Where to buy paint online for your lockdown DIY home makeover

There are no shortages of paint in the UK… but that doesn't mean getting hold of it is easy

Where to buy paint online
(Image credit: Homebase)
Duncan Bell
By
published
in News

Online search for paint deals was up a whopping 700% this month, as people realise they finally have time to makeover their homes. Despite that, it seems unlikely we will see shortages of paint – everyone from Farrow & Ball to Dulux is well stocked. However, being able to pick paint up, or get it delivered is not so straightforward. So, where can you buy paint?

Although DIY shops have been designated as 'essential' – meaning they are allowed to remain open – B&Q and Homebase have shut their stores, and the former will not be reopening during the current Covid situation. 

B&Q, Wickes, Homebase and others are still operating online, of course, but with varying degrees of effectiveness. There are delivery delays and intermittent website issues to contend with, and all three shops stopped selling paint entirely. However the good news is that they all now have paint for home delivery – but not click and collect, as paint is not deemed to be 'essential'. 

That would leave Wilko as potentially your best option for where to buy paint. Wilko's stores are open and they are promising that 'standard delivery is still available'. Unfortunately that is not the case with paint, which is currently available in-store only. Damn.

The paint situation is rather 'fluid' at the moment, ho ho, so apologies in advance if the retailers below have sold out or stopped selling paint since we last checked. A week ago, you pretty much could not buy paint online from any of the big stores so overall the situation is now much improved.

Where to buy paint in the UK

Where to buy paint in the USA

We're not going to sugar coat it: being stuck at home is a pain in the ass. However, it's important to make the most of it, whether that's by working out at home, trying a spot of yoga or finally getting around to fixing your home's paintwork.

Painting walls can be extremely relaxing, at least until you come to do the edging, and the results will be a pleasure for many years to come. Especially if what you are replacing is grubby emulsion that's not been touched up since 2007, or an ill-advised colour experiment triggered by watching home makeover shows.

More stay-at-home essentials

Best paint deals

Underlining that paint is not in short supply, not only is it still widely on sale, it's even going cheap…

Paint bundles at Homebase | 3 for 2 on selected Homebase emulsion and 'buy more spend less' on Dulux

Paint bundles at Homebase | 3 for 2 on selected Homebase emulsion and 'buy more spend less' on Dulux
As well as offering a huge range of paint colours, finishes and brands Homebase currently offers 3 for the price of 2 on its own-brand emulsion. There's also 2 for £26 or 3 for £36 on Dulux standard coloured emulsion (1 tin is £18). and 2 for £34 or 3 for £48 on Dulux Easycare, Kitchen and Bathroom (1 tin is £22, offer excludes pure brilliant white.)

View Deal
Paint bundles at Wickes | Save on Wickes and Dulux paint and Ronseal and Cuprinol exterior coatings

Paint bundles at Wickes | Save on Wickes and Dulux paint and Ronseal and Cuprinol exterior coatings
Wickes actually has more paint offers than we can list but highlights are Dulux Easycare, 2 for £34 – saving £10, same as Homebase above – and 5 litres of Wickes' wall and ceiling emulsion for just £20, saving £4. There's also deals on outdoor paint and varnish and large vats of Sandtex emulsion.

View Deal
Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

Latest