Painting walls and ceilings

Walls and ceilings are the largest surface in any room: it is where colour works hardest and where the light plays. For them we recommend first of all our Marble Matt Emulsion, enriched with crushed marble: a deep matt (3% sheen), breathable and washable, that forgives small flaws in the plaster and gives every shade a velvety density, from the pure white of Pure White to soft stones such as Cadogan Stone or Temple Bar. To drench walls and woodwork in one colour, Multi-Surface Dead Matt (5%) is the other top choice for walls. Underneath, our micro-porous Wall Primer prepares the plaster without stopping it breathing; on lime plaster only the breathable Marble Matt will do, over our Stabilising Primer once the plaster is fully dry.

To make a room feel bigger, paint the ceiling in the same tone as the walls or half a tone lighter; to make it cosier, try a coloured ceiling in Morning Blue or Palmerston Pink. The colours below are the ones we recommend most often for large surfaces: light, luminous and easy to live with.

Recommended finishes

Walls

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Eggshell, Multi-Surface Satin, Multi-Surface Gloss, Metallic Paint

Ceilings

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Metallic Paint

Primer

Lime plaster: Marble Matt Emulsion, over Stabilising Primer.

Our advice

Walls and ceilings, done well

A deep matt is earned: a clean, smooth surface, two criss-crossed coats, and the ceiling before the walls.

Living-room wall being prepared: sanded filler, masking tape on the skirting, roller and tray
Fill, sand, dust off: the three steps behind a beautiful matt.

Prepare

A clean, smooth, matt surface

Wash the walls with warm water and a mild detergent, rinse and let them dry. Fill cracks and rawlplug holes with filler, sand with 120 then 180 grit and dust off. New plaster, patched filler or lining paper drinks paint: start with our Wall Primer, which is micro-porous, evens out the surface and keeps the wall breathable under Marble Matt Emulsion.

Over an old satin or gloss paint, a light key with fine sandpaper is enough. Mask skirtings and architraves, and peel the tape while the last coat is still wet for a crisp edge. Allow roughly 15 m² per litre per coat.

Roller applying a soft green matt paint to a wall, ceiling already painted off-white
Hurlingham on the walls, Holland Park on the ceiling: two coats, criss-crossed roller.

Paint

Ceiling first, then two criss-crossed coats

Always start with the ceiling, then the walls. Cut in the corners and edges with a sash brush to about 5 cm, then follow straight away with a medium-pile (12 mm) roller so the joins melt together. Work in square-metre sections, criss-crossing the passes, and finish each one with a light vertical lay-off without reloading the roller.

Two coats are needed for the depth of the matt; leave 3–4 hours between them. For a ceiling in the wall colour, paint it in the same tone: in a dimly lit room a light shade such as Holland Park or Belgravia will spread the light, while a mid tone, Museum or Chester Square, will wrap a large room.

214 colours found

Showing 49 to 72 of 214 results

Show
per page
Sign up to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter

Thanks for signing up to our newsletter!