Popularity of painting in Britain

Whereas almost every other person (or 44 per cent) in the United Kingdom does some painting several times a year, in Germany the figure is not even one in ten. This emerges from a European consumer study on the subject of paint and paint quality commissioned by the Paint Quality Institute set up by Rohm and Haas. Consumers in the United Kingdom, Germany and France who had carried out paint jobs in the preceding twelve weeks were questioned about their preferences, habits and requirements when it comes to buying paint.
One of the main reasons for the Brits’ greater enthusiasm for buying paint is that they have a different attitude towards painting and decorating. This means that the higher proportion of homeowners in Britain is by no means the only deciding factor: more important are the relaxed attitude the British have towards painting jobs and their delight in experimenting with colour.
In Germany 77 per cent of those questioned stated that they only did any painting when it was absolutely necessary – and the comparative figure was 58 per cent in Britain. Whereas in Germany the desire to breathe new life into an interior is on a par with the assessment that renovation work is necessary, a clear majority in Britain (plus 19 per cent) named purely aesthetic reasons as the motivation for reaching for that roller and brush.
This becomes especially comprehensible if one considers that white walls still tend to be the rule in Germany. In contrast to this, the preference is for colour treatment in the United Kingdom – even walls in a strong red or blue are not seldom to be found, and multi-colour combinations are also very popular. Besides, the rule here says that variety is the spice of life. And since a coat of paint is not intended to last forever anyway, the actual painting itself is not burdened with exaggerated expectations of perfection. The situation is defused even more  by the fact that the British are happiest to paint in company: the fun aspect is boosted considerably by the presence of friends. It is not surprising that the sales staff in DIY stores are able to address many of their customers by name, since 44 per cent of DIY painters come to buy paint several times a year, and a further 30 per cent once a year. In Germany, on the other hand, the figures are 23 per cent who buy paint once a year and eight per cent who do so more frequently.
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