Harold Howard runs Harold Howard’s Painting Service, which is based in Columbia, Maryland, and serves Howard, Baltimore, Ann Arundel, Carroll, and Hartford counties. Here, he explains how to choose the right paint for your house’s interior.
A fresh coat of paint is an easy, inexpensive way to freshen a room. Today’s paints are significantly better than their predecessors of even a few years ago in several important respects: They spatter less, keep stains at bay, and have ample tolerance for scrubbing. They also resist the buildup of mildew (important if you’re painting a kitchen, bath, or basement that tends to be damp). Some are labeled low VOC (volatile organic compounds), which means they are more environmentally friendly and contain fewer toxins than their counterparts.
Major brands include Ace, Behr, Benjamin Moore, Dutch Boy, Glidden, Sears, Sherwin-Williams, True Value, and Valspar. You’ll also see many brands of paint sold regionally. Here at Harold Howard’s Painting Service, we use Duron Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore paint.
You’ll find several types of paints for interior use. Wall paints can be used in just about any room. Glossier trim enamels are used for projects such as windowsills and woodwork. Kitchen and bath paints are usually fairly glossy and formulated to hold up to water and scrubbing, as well as release stains. Flat finishes are usually used for the ceilings and flat or eggshell finishes are typically used for walls. Interior paint ranges in price from $15 to $45 a gallon.
How to Choose An Interior Paint
1. Begin with the gloss. The gloss level will affect your perception of the color. Flat paints and textured walls absorb light, so colors seem darker. Glossy paints and smooth surfaces reflect, so colors look brighter.
2. Choose a color. Take advantage of the various color-sampling products and computer programs to get the color you think you want. Most manufacturers now sell small samples of many paint colors, so you can test a paint color without having to buy large quantities of it. Manufacturers also offer large color chips or coupons, which are easier to use than conventional small swatches. Sunlight and room light can affect your perceptions, so check samples on different walls or at different times of the day. This is important to do before the painting begins.
Fluorescent light enhances blues and greens but makes warm reds, oranges, and, yellows appear dull. Incandescent light works with warm colors, but might not do much for cool ones. Even natural sunlight changes from day to day, room to room, and morning to night.
Many aspects of paint performance depend on the quality of the base and not on the paint’s particular color. We test each brand’s pastel and medium bases, as well as white. So if you want a medium or dark color, it won’t matter whether it’s red or blue or something in between. Its performance should track with our findings.
3. Buy the top of the line paints. The paints we test represent the top of each manufacturer’s line. Over the years, we have found that lower grades of paint — typically dubbed good, better, or contractor grade — do not perform as well. If top of the line paint will cover all but the darkest colors in two coats, lower-quality paints might need three or four coats, making them a poor value. But plan on two coats even with a top-rated paint for best coverage. We always buy top of the line paint for our customers.
4. Match the paint’s strong points to the room’s use. Here are the most important considerations:
- Stains are more of a problem with flat finishes.
- Heavily-used rooms need a paint that can withstand scrubbing. Our tests show that paints in every gloss level can perform well in this regard. Some low-luster and semi-gloss paints may change sheen when scrubbed.
- Mildew can grow in any warm, humid room, not just a bathroom or kitchen. A paint with high mildew resistance won’t kill existing mildew (you must clean it off with a bleach solution), but it will slow new growth.
- Sticking can occur with glossier paints long after they’ve dried. Books become glued to shelves, and windows become hard to open. Most glossy paints we have tested do not have that problem.
