my favorite paint brands
…and why I’m not painting my walls in plastic
I spend an unreasonable amount of my life thinking about paint.
Because when you love old houses, paint isn’t just color. It’s history. Mood. Light. Texture. It’s the difference between a room feeling like a cheap hotel or a place with soul.
But here’s the thing: not all paint is created equal.
A lot of American paint is acrylic-based. It basically coats your walls in plastic. And you can feel it. It’s shiny in weird ways, doesn’t play nicely with historic plaster, and just…feels dead.
I want walls that look alive. I want color to feel as mercurial as people. The kind of people who have different personalities depending on which friend group they’re hanging out with. The best colors to me are ones that make you say, “What color even is that?” because you’re not sure if it’s one of five different colors and it won’t commit to any of them.
So here are my top favorite paint brands—with notes on availability, formulations, and why some of them are worth hunting down.
1. Farrow & Ball
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, widely available.
Why I Love Them:
The gateway drug to designer paint.
Rich pigments, subtle shifts in light. WHAT COLOR EVEN IS THAT?
Dead Flat all day every day for old plaster.
Favorite Shades:
French Gray
Brinjal
Great White
Hay
Scallop
Chine Green
Arsenic
Dead Salmon
Formulation:
Water-based, low-VOC.
Higher pigment load than most mainstream paints.
Caveat:
A lot of painters simply don’t know how to work with Farrow & Ball and there is a slight adjustment in technique. I don’t usually have coverage issues with this paint, but coverage can require extra coats if you’re trying to work with it like American paint. It also got bad wrap as not very durable, but Dead Flat changed all of that and all of this is still worth it if you care about nuance.
2. Little Greene (and their newly acquired Paint & Paper Library)
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, increasingly available via showrooms and online.
Why I Love Them:
Stunning historic color ranges, grouped by era (!!!)
Recently acquired Paint & Paper Library, so now they’re a British color powerhouse.
Slightly deeper pigmentation than Farrow & Ball in many shades.
Intelligent Matte primes and coats, has gorgeous matte finish and is very durable.
Favorite Shades:
Mochi
Nether Red
Madeleine
Hollyhock
Hellebore
Pale Wedgwood
Juniper Ash
Puck
Formulation:
Traditional oil paints and modern water-based options.
True matte finishes that wipe clean—magic for older walls.
Why It’s Special:
The National Trust Collection for historically faithful shades.
Beautiful for woodwork, trim, and walls alike.
3. Edward Bulmer Natural Paint
Availability: U.S. → 🚫 Not yet, though they’ve publicly expressed interest in expanding here.
Why I Love Them:
My personal holy grail for old houses.
100% natural—chalk, linseed oil, earth pigments.
Their colors feel like they belong in rooms with wavy plaster and antique hardware.
They have an entire collection of whites and other colors for North facing rooms called Northern Light Collection.
One of the many reasons we’ll eventually move back to the UK is so I can paint a room Tyrian.
Favorite Shades:
Edinburgh White
Tyrian
Jonquil
Sang de Boeuf
Lute
Invisible Green
Lilac Pink
Clove
Brunswick Deep Green
Formulation:
Linseed oil emulsions for walls.
Zero acrylics or plastic resins.
Caveat:
Longer drying times. Totally worth it. Clearly I’m willing to wait. Please come to the US!
4. Beata Heuman for Mylands
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, through select distributors.
Why I Love Them:
Beata’s (truly a QUEEN) palette is playful and sophisticated—perfect for old homes that don’t want to look too serious.
Mylands is London’s oldest family-owned paint brand.
Excellent balance of tradition and modern color sensibility– very Sweden meets London
ONLY Beata Heuman could get me to like those Swedish blues
Favorite Shades:
Lamb’s Ear
Overall
Stockholm
Artichoke
Butter
Boiled Dill
John’s Pantry
Formulation:
Water-based, eco-conscious, with high pigment content.
Gorgeous eggshells for woodwork.
5. Alkemis
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, U.S.-based and shipping domestically.
Why I Love Them:
Truly natural, mineral-based paint founded right here in the U.S.
Artist-grade pigments that create luminous, complex color.
Zero plastic resins—no acrylics, no vinyl, no nonsense.
Their colors glow like plaster in Italian villas but work beautifully in California bungalows.
Woman founded and owned
Paints are grouped by the 4 Elements– Air, Earth, Water, Fire
Favorite Shades:
Heavengravel
Coyamosa
Marcasite
Valkyrie
Valerian
Nopales
Petrichor
Night Train
Live Wire
All Tomorrow’s Parties
Hair of the Dog
Formulation:
Cradle to Cradle Certified®.
Mineral binders that chemically bond to the wall—essentially making your walls stone-like.
No VOCs, no synthetic pigments, no biocides.
Why It’s Special:
Alkemis paints are so breathable and natural, they support indoor air quality and allow historic plaster to do its thing.
The finish is subtly matte but rich—no dead flat chalkiness or shiny plastic film.
6. Heron Paint (Linseed Paint)
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, U.S.-based (Oregon).
Why I Love Them:
One of the few American linseed paint producers.
Perfect for historic preservation—it’s what buildings used for centuries.
Breathable, flexible, and ages into a soft patina rather than peeling off.
Colors look deep and mellow, especially on wood trim and exterior siding.
Favorite Shades:
Chrome Oxide Green
Titanium White
Commons Green
Apron
Lighthouse
Formulation:
100% linseed oil with natural pigments.
No acrylics, no plastic.
Incredibly durable and sustainable.
Caveat:
Slow drying, but historically correct.
Can yellow slightly in dark rooms, which I personally find charming.
7. Portola Paints & Glazes
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, California-based, LA BABY!
Why I Love Them:
My go-to for chalky, matte, plasterlike finishes.
Lime Wash collection is stunning on old walls and covers textural imperfections
Perfect earthy palette for soulful spaces.
Favorite Shades:
Coda
Mere Island
Mission
Sevilla
Rococo
Topanga
Formulation:
Lime Wash = mineral-based and highly breathable.
8. Clare Paint
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, direct-to-consumer online.
Why I Love Them:
Great for clients who are intimidated by endless color decks.
Clean, modern palette.
Affordable and accessible.
I’ve had painters tell me this paint is a dream to work with
First-ever black-owned paint company, and whatever else the rest of the world is doing, I’m still over here listening to black women, okay?
Favorite Shades:
Turbinado
Wing It
High Vibe
Current Mood
Good As Gold
Prince
Coffee Date
Formulation:
Water-based acrylic.
Low-VOC and safe, but definitely a modern paint for newer spaces rather than old plaster.
9. House of Hackney Paint
Availability: U.S. → ✅ Yes, ships to the U.S.
Why I Love Them:
Maximalism in paint form.
Their colors coordinate with the brand’s iconic wallpapers.
Perfect for rooms craving drama and story.
Favorite Shades:
Hedera
Celadon
Astera
Auric
Narcissus
Prussian Blue
Thistle
Carnelian
Orpiment
Formulation:
Water-based.
High pigment, but not fully natural.
Ryann’s Paint Philosophy
I believe walls should breathe.
Natural and mineral paints glow. They absorb and reflect light in a way acrylics simply can’t. They let old plaster walls live instead of entombing them in plastic.
So yes—they’re more expensive. Sometimes fussier. Sometimes trickier to find. But in return, you get walls that look—and feel—alive.
That’s worth it to me.
My Dream?
A world where Edward Bulmer ships to California, and where nobody ever again slathers thick latex over historic plaster.
Until then, I’ll be here, nerding out about paint—and hoping more of these incredible brands make their way to American walls.
Tried any of these brands? Tell me your favorites—I’m always up for a good pigment deep dive.
