Colour drenching on a budget

Colour drenching can look fantastic, but using the same paint on every surface isn’t the best approach. For newly skimmed walls, start with a mist coat, then apply a durable matt emulsion in your chosen colour. For skirting boards, door frames and window frames, use a water-based satin or eggshell finish tinted to the exact same colour. Radiators should be finished with a specialist radiator enamel or water-based metal paint in the same colour to ensure durability and heat resistance. This approach gives you the seamless colour-drenched look while using the correct products for each surface, preventing peeling, scuffing and premature wear. There’s no need for a clear topcoat if quality paints are used and the surfaces are properly prepared. Spending slightly more on the correct finish will save money on maintenance and repainting in the long run. • Walls: Tikkurila Optiva 5 or Johnstone’s Trade Acrylic Durable Matt (after a mist coat on fresh plaster). • Skirting boards, doors and window frames: Tikkurila Everal Aqua Satin or Johnstone’s Aqua Satin, colour-matched to the walls. • Radiators: Bedec Multi Surface or a specialist radiator enamel, tinted to the same colour where available. Avoid using standard wall emulsion on woodwork or radiators, as it won’t provide the durability needed. Colour-matching the woodwork paint to the wall colour will achieve the colour-drenched effect while ensuring each surface has the correct finish. Tikkurila and Johnstone’s Trade both offer excellent colour matching and are trusted by professional decorators for their durability and coverage.

Use a single water-based acrylic eggshell/satinwood paint for walls, skirting, radiator, window frame and door frame in each room*

If it was me I would find local paint mixing shop walls in contract emulsion and ask them to mix same colour in a satinwood.