Paint, prep and polish for UK homes
Painting walls, ceiling and woodwork in one colour is the look of the moment, but our grey winters are unforgiving to a badly chosen shade. Here's how to pick a hue that holds up, why sheen matters more than colour, and what a drenched room really costs in paint.
British bathrooms are small, steamy and often windowless, so paint choice is less about colour swatches and more about survival. Here’s how to pick finishes by zone, prep glossy tiles and patchy walls, and apply paint that can handle a morning shower.
Woodwork is usually the last thing on a decorating list and the first thing the eye notices when it’s done badly. Here’s how to choose colour and finish for skirting, architraves, doors and window trim, prep old layers properly, and decide whether to match the walls or let the trim speak for itself.
Most room schemes start with a paint chart, but the carpet is often the one thing that cannot be changed. This guide starts at floor level, showing how to read a carpet’s undertone and choose wall colours that make the whole room feel deliberate rather than compromised.
Redecorating while you’re still living in the house is less about perfect timing and more about a sensible plan. Here’s how to work room by room, keep dust contained and let daily life carry on around the wet paint.
That swirly ceiling might be harmless, hide a nasty surprise, or simply need a sensible coat of paint. Here’s how UK homeowners can assess Artex, handle it safely and decide whether painting over it is the right move.
A two-inch daub above the skirting board is not a fair trial. Here’s how to test paint colours on proper boards, under real British light, and next to the trim, flooring and furniture that will share the room with them.
The cloakroom is the one room guests shut themselves in alone, so every brushstroke gets noticed. Here's how to handle colour, condensation and a basin you can barely get a roller behind — and why this tiny space deserves better paint than whatever's left in the shed.
A damp patch is rarely just a cosmetic problem. Here’s how UK homeowners can tell condensation from rising damp, why sealing over wet plaster backfires, and how to prepare and paint a wall so the finish has a fighting chance.
Most paint colours are chosen in daylight and then lived with under artificial light. This guide explains colour temperature, bulb quality and a room-by-room sampling method for UK homes, so the neutral you loved at noon does not turn grey or muddy by 9pm.
Radiators are the most looked-at, least-maintained surface in many British homes. Here's how to prep, prime and paint a heated panel without ending up with a sticky valve, a yellowing gloss or a radiator welded to the wall.
A new kitchen is a big, disruptive spend — and plenty of tired-looking cabinets are still perfectly sound underneath. Here's how to tell whether repainting is a genuine five-to-ten-year fix, what a proper prep-and-finish job involves, and when replacement really is the better call.
Your front door is the bit of the house everyone sees up close, and it takes more punishment than any other painted surface. Here is how to choose a colour that suits the building, prep timber or composite properly, and pick a finish that can handle rain, sun and everything in between.
Ceilings get a coat of brilliant white and a shrug, then spend the next decade quietly letting the room down. Here's how colour, light, finish and proper prep decide whether that big blank surface helps or hinders the rest of the room.
The received wisdom says small rooms should be white. In practice, a deep, saturated colour applied with the right finish can make a cramped box room feel calmer, deeper and strangely larger. Here is when going dark genuinely works — and when it really doesn't.
Painting the outside of a UK home is a weather-dependent job, and the window of good conditions is narrower than most people assume. A season-by-season guide to temperatures, damp, wind and the warning signs that say come back next week.
Hallways take more punishment than any other room in the house and get the least planning. Here's how to choose finishes, handle awkward stairwells and make a narrow entrance feel deliberate rather than dashed off with leftover paint.
An honest decorator's view on where a premium tin makes a real difference and where the budget option does the job perfectly well. Five finishes worth the upgrade, three where you can save, and how sheen and washability should guide the decision.
Decorating a period home well isn't about recreating a museum piece. It's about working with ceiling heights, mouldings and original features to choose colours and finishes that suit both the architecture and modern life.
A £1,500 room refresh is a realistic mid-range budget in 2026, but only if you know where the money actually goes. Here's a practical breakdown of labour, prep materials, paint and the extras that catch homeowners out.