Dulux Trade Durable Kitchen & Bathroom Eggshell Review

Dulux Trade Durable Kitchen & Bathroom Eggshell.  It’s a bit of a mouthful, but actually Dulux have played a bit of a blinder there:

• Professional decorators like myself will know that an acrylic durable eggshell (ideally one with mould-inhibiting properties) is probably your best bet to cope with the environment in a kitchen or bathroom.
• DIY enthusiasts are used to looking for “kitchen and bathroom paint”.
• Combining the two names into one means that anyone (from either group) going into their local Dulux Decorator Centre is going to know straight away what this paint is for.

So why do we need a “specialist” product for kitchens and bathrooms? Paint is subjected to a lot of abuse in these rooms, and to stay looking its best for any length of time it needs to be:

• Hard wearing – particularly in a kitchen, food and drink will get spilled and need cleaning up, so we need a paint that can withstand frequent thorough cleaning – Dulux Trade Durable Kitchen & Bathroom Eggshell is stain-resistant and has a Class 1 Scrub rating, meaning it will stand up to this type of treatment.
• Easy to clean – the eggshell finish has a slight sheen to it (as can be seen on the photo of the cloakroom, below), and the surface wipes clean really easily.
• Mould resisting – bathrooms and kitchens are warm, moist environments, just the sort of places where mould will thrive.  If you have a mould problem, you will need to treat it properly before painting, as described in our separate blog here.  If you then paint the room with a paint that contains a fungicide (like this one), this will inhibit the growth of mould in the future.
• Able to deal with condensation – when condensation forms on walls and ceilings, it does more than just attract mould.  It runs down the wall, often either staining the paint or leaching colour out of it, ruining the look that you worked so hard to create.  A paint specifically designed to deal with high levels of condensation (like this one) is therefore ideal for environments like kitchens and bathrooms.

I first became aware of this new paint at the beginning of 2026, and have used it a couple of times now, so I thought I’d write a quick review and let you all know my full and honest opinion on it.

Dulux Trade Durable Kitchen & Bathroom Eggshell Key Facts & Figures

• Suitable for: Interior Use Only
• “A durable water-based emulsion with an eggshell finish suitable for use in kitchens, bathrooms and other areas of high humidity. It is resistant to mould growth and achieves Class 1 … scrub ratings”.
• Pack sizes: 2.5L, 5L
• Finishes: Eggshell
• Colours: Pure brilliant white, and light colours only (for the time being)
• Coverage: up to 17m² per litre
• Recoatable – 2-4 hours
• Can be applied by brush and roller (not recommended for spraying because of the fungicidal content)
• Water based – clean tools with water and mild detergent (such as Pretty Boy Brush Cleaner)
• Available from: Dulux Decorator Centre, or online by clicking here.

Dulux Trade Durable Kitchen & Bathroom Eggshell In Use

OK, so on paper this product offers everything you want from a paint in a kitchen or bathroom.  But what’s it like to use?  Being completely honest, I got a great result, but it did take a little getting used to.

I’ve used it in one bathroom (ceiling and walls, all Pure Brilliant White), one kitchen (ceiling PBW, walls a pale blue colour), and one cloakroom (colour scheme as kitchen).

The paint felt a bit thin, and after one coat I was concerned about the opacity, but in all three rooms it did actually cover OK in two coats.  But the danger with it is, because of its consistency you have to avoid the temptation of putting on a thick coat to compensate for the opacity, because if you do it runs and drips everywhere.  As I say, once I got used to it I managed to get a great result in all three rooms, but I wanted to make you aware of what it’s like to work with – if you put it on too thick it will run, and I’m not sure how well it would cover a really strong, dark colour.  (It does say on the tin, “for significant colour change additional coats may be required).

But with those caveats, you can still achieve a great finish with it, and the science behind all those kitchen-and-bathroom-specific benefits make this the ideal paint for those environments.

It’s not the cheapest paint on the market, but you’ve got to remember that it is trade quality, and it has a lot going for it. And this does go a long way – the coverage is “up to” 17m² per litre, which is excellent.

Saying that, it’s cheaper than both Dulux Trade Diamond Matt and Eggshell, neither of which come with the ant-mould qualities.

The finish is great too – it has a 10% sheen, which is low for an eggshell. This is great because it still has the durability needed to withstand the environment in a bathroom AND a contemporary finish. A lot of the other kitchen and bathroom paints feel like a trade-off – you can either have a low-sheen desirable finish or durability, but rarely both.

Final Thoughts

Before this came out, there were really only a couple of paints I trusted for kitchens and bathrooms, given the challenges that those environments can cause.  This now makes three.

Yes, you do have to watch for drips and runs, and the opacity may not be the best, but you need something that will perform over the long term in these environments, and this paint will do that. It’s a great products, and one I’ll happily carry on using regularly as a professional decorator.

Review Summary