5 of the best: eco paints

My line of thinking on paint used to be simple: if it was good enough for that fluffy dog on TV, it was good enough for me. Obviously the sheepdog in question had an immunity to the potentially dodgy volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in your average pot of paint. Enter eco paints, made from natural ingredients rather than oil and synthetic sources - think of them as modern Vermeers producing on an industrial scale. Chemical-free credentials aside, the big advantages are ease of use (you can wash hands and brushes with warm soapy water instead of white spirit) and healthy walls (the paints are microporous and let your walls 'breath'). Most are also biodegradable and compostable. The one catch is that they're far more expensive than average DIY store paint - typically four times the price of the cheaper brands - but you get what you pay for, right? Click here for 5 of the best