"Green" Paints

More than ever using a low/no VOC paint is really important to both Zoltan and I. I am pregnant so the obvious health issues are a huge factor. I also plan on helping with the painting because I am a perfectionist when it comes to paint and I cant stand the idea of trusting someone else to cut in the trim in a few key areas I know I will look at everyday. If I am going to have my nose to the wall Zoltan insists its safe for me and the nugget. I started my search with the YOLO paints. They are a local company that does no VOC paint. I splurged and spent the $20 bucks on the color samples so I could see what inspired Zoltan and I and would accompany the multi colored flagstone and woodwork that repeats in the house. Too be honest I found the palette a bit blah. I did like that they have few choices because who really needs a million to choose from?? The children's collection Sprout was too bubble gummy and for my tastes I found the others too be a little too earthy. I felt the same about the Devine line that Miller carries. The colors are specifically formultaed for the NW but they have been around awhile and I feel like the palette is becoming a bit dated. However I did use their paint color Reef in my last house and it was anawesome compliment to some bedding I got at Design within reach and it looked great with anything stark and white giving it a very modern look. The names of the Devine colors are so great too its easy to just fall in love with the idea of Horizon walls and Skyline trim. I must have splurged on their sample pack a few houses back when I painted my dining room 3 times (a red and 2 different yellows) before settling on a calm and beautiful grey "divine frost". Luckily my fellow mid-century enthusiast friend and fellow agent Shannon Baird was coming by the next day to see the house. Shannon does interior design work as well as real estate and she lives in one of the most incredible MCM (mid century modern) homes in West Linn. I can count on her to have great taste and really creative ideas even on a small budget. She turned me on to Benjamin Moore's Aura paints. She had the palette in the car and we looked at them together for ideas. I loved the subtle modern colors they have. Luckily for those of us who arent as gifted when in comes to choosing colors, every color in the pallette matches each other. Really quiet remarkable when you consider there are hundreds of colors. The paint is thick and even the flat paint is washable. They will also give you huge color swatches for free- much better than the small business card size swatches from YOLO I paid &20 bucks for. I went to Powell paint and got more info on the line. First off the people at Powell paint on SE Powell are the friendliest, most helpful people ever. There is a Powell paint in Tigard too. The guys at the counter could not stop gushing about how great a product the Aura stuff was. They said they have had contractors say they aren't using primer underneath because the paint is so thick and consistent it coats in 1 coat. We had pink walls with years of smoke damage and for the most part they were right. The paint is double the cost of the cheap stuff but my time was cut in more than 1/2 not having to do a second or third coat in places and skipping the priming. I choose "deep in thought" on Shannon's suggestion to go with a bone color that would create a soothing backdrop for the woodwork and architectural features of the home. The color is gorgeous and very soft with the light. There is a ton of built in lighting, some of it flood and fluorescent and it really softens those areas where the light might be harsh otherwise. The nursery I did "celestial" a soft blue that hardly looks like much color at all until you fill a room with it. What blows my mind is why paint manufacturers don't make all paints VOC free. This paint blew all the other paints I have ever used out of the water. There doesn't seem to be any reason to keep the nasty VOC's in there.