Painting bathrooms

The bathroom is the dampest room in the house, and its paint has to take steam, splashes and frequent wiping without blistering or staining. On walls and ceiling our first choice is still Marble Matt Emulsion, washable and breathable, over our Wall Primer; around the shower or behind the basin, where water really runs, Multi-Surface Eggshell (15%) or Satin (40%) wipe clean in one pass. Bath panel, vanity unit and woodwork take Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Eggshell or Satin, over our Multi-Surface Primer; Gloss (85%) is an option for a lacquered look. Good ventilation does the rest.

For colour, the soft blues of Notting Hill, Hawksmoor or Eaton Square, water greens such as Glass and Copper Green and the fresh whites of Charterhouse and Greenwich Time give a bathroom the clarity it needs; a deep tone, Mad About The Bathroom or Maritime, on the bath panel or the vanity anchors it.

Recommended finishes

Walls & ceiling

Marble Matt Emulsion

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Multi-Surface Eggshell, Multi-Surface Satin, Multi-Surface Gloss

Bath panel, vanity & woodwork

Multi-Surface Dead Matt Multi-Surface Eggshell Multi-Surface Satin

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Gloss, Metallic Paint

Primer

Wall Primer Multi-Surface Primer

Around the shower and behind the basin: Eggshell or Satin, in the same colour as the walls.

Our advice

Bathrooms, done well

Deal with the damp, ventilate, let each coat dry hard: in a wet room, patience does half the work.

Tiles masked, walls washed, bath panel off: the room is ready.

Prepare

Dry, sound, ventilated

Treat any trace of mould with a suitable solution, rinse, and let it dry for 24 hours with the window open. Then wash walls and ceiling: soap, hairspray and limescale leave an invisible film that nothing sticks to. Fill any cracks, sand old satin or gloss paint on the woodwork with 240 grit to dull it, then dust off.

Take off the bath panel, the vanity doors and the towel rail: everything paints better flat. Mask tiles, sanitaryware and taps with tape. On new plaster or a patch that has been damp, use our Wall Primer; on an MDF bath panel or vanity, our Multi-Surface Primer.

Notting Hill on the walls, Mad About The Bathroom on the bath panel, Pure White above.

Paint

Marble Matt on the walls, satin near the water

On walls and ceiling, two coats of Marble Matt Emulsion, our first choice even in a bathroom: washable, it wipes clean with a sponge. Allow 3–4 hours between coats, with the window open or the extractor running. Around the shower and behind the basin, where water really runs, choose Multi-Surface Eggshell or Satin in the same colour: the change of sheen barely shows.

Bath panel, vanity and window take Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Eggshell or Satin, two thin coats over the primer. Ventilate well and skip the very hot baths for a few days: water-based paint reaches full hardness in seven days. For colour, Notting Hill or Hawksmoor on the walls under a Pure White ceiling, and a bath panel or vanity in Mad About The Bathroom or Maritime.