET material 

We love their neutral colours, which are timeless and super versatile. They can shine in their own right to create calming spaces, or provide the perfect backdrop for other elements of the room to shine, like furniture or artwork. Somewhere between grey, green and beige, greige paint is now a thing and a COAT shade named And Breathe is gaining recognition as is Kind Regards.

4. Clare 

Clare is a direct-to-consumer interior paint company that has shaken up the traditional painting experience. Their business model takes the stress out of painting by offering high-quality designer-curated colours as well as peel and stick swatches to make the process easier. Founded by interior designer Nicole Gibbons, Clare brings environmentally-friendly paint right to your door. Free of toxic, carbon-based solvents and Greenguard Gold certified, the paints are self-priming and come in 56 designer-curated colours.

5. Gris 

When makeup artist Liz Michael was struggling to find the perfect grey/white tone for her home, she came up with the idea of Gris, a mineral paint brand with a limited but elegant palette of steely greys, blues and whites. Gris presents a curated experience of colour, and a contemporary approach to mineral paint. Gris, the French word for grey, offers an exclusively monochrome palette, each shade drawn from the diverse interests and pared-back aesthetic of the founder Liz Michael. Gris has three signature colour series: Nordic, Architectural and Inky. Each range is distinct in depth, tonality and inspiration. Gris paints are exclusively produced in the UK with Keim, the world leaders and pioneers of mineral paint. Gris paints are Nature Plus certified and are completely sustainable products.

6. Little Greene 

Little Greene is an independent, British paint manufacturer, committed to the socially and environmentally responsible production of high-quality paints and wallpapers. Something unique about Little Greene is that they have a collaboration with the National Trust, UK. The National Trust looks after special places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and since the beginning of 2018, in collaboration with their curators and conservators, an extensive paint research project has been undertaken in National Trust houses and gardens to find original colours, and bygone recipes. Little Greene paints are water-based, quick-drying, child-safe finishes for use throughout the home. Traditionalists will favour their classic, long-lasting oil-based paints, which use naturally occurring vegetable oils to significantly lower the use of solvents.

7. Paint & Paper Library 

Paint & Paper Library was founded over twenty years ago in London by interior designer David Oliver. Providing inspiration, colour expertise and design ideas for interior decorators, architects and specifiers worldwide, they offer a distinguished palette of 180 unique colours. Available in five finishes for both interior and exterior use, Paint & Paper Library have formulated their paints to the highest possible standards. All of their paints are made by traditional methods, using the highest quality eco-friendly ingredients and meet and exceed the current regulations on VOC solvent content – formulated to make an impact on your walls, not on the environment.

8. Pickleson Paint Co. 

Pickleson Paint Co. is a sustainable paint company, bringing you water-based, eco-friendly paint that is odourless, fast drying and non-toxic. Born from a desire to create beautiful paint that’s truly sustainable, they do everything they can to make sure their paint doesn’t harm the people who use it or the environment, whilst giving them the opportunity to transform their home. Something unique about Pickleson Paint Co. is that they have introduced a new solution to help fight infection and keep you out of harm’s way… Protego Antimicrobial by Pickleson provides powerful, long-lasting protection for painted walls and surfaces. The product contains silver-ion technology, a natural anti-microbial, which has been successful in fighting the growth of bacteria for thousands of years. When used on walls and surfaces in the home, the silver ions prevent bacteria from growing, producing energy, or replicating. Available in any colour and any finish, you can splash paint over your walls knowing that Pickleson Paint Co. are doing everything they can to keep you – and the environment – safe.

9. Annie Sloan 

Unique to the Annie Sloan Paint brand is chalk paint. This is the original creation of Annie Sloan. It's a furniture paint or wall paint, designed to adhere to surfaces without sanding first. Eliminating the need for priming and sanding, this is the cheat’s shortcut to beautiful, energetic furniture and walls, and can be used on outdoor furniture, too. Chalk paint is a decorative paint known for its matte, chalky appearance, chalk paint is a popular choice for giving furniture and home decor a rustic, vintage, or shabby-chic style. Because it can easily be given a distressed look, chalk paint is ideal for those who want to add character and vintage charm to their home. In Annie Sloan's range of paints come uplifting, inspiring colours. 

10. Andrew Martin

Andrew Martin Design-lovers will recognise Andrew Martin for its showstopping wallpapers and bold fabrics. But did you know the brand has a recently-launched paint collection? Founder, Andrew Martin sums up his passion for this particular colour of his bold range of paints: ”Yellow is mellow and uplifting all at the same time. It transports us back to long lazy sun-drenched days in the Mediterranean and it can brighten us up on the darkest of winter days. It works brilliantly with blues, teals, greens and reds, and for real crisp freshness use with white.” From vibrant yellows and energising pinks to rich deep jewel tones amongst a wide range of classic neutrals, Martin's paint company offers a collection that is a 100% acrylic, water-based that can be cleaned using water alone.

11. Mylands

1884-founded Mylands is London’s oldest family-run paint maker. In addition to holding a Royal Warrant, Mylands have earned a reputation as a favourite of the most discerning designers and clientele. Blending tradition with new-age innovation, you’ll find a timeless selection of shades for both interior and exterior surfaces. Beautiful yet durable, Mylands colours are authentic and pure with an exceptional warmth and sumptuously rich depth of colours.

12. Fired Earth 

Known primarily for their range of tiles, Fired Earth has brought together 120 colours of paint, across the range you can choose from neutrals, muddier dark hues and delicate pastels. Plus, the range is formulated to have minimal impact on the environment with a water-based formula. Some of their latest colours such as Moon Grape and Magenta Oak add a splash of boldness to your walls.

Now seems the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and freshen up your walls or add a touch of colour here and there. With the vast range of paint brands on the market today, there's no better moment to spruce up your walls.

By Melanie Christensen

@melanieartiste