Paints can be toxic! It’s no surprise that when you think of the smell of a freshly painted room, it can often feel very overpowering! This is because the majority of paints have VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in them. Their main purpose is to act as the medium to transfer the paint from the can to the surface and aid the paint’s flow. They can also be used to preserve the paint (in the can).
Some of these VOCs are bad for us as they continue to ‘offgas’ harmful toxins into our indoor environment. Effects of this can cause headaches, skin reactions, fatigue, organ damage and more. The Environmental Protection Agency (in the USA) estimates that indoor VOCs are normally two to five times higher than outdoor levels. During activities like stripping paint, indoor levels can be 1,000 times the outdoor levels. Why would we do this to ourselves?!
So I’ve been on a mission to find a low VOC paint (it seems as though a zero VOC paint is impossible so be wary of anyone claiming to have zero!). Luckily there seems to have been an awareness in the industry lately so I got to researching! I decided that the kitchen in our rental could do with a refresh so I used it to test the paint and check if I liked the colour!
Low VOC Brands
So these are the ones I found that weren’t ‘greenwashing’ (making you think they are healthier by clever branding or choice of words). There are definitely some more but I had to start somewhere!
This table shows the brands (with the cheapest 5L first). It’s a generalisation as there are some finishes cost more or less but it’s a starting point. For context, a 5L can of Dulux is £56.39 so it’s a big difference…but do you want to breathe in potentially harmful fumes?!
| 1L | 2.5L | 5L | |
| Lick | – | £42 | £84 |
| Lakeland | – | – | £84 |
| Coat | £25 | – | £84 |
| YesColours | £21 | – | £88 |
| Earthborn | – | £50.50 | £88 |
| Little Greene | £26 | – | £90 |
| Edward Bulmer | £41 | £80 | £91 |
| Graphenstone | £23.50 | – | £103 |
| House of Hackney | – | £65 | £125 |
Whilst being one of the cheapest, Lakeland paints claim to have zero VOC which is amazing but made me wary – I’ll contact them for more info! Graphenstone seemed to be cheapest until you went up in quantity. My top 3 based on cost, ease of website and colour range were Lick, Coat and YesColours so I ordered samples from all 3. Both Lick and Coat were peel and stick swatches which are great to stick on a wall but I did like actually being able to paint with the mini YesColours paint. I tested it out on a new kitchen gadget (a foil/clingfilm/baking paper dispenser) and whilst I loved the colour, it was a little too blue/grey for the house.
Testing
I absolutely loved the colour of one of the Coat swatches and so I ordered that! What I didn’t know until ordering is that the colour would be slightly different for a kitchen finish to a wall finish (yes, I really am an amateur!). Having no tools, I also ordered the Lick Multi Room Painting Kit.
So it was onto the painting! Bear in mind that I didn’t use a primer or sand any surfaces down, it turned out pretty well! I love the colour and think that I’ll use it for the future TV room. It also gave me an idea of how my future black kitchen will look. The kitchen looks so different now, it has really modernised it! The paint was great – easy to paint with a lovely texture. There also wasn’t an overwhelming, overpowering smell from it, which can only be a good thing. As I only managed two coats (thanks to fatigue), there are some points (such as by the handles) where it has chipped easily. I can touch these up easily though with a small paintbrush. The kit from Lick was great too – had everything I needed except for a very thin paintbrush.
In summary, depending on the colour choice, I’ll be ordering my paints from Coat, Lick or YesColours. Whilst they are more expensive than Dulux, it seems worth it!
