Best value white/off-white paint?

Dognobs

wickes trade is made by dulux and is VERY good paint just done my frount room in IVORY and it is lovely!

pinkteapot

Among the Dulux colours:

Magnolia is a pinky/peachy shade of cream.

Ivory is the same 'darkness' but a yellowy cream. We have this in our hall.

The Barley White which I mentioned before is a lot lighter than both of these but a yellowy cream, like Ivory.

I'll try and take a photo tomorrow morning in natural light of where you can see our hall (Ivory) and bedroom (Barley White) next to each other. As others have said though, tester pots are worth their weight in gold as they'll look different in every house. I put some tester paint on the wall but also on a bit of board which I can move around and look at in different lights.

I know that Natural Calico is very popular these days but it's more of a stony cream and I found it too cold. I like the warmth of Barley White / Ivory but that's just me.

Although it's not too expensive to replace paint, it is a lot of time/hassle so it's worth getting a base colour you're really happy with so you only have to add the feature walls or other bits in the future.

I've been redecorating our house recently and putting some pictures up of the paint colours we've used:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55127243@N04/

Haven't posted the most recent rooms yet so the more neutral colours aren't up yet. I'll update it tomorrow.

mumnotplusone

Hi
My interior walls are all home base whisky cream (think bai1eys!) So creamy colour without pinkish tones

kinnth

Hi Guys,

It's a really nice thread. I too am just about to purchase my first house and I can't wait. I am moving into a victorian terraced built in 1897 and it's got loads of great features. The previous owner let it run into disrepair so I am on a mission to do it up. There are a couple of things I have taken from my readings that I would like to share.

High Quality Paint

I know a lot of people on here are about saving money but I also consider things as preserving quality as just as important and therefore striking that balance for me is where it is at. My intention is to start from the begining with a really solid undercoat, I am not too fussed on price for this as I am going to be looking at the 10 litre volumes. Can anyone recommend me a good quality undercoat, price is not critical here, it's quality?

Once I have my base I am going to be using a white/off white for most of the house. I am going to do those testers, but again I want to start with testers from a company that will follow through on higher quality paints. Is Dulux the best one to go with on this or am I paying but not receiving the quality?

Now finally I want to paint a single wall of most rooms a really vibrant or strong colour to bring it to life and to make it my own. For this money is no object, the only thing I want is the right colour. I even went out and got a book from Pantone all about colour to give me reference and make sure I knew what I wanted. I have been advised to use the best paint for this from companies such as Fired Earth or Farrow and Ball. Does anyone have any recommendations for saving from these companies as most are not on Quidco!

Preparation

I am going to be getting into this house bare and I have the luxury of keeping the house bare for a week or two before I move in. I am going to try and do as much painting as possible within these weeks.

1. Can anyone point me to some sites or give me some good tips for preparation?
2. Are there any items that are total time savers and you couldn't do without in helping to DIY?
3. Do you paint floor to ceiling in the same undercoat or do you get different ones for each?

Drying / Finishing

Is there anything I need to know about drying or finishing of paints?
What's the best way to avoid drips?

Thanks a bunch as I can't wait to get going but I want to do it right.

nickj_2

kinnth wrote: »

Hi Guys,

High Quality Paint

I know a lot of people on here are about saving money but I also consider things as preserving quality as just as important and therefore striking that balance for me is where it is at. My intention is to start from the begining with a really solid undercoat, I am not too fussed on price for this as I am going to be looking at the 10 litre volumes. Can anyone recommend me a good quality undercoat, price is not critical here, it's quality?

Once I have my base I am going to be using a white/off white for most of the house. I am going to do those testers, but again I want to start with testers from a company that will follow through on higher quality paints. Is Dulux the best one to go with on this or am I paying but not receiving the quality?

sure I knew what I wanted. I have been advised to use the best paint for this from companies such as Fired Earth or Farrow and Ball. Does anyone have any recommendations for saving from these companies as most are not on Quidco!


1. Can anyone point me to some sites or give me some good tips for preparation?
2. Are there any items that are total time savers and you couldn't do without in helping to DIY?
3. Do you paint floor to ceiling in the same undercoat or do you get different ones for each?

Drying / Finishing

Is there anything I need to know about drying or finishing of paints?
What's the best way to avoid drips?

Thanks a bunch as I can't wait to get going but I want to do it right.

when you say undercoat , i take it you mean emulsion - undercoat is what you put on woodwork , so i take it you mean to blank out the walls , if so dulux do a supermatt which will do the trick

paints such as fired earth and f+b are over rated and over priced , take the colour card and get them scanned in dulux trade emulsion and it will save you cash and time as those paints don't cover that well
the emulsion you get in diy sheds is normally not dulux trade paint , if it comes in a pretty tin then it's thinner than the trade stuff

you can paint walls and ceiling in emulsion if you want it all the same colour or do the ceiling white and put a colour on the walls

drying times this time of the year will be slow , make sure all areas are dry , esp in the corners and outside walls , if you are doing the whole house it would be better to do 2-3 ceilings then do the walls

time savers - decent roller and sleeve and pole (not stuff from diy sheds )- hamilton do good stuff

best way to avoid drips is to brush the paint out well