Along with grilling burgers and reheating family squabbles, May bank holiday is traditionally the weekend to tackle DIY projects. Let me go all Mystic Meg for a moment and guess that, if you have been gearing up to redecorate, the tins of paint you have in the shed are probably white. From brilliant to bone, white is the perennial bestseller among the mainstream paint manufacturers. And for good reason. White is a safe bet, clean and calming. Never on trend, it won’t fall out of fashion.
Estate agents tell us a lick of white may help to tempt a buyer, and white is the shade most frequently selected when we move into a new home — a blank canvas while we ponder our forever palette. Marianne Shillingford, creative director of Dulux, says “it’s the cool natural light quality in the UK” that means white is right for so many interiors. White makes the most of limited light, reflecting and borrowing and bouncing it around the room.
But if you think that because it is the Nation’s Most Wanted colour that white is easy to handle, think again. The right white is airy, refined and timeless. Bungle your choice, however, and you can create a cold, atmosphere-free zone. Joa Studholme, colour curator at Farrow & Ball, says, “One should be wary of using green-based whites like [Farrow & Ball’s] James White, Lime White and Slipper Satin in north-facing rooms, where warm whites like Dimity, Pointing and Wimborne White will create a softer atmosphere. South-facing rooms will glow when painted in yellow-based whites like New White and White Tie.”
Another pro tip. Brilliant whites may make a room look spacious and airy, which is why they are among the most popular for a pre-sale refresh, but they won’t work well with intense colour, and can be rather harsh to live with. Betsy Smith, colour consultant at Graphenstone, says a warmer hue may be more relaxing in a bedroom or sitting room. “Stark whites often contain optical brighteners that give off an artificial bluish tinge. Instead, opt for softer shades.”
Which brings me to blush. The big manufacturers’ bestsellers are whites, but some of the boutique brands tell a different story, with customers who prefer a warmer hue. When I called in bestsellers for testing, I expected an avalanche of pure white, but a couple of pinks turned up as well. Pickleson, a brand known for funky colour, sent me a sample of Drunk Tahini, and Edward Bulmer sent over a pot of Jonquil, a pretty yellow-tinged pink.
Advertisement
All of these paints impressed. Every one was easy to brush on, was low or no drip, either odour-free or agreeable to smell — and all covered well in two coats. So here’s the big question for paint shoppers: what is the difference between a £20 2.5 litre pot from Crown and a £60 one from Edward Bulmer? Is there any point spending more? The answer depends on your priorities, taste and finances.
• How a single pot of paint can brighten up your home
On my own budget, I can’t see a good reason to spend more than £25, but if I had the extra cash I was so bowled over by Atelier Ellis that I would happily splash out on its Khadi natural paint. To help to work out which is the right white (or the proper pink) for you, here is my top ten of the bestsellers — tested in the punishing real-life environment of my gloomy hallway.
Top of the (paint) charts
Crown Pure Brilliant White matt emulsion
Best for: brightening up on a budget
Top of the pops for value, it’s the trade and DIYers’ favourite, simply known as PBW. If you are moving in and want to create a blank canvas, this durable, cleanable high-voltage white is for you. Formulated for busy family homes, it’s perfect for a busy hallway. In mine, it brushes on with no nonsense and smells almost imperceptible, similar to its higher priced eco rivals.
£20 for 2.5 litres, homebase.co.uk
Little Greene Slaked Lime Absolute matt emulsion
Best for: a tranquil, timeless scheme
Little Greene’s “pure and neutral” bestseller. Slaked Lime is a warm white alternative to PBW. It comes in three tones (Slaked Lime, plus Mid and Deep shades) which, if a subtle and harmonious interior is your bag, amount to a readymade muted palette. The paint feels luxurious on the brush, and it’s the only one I test that looks as if it might cover in one coat.
£57.50 for 2.5 litres, littlegreene.com
Advertisement
Graham & Brown Angel Dust matt emulsion
Best for: a calming backdrop
Angel Dust is a soft, stone-adjacent shade, a step away from brilliant white. If you feel that PBW is too dazzling, this is a serene alternative to consider. It’s been Graham & Brown’s bestseller for the past two years, taking over the top spot from Adeline, its famous bottle green. Slightly thinner in consistency than the Little Greene paint, it comes in 100 per cent recyclable packaging made from sustainable sources.
£40 (reduced from £50) for 2.5 litres, grahambrown.com
Edward Bulmer Natural Paint Jonquil emulsion
Best for: a period property
Who would have predicted that a blush would be a paint-maker’s bestseller? But this is no ordinary paint-maker; it’s Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, the period property specialist that makes pollutant-free paint. Jonquil is its opulent plaster pink with a tinge of creamy yellow. It brushes on beautifully, smells of nothing at all and cleans out of the bristles with remarkable ease, considering its rich consistency. Inspired by an 18th-century colour, it’s the perfect shade for your Georgian drawing room.
£60 for 2.5 litres, edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk
Farrow & Ball Dead Flat Wimborne White
Best for: oomph
This being a hallway, I picked the new extra durable Dead Flat finish to try out Wimborne White. WW has been F&Bs global bestseller for the last five years. It is a shade away from F&B’s All White (which has no other pigment except white), and incorporates a dash of warm yellow, making for a warm, sophisticated hue. In a word, it has oomph. The texture of the paint is pleasingly rich, slightly more prone to drips than some of the others tested, with almost no odour. Coverage is good with two coats; three would be even better. The Dead Flat ultra matt surface is excellent, tough, washable and scuff-resistant. A pricey paint, but I can see why the new finish has so many fans.
£79 for 2.5 litres, farrow-ball.com
Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough matt: Pure Brilliant White, Dulux White Cotton
Best for: high traffic areas
The question “What is your bestseller?” proved tricky for Dulux (“Dulux don’t typically share sales data … so we’d be unable to confirm how much this has sold in comparison to other colours”), but let me assist you, unofficially, by pointing out that its Pure Brilliant White matt emulsion is a go-to colour for professional decorators.
£18 for 2.5 litres, homebase.co.uk
White Cotton, which Dulux sent me for testing on the grounds that searches for the colour on its website were up 22 per cent year on year, turns out to be an agreeable off-white. It’s child’s play to apply, covers in two coats — I might have gone for three on my darkish beige wall — and has a practical surface finish.
£39.50 for 2.5 litres, dulux.co.uk
Advertisement
Earthborn White Clay Claypaint
Best for: painting pleasure
White Clay has been Earthborn’s biggest seller for three years. This eco-friendly, clay-based paint was a delight to apply. It smells of so little that if you close your eyes you can’t tell whether the top is off the tester pot. The colour is richer than the photos show, and the coverage overdelivers (I could have gone with a single coat). The “ultra matt” finish is a pleasure to touch. The paint is “breathable” so ideal for applying on older materials such as lime plaster. If you need a more robust finish, say for a family kitchen, go for the more durable Lifestyle emulsion.
£57.50 for 2.5 litres, earthbornpaints.co.uk
Graphenstone Ambient Pro+ White Linen
Best for: eco bragging
This eco paint firm’s bestselling colour is a perfectly lovely pale cream called White Linen — a calming contemporary neutral “inspired by the freshness of sun-dried linens”. The consistency of the paint is slightly looser than some of the other premium brands I tried, and there was a little dripping when I was brushing it on, but it gave excellent coverage in two coats. The price is steep but the makers claim the recipe, based on lime with graphene technology, produces an air-purifying, breathable, anti-bacterial natural paint that absorbs CO₂ and toxins, mainly in the first 30 days of curing. It’s stealth wealth in a tin.
£33.50 for 1 litre (equivalent to £83.75 for 2.5 litres), graphenstone-ecopaints.store
Atelier Ellis Khadi True matt emulsion
Best for: main character energy
(Paint) cards on the table, this is my favourite white. Khadi has an intensity of colour and character, while still being a natural, luminous shade. It includes traces of umber, yellow ochre and orange – so it has an upbeat, sunny vibe. Slightly thicker in consistency than some, the True matt emulsion brushes on beautifully and could be watered down if you fancied a slightly less intense colour. The smell of this paint is the most pleasant of all the test pots. Next-level luxury.
£60 for 2.5 litres, atelierellis.co.uk
Pickleson Drunk Tahini Chalky Matt
Best for: coverage
Pickleson sells very little white. Offbeat colours are its calling card — its bestseller is Drunk Tahini, a “warm, nutty neutral with a touch of pink”. Pickleson sends out hand-painted recyclable sample cards instead of testers, but wanting to know how the paint looked, smelt and felt to use, I ordered a pot — and I’m glad I did. The coverage is fantastic. Alex Kirby, Pickleson’s co-founder, says, “Our coverage provides an average of 14 square metres per litre based on two coats, and performs at up to 20.”
£53 for 2.5 litres, picklesonpaint.com, staging.samplelibrary.co.uk
