Paint Brands Sold in Ireland – Review from Bannon Decor on the best house paints to use for both interiors and exteriors.
For the cost of a tin of paint, walls, cupboards, and kitchen cabinets can be transformed into something fresh, dazzling, and new. But, painting and decorating your home can be a challenge, from questions on “what paint to use?” “what brand of paint is good with my walls and furniture” or “what finish do I need”?
You don’t want to be halfway through painting your walls and decide you don’t like the paint finish, right?
You also need to know that each type of wall paint can be divided on the basis of different finishes, like matt, mid-sheen, eggshell or satin finish for example. We always recommend hiring professional painters in Portlaoise to do this job for you, simply to guarantee that your painting and decorating project is finished professionally. But, there’s no harm in knowing and deciding which type of sheens and paint brands you should go for prior to the job starts.
Here at Bannon Decor, we created this article to help you decide on which brands of paint and type of finish you can use on your next painting and decorating project.
Interior Painting and Decorating in Ireland – Top tips from Bannon Decorating
The different types of sheens
Most paint manufacturers provide a variety of sheens. High-gloss sheens provide the best light-reflective properties. Semigloss sheens come next, followed by satin and eggshell low gloss sheens. Finally, there are flat and matte finishes.
Flat and Matte
Flat and Matte finishes have the lowest glossiness of all the finishes on this list, at roughly 0-10% sheen. What this means is it’s non-reflective and is best used in walls and ceilings, as it’s great for hiding any bumps or scratches on the surface of the wall. It is also resistant to water damage, which is why this is commonly used by professional painting and decorating service contractors in Portlaoise.
The only downside in using flat and matte finishes is it’s hard to clean, so don’t use them in high-traffic volume areas like the kitchen or a kid’s room. But, if you are using high-quality paint, you should be able to remove the imperfections by gently scrubbing it after the paint has healed for 30 days.
Eggshell
Eggshell finishes have less sheen (20% approx) than silk or satin finishes. In a simple explanation, the eggshell finish when dried looks literally like an eggshell. This popular finish is neither shiny nor completely matte, but it’s easier to maintain than flat-finished walls or furniture. Eggshell also tends to resist stains better than a flat paint, although not as well as semi-gloss and high gloss paints.
Eggshell hides imperfections better than semi-gloss and high-gloss paints, so you can use this finish in everyday spaces, such as living rooms and bedrooms.
High Gloss
High Gloss paints have the highest reflective appearance (80% approx). But they are also the toughest, most durable, and almost stain resistant of all the finishes on this list. This kind of paint finish is the easiest to clean so you can use this in high-traffic areas like your kid’s room, kitchen or bathroom.
This paint is best used in doors, mouldings, windows, and shutters to have a glamorous glass-like effect. The only downside of using a high gloss paint is it does show imperfections on surfaces, and it’s also difficult to apply. You might need some experience applying a high gloss paint, so relying on a professional painting company in Laois might be best if you are going for a high gloss look on your furniture.
Satin
Satin are “mid-sheen” finish, which means they look like a slightly polished surface and reflect a bit of light than an eggshell finish, without appearing as shiny as a semigloss. Because of its “mid-sheen” feature, satin finish is the best all-around player when it comes to durability.
As this finish reflects light, it will show any imperfections on your wall. So instead of using satin paints on your old walls with cracks and dents, this is best applied in newer ones.
Because it’s a mid-sheen, satin finish is best used in kitchen ceilings, bathroom walls, and even in your kids’ room, as the paint is hard-wearing, moisture-resistant and washable, so if you’re young da Vinci decides to become an artist and paint all over your walls, you can gently brush it off. If you don’t prefer semi-gloss and high gloss finishes, you can resort to using satin finishes instead on your doors, furniture, skirting boards, and windows.
The best interior paint brands to use in Laois
Now that you have an idea about paint sheens and where it is best to use. We will now tackle the best interior paint brands.
We all know that there’s a wide selection of different paints available on the market, with many reputable brands producing fine-quality paints. Some brands have carved out a niche, such as Farrow & Ball, which is a British manufacturer of paints and wallpapers largely based upon historic colour palettes, highly pigmented paint and unique wallpaper designs. Mineral and chalk paint manufacturers are also seeing a resurgence in sales. Colour Trends’ environmental range and deluxe durability are all positive selling factors for these brands, but it’s with an experienced painting contractor that you will get the right advice on which is the best paint to use for a particular surface. So before going to Homebase, be sure to read this section.
Colourtrend
Irish family owned and operated since 1953. They have been a reliable manufacturer of paints ever since. Using only the best quality ingredients, their leading-edge paint company operates at the forefront of paint technology, offering 100% pure acrylic decorative paint to the people of Ireland.
Colourtrend’s colours are crafted to work with both interior and exterior walls of Irish homes. Using only the best high-quality acrylic resin, the paint is applied smoother, will last longer, and can withstand wiping away everyday household stains.
Product Example
Interior Matt – Colourtrend Interior Matt is a water-based emulsion for interior walls and ceilings that is high-quality and low-odour. It dries to a lovely, silky matt finish that is totally wipeable and designed to hide imperfections on your walls.
Touch dry in 2-4 hours, depending on film thickness and drying conditions. Re-coat after 4-6 hours.
Crown Paints
With over 200 years of experience, Crown is one of those paint brands renowned all over the world. The company is known for its large selection of conventional emulsions and paints for interior walls and ceilings. Crown’s products are also beneficial to wood and metal surfaces. The company actually makes a variety of gloss and sheen paints for both interior and exterior wood and metal surfaces.
In addition to emulsion paints, Crown provides breathable and washable coatings which are formulated for high-traffic areas of your house.
Product Example
Crown Mid Sheen – is a beautiful, soft sheen paint that is great for new work on interior walls and ceilings, as well as for redecoration. Vinyl Mid Sheen produces a very high-quality finish, is water-based, has quick drying features, and offers superb opacity and coverage, leaving the painting job with a professional look.
Touch dry for 1-2 hours and recoatable after 4 hours.
Dulux
The Dulux brand is one of the UK’s leading brands of paints. More than anything, Dulux aims to help inspire its customers about colour and unlock its colour potential. With a wealth of products, there are over 1,200 Dulux colours to choose from. A lot of painters, like me, recommend Dulux, as this paint is easier to maintain.
They also offer a great colour finder tool, which is present on their website to help you choose the proper colours based on the location where you want to apply it, the surface, and the finish.
Besides the colour finder tool, the other cool feature on their website is the Dulux Trade Desktop Visualiser, where you can upload a photo of your room and you will then have the ability to test out different colour schemes on the areas of the image that you have chosen. Now, this is not available yet, but it will be in the future. So be sure to keep an eye on it.
Product Example
Dulux High Gloss Paint – is a creamy gloss paint which flows out to give a perfect mirror-like finish. Use it inside and out on wood and metal surfaces to give long-lasting protection and beauty to your home.
Farrow & Ball
The paint company, which was founded in 1946 in Dorset by John Farrow and Richard Ball, has a colour to fit every need and strives for low VOC (volatile organic compounds), as well as a more eco-friendly, water-based solution and recyclable packaging.
Farrow & Ball is quite costly, but its highly pigmented paints are known for their light-absorbing and amplifying properties, making them great for adding subtle vibrancy and character to a room. So if you want a more luxurious look in the interior of your home, Farrow & Ball is right for you.
Product Example
Modern Emulsion – This low-sheen, high-performance wall and ceiling paint is washable, scuff-proof, and protected against mould. Perfect for kitchens, baths, children’s rooms, corridors, and other high-traffic areas. Modern Emulsion is available in full range of colours in a beautiful matt finish
Fleetwood
A local business in Ireland, Fleetwood Paints began in 1950 on Marlborough Street in Dublin’s City Centre. Fleetwood had prided itself on making high-quality paint, utilising cutting-edge technology.
They were passionate about colour and design and wanted to introduce a high level of manufacturing to the Irish paint industry. They are also dedicated to offsetting the environmental impact of their paints and processes.
Product Example
Fleetwood Prestige Superior Satin – a luxurious satin sheen emulsion with excellent coverage.
How often should you paint your interior walls?
Corridor, Hallway and Kid’s Bedroom
This is where the most activity happens in your house. Corridors and Hallways are frequently visited several times per day. As a result, the paint on the walls in these locations quickly becomes old and damaged.
The walls of the children’s room are the same. Unlike an adult’s bedroom, this one also serves as a playroom for the kids. They will draw or stick things on the walls. They’re also constantly touched or leaned on, making them grimy and discoloured. Depending on the paint used, the stains can be removed by gently scrubbing it off.
So how often should you repaint these walls? The recommended interior wall painting frequency for these high-traffic areas is every two to three years.
Living Room, Dining Room and Adult’s Bedroom
While the living room, dining room and adult’s bedroom are also used daily, the intensity of the activities done here is quite low.
So the ideal schedule for interior wall painting in these areas is every three to six years.
Kitchen, Bathroom and Laundry Area
The walls near the counters for food preparation in the kitchen are very prone to premature wear and tear. The most prevalent causes of paint deterioration on these walls are oil or grease marks.
Meanwhile, humidity and moisture are the main causes of paint job deterioration in the bathroom and laundry rooms. For one thing, moisture encourages the growth of mould on the walls, which can cause unsightly stains. It can even cause the paint to peel off over time.
Not to worry, as Bannon Decor only uses the highest quality water-based paints in these areas, so you can easily wipe down the stains and you don’t have to repaint your walls more often than cheap alternative paints. We recommend repainting the kitchen, bathroom and laundry area every 3-4 years.
