Eco-friendly with NaturePaint

The time has come to refresh Eddie's bedroom. It didn't look too bad, but I never had a chance to redecorate it when I was pregnant, as I was feeling quite unwell, and now I had no excuses not to give it a new look. By coincidence I saw that NaturePaint has been looking for bloggers to review their new range of paint. This was the necessary push for me, I have emailed them at once and they have kindly provided me with enough paint to decorate the room.

Elmer mural

What NaturePaint promises? "NaturePaint is the first paint brand in the world to be proudly labelled as Zero VOC, meaning their paint contains absolutely no toxins and doesn't produce those dreaded fumes that are bad for everyone's health.
Really family friendly as this means that after painting a room it is immediately safe for children to inhabit - so no having to put them to sleep elsewhere or cordoning off the painted room from them. It also has great environmental creds and disposing of left over paint has never been simpler - you can simply add any unused paint to a composter or throw away just as you would milk.
We only use artist-grade natural and non-toxic pigments and these include various earths, ochres, umbers, oxides, and rutile titan white. Wherever possible we buy pigments that are extracted using low environmental impact, non-polluting processes, even if that means we have to pay more money for them"


Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? I have contacted NaturePaint, saying that I would love to try their products as I planned to decorate Eddie's bedroom, and that ideally I would like to do a small size mural for him. My boys love Elmer the patchwork elephant, and I knew I would enjoy painting it on the wall.

I went online to NaturePaint to look at their full colour range. It was not an easy choice, as I wasn't sure whether to go for Basking, Cotton Dusk or By-the-wind-sailor, in the end I have chosen the Sunfish, a beautiful pastel blue shade.

You can see how the mixed paint is full of microscopic bubbles, and I followed the instructions precisely. It was also way too runny when I was painting the walls (in comparison to the other standard brands). The first coating was quite uneven, and I had to use both the roller and the brush to achieve the right effect. Thankfully, once dry, the bubbles disappeared and the coat of paint looked even. As per instructions, you need at least two coatings.

The pros:
- all the environmentally-friendly credentials
- the paint doesn't have an odour, and you can use the room on the same day it is painted (unlike some other paints that smell awfully toxic).
- The paint is supplied in powder form – allowing you to easily mix the amount you need and save any excess for future decoration.
- It comes in 63 colours, so a pretty good selection to choose from.
- provenance: I love the idea that all the paints are produced in Cornwall, using the local materials
The cons:
- as the paint comes in powder form you will need quite a big container to mix it in and the precise scales, as you need to follow the suggested ratio of paint to water. I did have the kitchen scales but I don't expect everyone to have them, so I think a plastic measure scoop to come with the paint would be a good idea. Also I didn't have a big enough container with the lid. I usually paint in stages, as I don't have a chance to complete the room in one go, so I needed a container that would keep the paint from drying for days. Hence I was mixing a small amount of paint every time.
- I found it too runny to my liking

The photo above (the jar) shows the actual shade of the paint, as the photos of the finished painted room are different, I tried to edit them to show the real colour, but didn't quite manage.

That's Eddie's soft toys corner, we have a low futon with a mattress on the floor, where he loves jumping and playing with his teddies and dogs. He doesn't sleep here (just thought I need to clarify, he has a bed at the opposite side of the room, where I was standing).

Eddie's delighted with his Elmer, he watched the progress with great interest, as it took me many days to finish it. I used the acrylics for the mural, as NaturePaint selection didn't have all the necessary primary bright colours for my project and I am more confident with the art materials. I should have first put the primer once the outline of Elmer was drawn, as the colours kept changing on the pale blue background. I had to repaint the pink twice, and mixing red and blue gave me a very dark purple which was almost black, so I had to do another trip to the art shop and buy a purple colour.  Then I realised my old black paint was too dry, so I had to buy a new one. Once the mural was finished, Eddie and I had fun adding the Elmer stickers which I bought a long time ago on amazon, they are wonderfully cheerful and bright, and easily removable once we get bored with them.

If you'd like to read more about the NaturePaint and see what you can do with it, please visit Mummy2Five blog and admire her fantastic Peter Pan mural. She's one talented lady, and I can imagine her son was ecstatic.

I'm adding my post to lovely Verily Victoria Vocalises' blog linky #PoCoLo