So, do you fancy doing a bit of decorating, sprucing up your home and making it a nicer environment in which to spend time? However, nobody likes to overspend, especially not these days when prices seem to be rising every day. The cheapest places to buy paint might surprise you.
The good news is that many paint suppliers in the UK often run special promotions on their paint products. The cheapest places to buy paint in the UK are the big DIY chain stores. It’s worth keeping an eye on the local press to see where the best special offers are to be found.
The Cheapest Places to Buy Paint
The big DIY chain stores, just like the supermarkets, entice customers to buy with special deals from time to time. While some offers run at predictable sale times of year, whenever you are thinking of painting a room, one or other of them is bound to have a promotion.
What Paint Should You Buy?
When redecorating any room, it is always a good idea to plan to repaint the ceiling first with at least one coat of white emulsion. It will help bounce the light around the room and will enhance whatever colour finish you intend for your walls.
A white emulsion paint is never expensive and can also be a good colour to use as a base coat when overpainting particularly strong colours.
Once the ceiling is done, use a two-inch brush to frame out the walls, then infill with a roller. After the walls, paint the skirting boards and architraves with gloss or eggshell paint.
Are the Big DIY Chains the Cheapest Places to Buy Paint?
Competition between the big DIY chains is often fierce, which is great news for us and makes them the cheapest places to buy paint in the UK. Paint is popular and a good way to entice customers, but it is always sensible to shop around.
Screwfix
Screwfix has the largest number of DIY stores in the UK with almost 800 outlets. You don’t need to be a tradesperson to shop there, and they usually have a special offer.
Their stock is warehouse-based, which means their premises are smaller. What is available in their catalogue limits the choice. For basic white, or magnolia they are often unbeatable.
Screwfix has an own brand range called No-Nonsense. It is often discounted and is excellent value for money. Ten litres of Pure Brilliant White emulsion retails for £17.99, but with discounts is often as low as £14.39 (£1.44/litre).
B&Q
Do you know where the name B&Q comes from? The DIY chain began life in Portsmouth in 1969 and was called Block & Quayle after its founders. Today there are more than 300 stores across the UK.
B&Q regularly have multi-buy offers where if you buy two pots of paint the price comes down. Their Leyland Pure Brilliant White retails at around £1.60 per litre (£16), but buy two 10-litre pots and the price drops to £1.25 per litre (£25).
Wickes
Wickes has more than 230 big-box stores dotted around the country on retail parks. It’s worth checking their website to find one near you as they can have some incredible offers on brand name paint.
Crown Brilliant White Emulsion is often more than a third off at just £1 a litre (£10), but these offers can come and go like lightning, so it is always worth a quick browse online before you head out.
Homebase
It has fewer than 170 stores nationwide, however, Homebase is still a major player in the DIY league, and its paint offers are fairly reliable with low prices on many branded paint products. You can often find a 10-litre pot of White Emulsion for just £12 (£1.20/litre).
It is worth bearing in mind that in many cases, the bigger the paint container, the lower the price becomes per litre.
Where Else Are the Cheapest Places to Buy Paint in the UK?
It’s not just the dedicated DIY emporiums that will sell you paint these days. Shops have had to diversify in today’s competitive market.
Cheap Paint at the Discount Warehouse
Big warehouse chain stores have become something of a phenomenon in recent years. Stores such as The Range, Wilko, and B & M have been arriving in retail parks up and down the country selling everything from bathroom rugs to Christmas puzzles.
They often have a DIY section too, where you will likely be able to find most of the tools of the decorator’s trade, plus a selection of paint. Besides all of their undoubted bargains, these warehouse stores also slot in products that might have a bigger markup.
B&M
B&M have its own brand of paint that retails at £12 (£1.20/litre), however, there are no customer reviews online, so there is no way to know how good it is until you get it home and on the wall.
Wilko
Wilko shouts about its discounted lines from the rooftops, however, its own brand white emulsion retails at £17.99 for ten litres (£1.80/litre). This high street retailer does often have in-store promotions not shown on the website. It is probably worth checking local press or even popping into the store to have a look yourself.
The Range
While not known for its DIY selection, The Range has a little bit of everything within its walls. You won’t find any ten-litre containers here, the largest is five litres. Of course, five litres is perfect for smaller projects, and at £7.99 it works out at (£1.60/litre), which is quite reasonable.
Is a Supermarket One of the Cheapest Places to buy Paint?
Very often the cheapest places to buy paint are not DIY stores but supermarkets! The discount chains, LIDL and ALDI are famous for their centre aisle full of an Aladdin’s cave of homeware.
These aisles are carefully curated to appeal to the great British bargain hunter, with seemingly irresistible deals, however, they are unlikely to sell the big brands such as Dulux, or Crown.
The downside is that there is a limit to these offers. They may not be available next time you shop there. Of course, you could try to buy as much, or more than you need, but you should be mindful that these brands may not cover as well as the better-known paint manufacturer’s products do.