nancy
I have mixed feelings about Sanderson…
I have mixed feelings about Sanderson paints. The quality of the paint itself is good, and their curated palette is attractive, but the range is relatively small, with around 150 colours that are regularly updated and changed. My biggest frustration is that Sanderson does not appear to maintain an accessible archive of discontinued colours. If you have used a colour several years ago and later need more paint for touch-ups or additional decorating, Sanderson will no longer mix that shade. In my case, when I enquired about a discontinued mustard yellow, I was told that they could not provide it nor could they give any colour codes because the colours are proprietary to Sanderson, and instead they suggested an alternative shade from the current collection. Unfortunately, the suggested replacement was nowhere near the original colour. Given the limited number of mustard tones within their palette, I found it disappointing that a distinctive shade could simply be substituted with another yellow as though they were interchangeable. It raises questions about how much value the company places on the longevity of its own colour collection. This contrasts sharply with Farrow & Ball, which maintains an archive of discontinued colours and will generally still supply them on request. That approach provides reassurance that if you choose a colour for your home, you will be able to obtain it again in the future. Interestingly, some specialist paint suppliers, particularly independent shops in London, still retain the formulations or tinting data needed to recreate discontinued Sanderson colours. Many are happy to mix them, sometimes in other brands such as Little Greene, which they consider to be a superior paint. As a result, I now tend to favour brands that not only produce excellent paint but also support customers by preserving access to their historic colours.