Discover the properties of VALPAINT water-dilutable enamel: a high-performance product with huge chromatic potential, to create truly liveable spaces.

Decorative water-dilutable enamel and the importance of colour in our homes

Colour is a power which directly influences the soul.

Let us travel back to 1909. This is a short quote from Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky, the famous work in which the Russian artist, expounding his theories on the use of colour, affirms that the soul and art directly influence one another.

Today, years later, these theories are as relevant as ever and their value is perhaps even clearer than before, particularly in relation to the upheaval in day-to-day life since the initial months of 2020.

Covid-19 has forced us to take a new perspective on many aspects of our lives, from social interaction right through to the spaces where we work and live, attempting to re-establish that sense of well-being that we perhaps thought we had prior to the pandemic.

Many found themselves shut up in their homes for long periods, perhaps working remotely and with their children to manage, providing for all of their needs (e.g. lessons taught via distance learning).

Living in a clean and sanitised environment became a primary necessity.

And together with this requirement, the colour of spaces in our homes also became a key factor in ensuring comfortable and high-quality living. This is because, just as theorised by Kandinsky more than 100 years ago, the emotional reaction and perception of spaces on the basis of colour choices is fundamentally important.

Colour, therefore, becomes a design tool, not only with aesthetic value but also psychological.



V55 MATT and V88 SATINÈ water-dilutable enamel: VALPAINT’s solution for the new requirements in our homes

In recent months, VALPAINT, Italian leader in design and production of decorative paints, has strengthened its research activity in order to meet the growing needs of the domestic setting.

One of our most interesting products in this area is water-dilutable enamel. This enamel is available with two different finishes: V55 MATT and V88 SATINÈ andallows creation of aesthetic solutions with a huge impact.

V55 MATT and V88 SATINÈ WATER-DILUTABLE ENAMEL is coloured using the VALCLONE colour-mixing system and therefore allows creation of all of the colours in the NCS INDEX 1950, with the opportunity to customise and design colours within environments.



In addition to the attractive chromatic possibilities, there are many technical and performance characteristics that make VALPAINT decorative water-dilutable enamel truly unique. Let's take a look at these together.

The technical and functional properties of VALPAINT matt and santinè water-dilutable enamel

VALPAINT DECORATIVE WATER-DILUTABLE ENAMEL, in both finishes, has important characteristics that offer protection in the environments where it is used, particularly relevant in the current situation and guaranteed by various tests and certifications.

• V55 MATT and V88 SATINÈ have achieved HACCP certification in line with standard UNI 11021. This means that the products can be used in environments where food is prepared and packaged. It can therefore be used in restaurant kitchens, for example, and is also ideal for the kitchens in our homes.

• Another key feature, tested in line with ISO 22196 – JIS S 2801, is its antibacterial properties, impeding bacterial and fungal growth as well as algae and mould. This is certainly a critical feature to ensure healthy and comfortable spaces.

• VALPAINT water-dilutable enamel for use on walls, in both the V55 MATT and V88 SATINÈ versions, can be disinfected using chlorine products (bleach), alkaline degreasers and acid descalers, in line with standard UNI ISO 2812-1. These features allow cleaner and better sanitised spaces.

• Alongside its capacity to be disinfected, it also holds less dirt. It is very difficult for dirt, impurities and bacteria to adhere to the treated surfaces, making them easy to clean. This essential property is controlled by standard UNI 10792.

• Standard UNI ISO 6270-1 establishes that VALPAINT decorative water-dilutable enamel can be used in settings with humidity above 80%.

• Furthermore, the product is “superwashable” with a value exceeding 5000 brush cycles, class 1, as certified in line with standard UNI 10560 – EN 13300.

VALPAINT water-dilutable enamel is green approved!

In addition to these technical and performance characteristics, VALPAINT has also paid close attention to environmental considerations, designing and producing a water-dilutable enamel for use on walls capable of satisfying all applicable green regulations.

These include:

1) A+ rating, for the lowest level of INDOOR/ISO 16000-9 emissions, i.e. the quantity of harmful substances released in spaces treated with the product.

2) Absence of harmful substances (including IPA, APEO, formaldehyde and ammonia).

3) F-FOUR STAR classification relative to the lowest levels of formaldehyde in line with the Japanese JIS A 1902-3.

4) Extremely low VOC content (volatile organic compounds). In this regard, Directive 2004-42-CE establishes a limit of UE 200 g/l CAT A/1 and Valpaint water-dilutable enamel has a maximum value of 16 g/l, significantly below this limit.

Living spaces: a new future?

In recent months, living spaces have been a central focus for designers and psychologists, becoming a highly current theme, and also a platform for definition of new design opportunities for the future.

The spaces in many homes, which prior to lockdown were considered sufficient for a normal life, have become smaller and smaller, incapable of meeting the requirements of our constant presence in the home.

Recent studies have highlighted that many people are taking steps to look for larger homes, perhaps with large terraces or gardens, to better cope with long periods spent within the domestic environment. Meanwhile, there is growing interest in finding a home outside the city, where space and costs are significantly different to those in big urban centres.

Just like hygiene (as we explored in our article on antibacterial paints), the perception of spaces in the home has changed greatly since the need for areas dedicated to different activities is no longer a luxury but a genuine necessity. Just one example is the home workstation that requires a certain degree of privacy, difficult to find in many homes (during lockdown our work colleagues, collaborators and clients got to know our bookshelves, paintings and all members of our families rather well!).

Spaces that provide us with some privacy, but also spaces guaranteeing higher levels of comfort: these are the new challenges arising in the home-living sector. Due to its technical, performance and chromatic features, VALPAINT water-dilutable enamel represents the perfect solution for colourful and healthy environments.