When painting the interior of your house, deciding on the paint is the most crucial step. While the colour may be your first consideration, you'll need to find the right finish, and buy the right amount, for vibrant streak-free walls and ceilings.
To help you get started, this article will teach you how to buy the perfect interior paint for your home decoration projects. once we've covered the basics it's time to take a look through the top ten highest-ranking paints for interiors in the UK. From matt paints to silk and gloss emulsion, we've compared popular products from Dulux, Johnstone's, Hemway and more, including where you can find them on Amazon and Argos!
For those after a quick look, here is our Top 5:
This article's chosen EC site price listings are reflective of its publishing date.
Image | 1 ![]() Johnstones | 2 ![]() Dulux | 3 ![]() Hemway | 4 ![]() Crown Retail | 5 ![]() wilko | 6 ![]() GraceMary | 7 ![]() Hemway | 8 ![]() Vintro | 9 ![]() Dulux | 10 ![]() Rustins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Washable Paint | Matt Emulsion Paint | Chalk Paint | Core Emulsion Silk Mustard Jar | Walls & Ceilings | Chalk & Clay Paint | Glitter Paint | Wall & Ceiling Paint | Gloss Paint For Wood and Metal | Small Job Paint |
Features | A Brilliant Paint for Bases and Brightening Rooms | A Reliable Interior Paint With a History of Success | An Eco-Friendly Ultra-Matt Ideal for Feature Walls | Vibrant, Wipeable and 99% Solvent-Free | A Big Can for a Surprisingly Small Price | Get a Chic Vintage Look in Just One Coat | A Super Sparkly Interior Upgrade | A Luxurious, Odourless Paint in a Gorgeous Forest Green | Sleek Black Gloss for Bold Interior Features | A Quick-Drying Pot for Small Jobs |
Price | £16.09 | £18.00 | £24.95 | £22.60 | £17.00 | £23.95 | £19.95 | £49.99 | £15.79 | £6.36 |
Finish | Matt | Matt | Matt | Silk | Matt or Silk | Matt | Matt or Silk | Matt | Gloss | Gloss |
Volume | 2.5 - 5 L | 2.5 L | 1 L | 2.5 L | 2.5 L | 1 L | 1 L | 2.5 L | 750 ml | 250 ml |
Coverage | 12m2/litre | 14m2/litre | 15m2/litre | 14m2/litre | 14m2/litre | - | - | 15m2/litre | 12m2/litre | 13m2/litre |
Colours Available | 13 | 8 | 116 | 1 | 42 | 36 | 25 | 34 | 2 | 10 + |
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A matt emulsion creates a muted yet beautiful finish. Matt surfaces don't reflect light as they don't have any sheen, making it a perfect coating when painting a wall or ceiling. The biggest benefit of matt interior paint is that it easily hides any flaws during application, so you don't need to layer multiple coats. Chalk paint is another type of matt finish with a slightly thicker consistency with a definite no-sheen finish.
Unfortunately, matt paint has a tendency to hold dirt and dust. This wouldn't be much of a problem if it were easy to clean. However, too much force can damage the delicate finish. This doesn't stop matt paint from being the most popular choice for living rooms and dining rooms. Although, we wouldn't recommend painting bathroom or kitchen walls with a matt finish, as they could stain over time.
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A satin finish has a mild sheen to it, gently catching and reflecting the light. It has the ability to brighten up a room, without looking too glossy. The best thing about a silk finish is that it's easy to clean and it doesn't wear away with each wash, so it's less likely to pick up stains as a matt coverage would. That's why using silk in a kitchen, a bathroom, or a child's bedroom is a very wise decision.
Just bear in mind that it doesn't hide imperfections very well. For example, any greasy marks are going to be visible on your walls until you clean them. This means that they are quite high maintenance in comparison to matt paint, although easier to clean overall.
Gloss has a high-shine finish with an extremely reflective surface. It reflects a vast amount of light, so this finish works best with lighter shades of paint. The maximum sheen means it's highly durable, and wipe-clean too, making it a reliable choice for bathrooms and children's bedrooms.
Using a gloss paint means you won't need to add an additional coat of gloss finish to your surface, saving you the money that you'd have to spend on a can of clear gloss coat. If you have any wooden accents in your house, you will see the most benefits from gloss paint.
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If you want a can of paint to freshen up the borders around a room, or to apply to your doors, you can probably get by with 1-2 litres of paint. However, if you have plans to paint your walls, you'll need to be prepared. It's important that you have enough paint to cover the whole wall in one go. Otherwise, the finished product will look patchy and uneven.
To do this, measure the surface you would like to paint in square meters and buy 2.5 litres per every 12 square meters. But don't forget to account for the multiple layers you might need to apply! We advise that you double or triple your surface square meters to ensure that you have enough paint for each layer.
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This ranking has been compiled by the writing team at mybest UK via careful evaluation of the points made in the buying guide and thorough research of each product and comparing multiple verified customer reviews across the EC sites used.
£16.09
Finish | Matt |
---|---|
Volume | 2.5 - 5 L |
Coverage | 12m2/litre |
Colours Available | 13 |
£18.00
Finish | Matt |
---|---|
Volume | 2.5 L |
Coverage | 14m2/litre |
Colours Available | 8 |
£22.60
Finish | Silk |
---|---|
Volume | 2.5 L |
Coverage | 14m2/litre |
Colours Available | 1 |
£17.00
Finish | Matt or Silk |
---|---|
Volume | 2.5 L |
Coverage | 14m2/litre |
Colours Available | 42 |
£49.99
Finish | Matt |
---|---|
Volume | 2.5 L |
Coverage | 15m2/litre |
Colours Available | 34 |
£15.79
Finish | Gloss |
---|---|
Volume | 750 ml |
Coverage | 12m2/litre |
Colours Available | 2 |
£6.36
Finish | Gloss |
---|---|
Volume | 250 ml |
Coverage | 13m2/litre |
Colours Available | 10 + |
When you're redesigning or refreshing the interior of your home, you'll likely want more than one colour. It's a good idea to buy all your paints from the same brand if possible. This is because each brand uses their own paint mixing formula, regardless of the colour or finish. By picking paints all from the same brand, you can ensure consistency of vibrancy, finish and texture.
Written and researched by Annie Speight
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