Spruce up your living spaces with luxury paints and premium services

Paint makers are going beyond selling colour and are offering to do up your house themselves real quick without compromising on workmanship

A bright blue, a mild joyful pink, warm summer tones like pale purple or nature-inspired ones like cool blues or light greens can really give a facelift to your house. If you are looking for subtler shades, go for earthy browns or soft greys and accentuate with boldly coloured furniture and décor. Simply put, the colours on our walls play a role in setting the mood.

Says Gabriel Gil, Head of Design and Innovation, Bonito Designs: “In interior design, we as professionals use the power of colour to evoke the desired effect in people. Neutral colours such as beige and peach work well in the private spaces of one's house, while vibrant hues such as orange and yellow are full of energy and are perfect for the office.” 

Talking about the global trends in home painting post pandemic, Gil says people have moved on from the safe and subtle whites, soft pinks and browns. They have now begun to embrace bolder and brighter colours. Latest trends lean towards a mix of vibrant and cosier colour choices for homes.

The pandemic increased focus on home improvement and painting is the starting point for home renovation. Says Amit Syngle, MD & CEO, Asian Paints Ltd: “The importance of the home is something that people have discovered in the past two years in a big way, and are focusing a lot more on how to do up their residences now.”

The paint market

The Indian paint market was valued at about $7 billion in FY21, according to data from TechSci Research. Increasing disposable incomes, a surge in the sale of premium-end products, and increasing urbanisation, among other factors are driving demand. The key players in the India paint market include Asian Paints Limited, Berger Paints, Kansai Nerolac, AkzoNobel, and Indigo Paints Ltd.

In the luxury offerings, Asian Paints and Berger are known for their premium plastic emulsions, while Nerolac has a range of both exterior and interior paints. Akzorange category that includes SuperClean, and Indigo has luxury interior emulsion. Then you have Ralph Lauren and Orikos Paints. Most of the products in the luxury range have high sheen and no-crack features, and come with Teflon, high-end finishes, water resistance, and longevity. For instance, in 2021, Asian Paints launched Royale Glitz, a high-end interior paint with an ultra-sheen finish. The prices of luxury ranges may vary from Rs 17 to Rs 26 per sq ft, while the economy range is generally between Rs 6-10 per sq ft. 

AkzoNobel India has entered the DIY paint solutions under three categories - decorative paints, repair solutions and painting kits. The firm's managing director, Rajiv Rajgopal says his company's new range ‘Dulux Simply Refresh’ merges AkzoNobel’s global expertise with a complete range of quality Do-it-Yourself products.

"Dulux Simply Refresh is our invitation to the Indian consumer to transform multiple surfaces (wood, metal or walls) at one go, with just one coat of paint, but without the hassles associated with a traditional paint or repair job,” he adds.

What’s recommended

One must generally paint the house every 5-7 years. A fresh coat resolves many issues. Deciding on when to replenish your walls depends on factors like time, fading paints, flaking, boredom with current colour, scuff marks, stains and molds, change of interior appeal, and water damage, among other things.

Eco-friendly, non-toxic paint is in. Says Gil of Bonito Designs: “The threat of climate change and global warming has made people more conscious of their choices--something that is reflected in interior design too. For sustainable colours, you can choose paints that have little to no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). A little sustainability in interior design goes a long way in minimising your contribution to environmental damage and global warming.”

Pay heed to the undercoat, or primer. A well painted wall is as much about the undercoat as the top coat. Amit Garg, CEO and MD, Hippo Stores, an enterprise that consolidates building materials, warns that most people make the mistake of going for a super-premium paint but a poor-quality undercoat of primer and putty. Says Garg: “People often feel the top layer is everything, but undercoat matters. One should consider the quality of the undercoat as it plays a huge role in the paint’s life and the way the finish will come out.”

He says in the luxury segment, such as Royale in Asian Paints, Luxon in Berger and Velvet touch in AkzoNobel, the cost would be about Rs 25-30 a sq ft. But that cost would go up primarily because of the base work. Says Garg: “Actually the wall needs to be prepared in a certain manner with POP (Plaster of Paris), putty, and the paint cost is a lesser component. If you go down to acrylic emulsion then you will save probably another Rs 5-7 a sq ft. If you go for tractor emulsion, you don’t need to do that kind of a base preparation because the customer in this segment isn't looking for perfection so the cost drops to Rs 8-10 a sq ft.”

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the paint market of India has seen a surge in online sales and companies continue to sell through e-commerce channels. Now, home makeovers are simply a click away at brand stores or e-commerce websites and offline through dealers, retailers and exclusive stores.

What does the Indian homemaker want while painting the house? Pastels are a hot favourite with dark shades only restricted to statement walls. Texture paints are also quite popular with the Indian customer. People prefer matte over gloss as they want a subtle look rather than something that's glossy in the face. Normally, painting and polishing are done together. And people generally go for a makeover just before Diwali or a big function like a marriage when they want the house ready.

Paint services

Manufacturers say painting is more of a service than a product. Says Asian Paints’ Syngle, “Our entire thing is that in the whole painting process, sometimes the 't' becomes silent and so it's more of a pain than paint. We are trying to amplify the whole servicing angle and reach out to a large number of people with all these services--right from water proofing to wood finishes. We run a safe painting service across 250 Indian cities where we're able to give the customer design consultancy apart from execution. We're moving from the share of surface to the share of space. We're looking beyond the four walls and between the four walls as we move ahead.”

Companies like Asian Paints are introducing allied materials such as rugs and wallpaper to complement their coatings business. They have an economy-to-luxury collection of wallpapers (Adore, Royale and Nilaya) in a price that ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 6,000 a metre for the designer range by Sabyasachi. The premium range costs Rs 1,500-2,000 a metre.

Finding skilled painters and labour is always an issue. People either go by word-of-mouth recommendations or rely on their trusted contractors. Says Gurugram resident Asim Ali: “I was new to the condominium and put my query for a painter in the WhatsApp group of residents. I got some half a dozen responses and spoke to two people personally and finally decided which one to go for. Apart from cost and workmanship, honesty is crucial as the painters are working within your private space.”

In the online space, you have a wide range of painters to choose from. Paint brands and retailers often have a directory of painters across cities but don’t offer any guarantees. They only provide information.

Today express paint solutions are also available. Companies offer quick makeover services under which the homes are done within two, four or seven days. Says Hippo Stores’ Garg: “It’s like getting things done tatkal which comes at a premium. The job is very much doable at the contractor’s end and it is just a question of putting in some extra people and having the right approach. Of course, there is a minimum time between the various layers to be done which cannot be crunched, but if you are only doing the top coat, it can be easily done in two days. However, if you are doing base work, it takes one or one-and-a-half days to dry.”

Table: Indicative prices of premium and luxury paints

Brand	Price (Rs)	Quantity (litres)
Asian Paints-Royale Luxury Emulsion	738-13,820	1-20
Berger Paints-Luxury Interior Emulsion	685-12,274	1-20
Nerolac Paints-Luxury Emulsion Paint	653-12,601	1-20
Dulux Paints-Premium Interior Emulsion	366-6,976	1-20
Shalimar-Premium Emulsion	285 Onwards	1-20
Indigo Paints-Luxury Interior Emulsion	569-10,565	1-20
British Paints-Interior Emulsion	250-2,404	1-20
Prestige Paints-Ultra Premium Interior	15,507	3.7
Sherwin Williams Interior Paint	1,780	0.95
Jenson & Nicholson Paints-Luxury Sheen Emulsion	294-6,012	1-20

Credits: TechSci Research