Living Colors: Know Your Interior Paint Options

Interior painting is one of the final steps toward the completion of your new home. You've poured the site, constructed the drywall, laid the roofing and flooring. Your house is taking shape, yet it's still not a home. Once you apply the paint to the walls, you will feel the transformation begin.

Your interior paint will establish the setting and tone for your daily home life. Like all other choices that go into your home, it deserves more thought than simply selecting the nearest product available. To narrow down your choices, you should first know what you are choosing from.

Categories of Paint

There are two kinds of interior paint: oil-based (alkyd) and water-based (latex). Oil-based paints are often referred to as alkyd paints since the most common oil paint uses alkyd as the synthetic-resin binder. Alkyd paints are used where there are exsisting coats of alkyd and in places where durability is a necessity, such as in the kitchen or on cabinets. But the advancement of water-based paints has caused a decline in the popularity of alkyd paints.

Huge numbers of consumers are opting for water-based paints, more commonly referred to as latex paint because a type of latex binds the paint particles. The reasons behind this decision? Latex paint has a number of qualities alkyd paint doesn't. Latex paint is relatively odorless. It's easy to apply and dries quickly. It retains its color and resists mildew growth. It's easy to clean up as well as easy to clean.

Within the category of latex paint are vinyl and acrylic. Acrylic is generally considered to be the highest-quality latex paint, most notably because of its durability and superior resistance to stains of all kinds.

Quality Is the Key

That said, no matter what kind of paint you choose, go with the high-quality version. "All manufacturers make a top-quality paint that you can buy at a variety of distribution points," advises Debbie Zimmer, communications manager at Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, which educates end-users to the benefits of using high-quality paints. If you're going to cut corners, advises Zimmer, try cutting down labor costs by painting the rooms yourself rather than skimping on paint. While the cost-per-gallon will be higher, the number of coats you need may be lower and the paint job itself will last longer. When you use a top-quality paint, you get a more desirable finish than you would with a lower-quality paint while saving money in the long run. It comes down to this: You get what you pay for.

The Form That Follows Function
Any decent paint store will help you make sense of the technical aspects of paint selection. The more difficult factors come when you narrow down your selections based on aesthetics. There are two main choices to make at this stage of paint selection: sheen and color.

Truthfully, sheen isn't a purely aesthetic qualityóthe higher the sheen, the more durable the paint. Although there are some general guidelines to sheen selection, there is still a lot of room for personal preference in this category.

There are four levels of paint sheen: flat, satin, semi-gloss and gloss. Each come with their own set of benefits and drawbacks.

A flat paint, for example can hide imperfections in the painting surface. However, flat paint is not particularly good at resisting stains. Satin paints are easier to clean than flat finishes, yet they don't hold the color crispness of a higher-gloss paint. Semi-gloss paint, including eggshell and velvet finishes, is more reflective and durable than flat or satin. The drawback to a semi-gloss is that it accentuates any imperfections in the painting surface. The same problem comes into play with a gloss finish. Although glosses are extremely shiny and wear-resistant, they will not be kind to any slight wall imperfections.

Based on that information, choosing a sheen can be a fairly logical process. High-traffic areas, such as hallways and bathrooms, generally call for a higher sheen. Low-traffic areas, such as a bedroom, work well with a warmer, duller finish.

Color is the hardest aspect of paint selection, according to David Prentice, store manager of Hometown Paint and Decorating, Inc., in Franklin, Massachusettes. "Any good paint store can give you the right product," says Prentice. "The hard part is picking the color."

Prentice has two suggestions to help you select the right color. The first is to buy a small can of paint and slap a small strip right on the wall you plan to cover. Live with the color for a few days and let your eye adjust to it. Look at it in changing daily lighting. If you're not completely satisfied, try another color. This is a great low-commitment way to test your color preferences.

Prentice's second suggestion is to consult with a good decorating store to help narrow your choices down. You may want to ask around and get a recommendation from someone you trust. If you end up finding a decorator or store without a recommendation, make sure you feel as though they have a good idea of the kind of setting you're trying to achieve.

There are other things to consider when selecting a color. For one, a good number of paint stores can mix a paint to match the material of your curtains or couch. Also, there is a lot of information about how color affects the size, warmth and mood of a room. You may want to go to your local library or surf the Internet to learn more about choosing a color to fit the size of a particular room, as well as the mood you want to achieve.

Though color and sheen are the biggest factors, keep in mind that there are some specialty paints and finishes. Radiance, for example, has a paint to make your home more energy efficient. Benjamin Moore and Crayola have teamed up to offer a glow-in-the-dark paint. And there are popular faux finishing techniques, like rag rolling and sponging, that give your wall a unique visual texture. If you're interested in something nontraditional, inquire at your local paint and decorator's store or check out the Web sites listed in the sidebar at the end of this article.

Final Tips
Two final words of advice before you dig into your paint selection. One: Don't over-order. Work with your paint supplier to ensure you've just enough paint to get through your job. If you do happen to misjudge, do not discard the paint. Two options are donation and proper storage. Contact the National Paint and Coatings Association for more information at www.paint.org.

Second, don't forget quality when it comes to paint application tools. What you use to apply the paint is as important as the paint itself. Prentice of Hometown Paint says he's seen plenty of customers sabotage their top-quality paint job by using a low-quality roller. After careful selection of color, sheen, quality and type of paint; as well as quality application tools; you're on your way to making those bare walls of your house the personalized walls of your new home.