All of the walls in our home are white, except for the area above our shades, which is black. We have been wanting to bring a little color into our house, and paint is a fun and easy way to do it. The problem is, which paint do we choose?
When we were building our home, we looked at American Clay plaster — a very natural alternative to paint. While a wonderful product, the price tag was much too high for us. Additionally, we did not know much about how well the product worked. So, we went with no-VOC or low-VOC paint. At the time of painting, which was only a year and a half ago, there were not many “green” painting products on the market. We did find that the Aura line of Benjamin Moore products, which our painters like the best, came no-VOC. It was my understanding then that only whites and very pale colors came in no-VOC, and any time you added a color, it meant at least low-VOC. That does not seem to be the case anymore. You can get a wide variety of paints that are labeled no-VOC. The issue now seems to be performance.
This time around, I found Benjamin Moore’s Natura line. All colors are zero VOC, but the price per gallon is a little steep (over $40, depending on where you get it). The online reviews have been mixed. Overall, the paint hardly smells at all, and it looks great. We painted our daughters’ rooms, so it was very important that it did not stink! The painters are fairly happy with it. It took two coats of gypsy rose, but to get the marigold yellow, it took four coats. That bothers me, just from the standpoint of using more paint, which is by definition a hazardous material.
We also used Benjamin Moore’s Waterborne Ultraflat ceiling paint in our main level. It’s important the ceilings do not shine. We used Midnight Navy, and it only took two coats to cover a white base (which served as a primer). It does not off gas at all, and so far we are happy with it. I cannot find anywhere on the can, though, or on the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) anything that talks about VOCs.
It was difficult to come to terms with using paint at all. But in the end, our home is a place that we want to enjoy to the fullest. If a little color makes our family room feel warmer and our children to play in the rooms more happily, isn’t it worth it? 