Paint Recommendations Please!

I have Farrow & Ball downstairs and love it, my living room walls seem to change colour depending on the light coming in. My GS who is a decorator was very happy with finish.

Oh, thank you tanith, that sounds promising

My uncle was a professional painter and decorator and he always recommended Johnstone’s pair - as a budget option, the baldpate paint in b and q will mix up any colour you want which is pretty amazing!

Paint not pair ?obviously

I've had valspar (sp?) paint mixed before at B&Q, and it was very good.
I'm not fussed about price - it's all about the coverage!
Thank you Suzi

I love F & B . Beautiful colours, goes on well and lasts . The odd mark washes off well too .

Our Johnstone's Decorator's Centre will mix F&B colours using their paint as the base.

I haven't use F&B on walls (too expensive) but I have used their paint for woodwork.

To be honest, it didn't seem any different than Dulux in the way it went on and the finish.

Well, not being posh, I use Crown Breatheasy. It really doesn't have much odour. I find it covers well too.

I have Farrow and Ball all over the house Fanny. It wipes down really well on the kitchen walls where my DGS sits in his high chair! In the dining room I have a grey which changes colour according to the light. The lounge was supposed to be a cream, I think old English, but even that takes on a green shade sometimes. Ekephant's Breath is lovely too.
The finish looks almost chalky if you get my meaning.

We have F&B in our two downstairs rooms, one is Vardo, the other a lighter grey/blue. Slightly strange as it ma sound I get real pleasure just from staring at the colour on the walls. I do yoga and meditation in the paler room and it just calms me to take it in.

Yes, Ellianne, that's the type of finish that I like.
In really a wall paper girl (Morris&co, of course) so I don't really have much experience with paint.
DH is a retired builder and a bit fussy. But neither of us is up to much at the moment, but things really need smartening up!

Oops sorry, it is Old White F & B.

I have had all the usuals and several of the others. I like Little Green better than Farrow and Ball BUT the very best durable paint for our badly plastered Victorian house is Mylands.
They don't go as far as the others but are fabulous in my opinion. The Marble matt emulsion is in our dining room and is visually so silky matt I want to stroke it!

mylands.com/

My local paint shop that sells all brands including Earthborn and Fired Earth says they have the Mylands in their kitchen and have been known to take a washing-up scratchy thing to it!

I have only used it this once but will definitely use it again.

F & B is seriously good paint, fanny. We've used this brand since the 80's and it's hard-wearing and has the most attractive chalky matt finish - only 2% sheen on the Estate Emulsion. The more matt the finish, of course, the better imperfections are hidden!

The colours are very attractive and do change slightly as the light alters (as Tanith says). It's paint that covers well with a soft and dense finish, is very easy to use, has almost no smell and very low VOC's. It's also very hard-wearing : the finished exterior of our last house looked impeccable for 8 years. I'd not hesitate in recommending it to anyone.

I gave got quite a bit of Farrow and Ball, but personally I prefer Little Greene, the range of colours is bigger, and it’s very durable.
If we’re talking about a paint NOT to use, I would avoid Designers Guild, absolutely love their fabrics, but have had disappointing results with their paint.

Fanny - if you like Morris and co you might like to look up Cole and Son. I love the one they call Singita but so expensive!

Depends on your budget, F&B are good, Johnstone’s and Dulux are good too.

We have Dulux Trade Diamond Matt, it is brilliant, you can scrub it hard with anything and marks just come off. The living room was done 17 years ago, and still looks almost as new, we ought to redecorate after all this time, but I would definitely use the same paint. And cheaper than F and B too!

NotSpaghetti

Fanny - if you like Morris and co you might like to look up Cole and Son. I love the one they call Singita but so expensive!

Oooh that's nice. A bit like my downstairs loo with monkeys etc.

Ha ha Elianne but I can't have it as way out of my budget!
(Maybe should have suggested it to Carrie Symonds)

My decorator always used Dulux professional paints. And 1400 grade lining paper he said anything less will rip when when pasted and can't be lined up exactly so you can't see any joins.

The most expensive option in the Valspar (premium I think they call it) is of comparable quality to anything else on the market.

Fired Earth is harder to get now that they closed some stores, but has magnificent colour payoff, better than the F&B. I feel like you definitely need two coats of F&B, although I do like it a lot.

I’ve had good success with Craig & Rose on furniture.

If you have a Dulux decorator centre nearby, they have access to the trade ranges and formulations if you need something with quite specific qualities.

Mainly use Farrow and Ball because of the range of colours and the very dense cover you get with the matt finish, but for years I used Home Base paint and still use it in our French house, if we ever see it again.

I am currently painting most of my walls 'Dimity' an off white colour and, as GrandmaFrench says finding the colour seems to subtly change depending on the colour palette in each room.

I’m in the process of redecorating the whole house ? out of necessity after having a new central heating system installed and the whole piping system moved to the surface. (Nightmare leaks under concrete floor and behind bathroom tiles during lockdown but that’s another story!!)
In the past I’ve always used Johnstone’s but this time I’ve gone with Wilco’s own brand and am delighted with it. Good coverage, low odour, quick delivery, and good price.