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Like our top pick, it’s available at specialty paint retailers, so you can have some confidence in who you’re buying it from. Benjamin Moore is a favorite among professional painters because of its smooth, even application and fast drying time, attributes borne out in our latest tests. For people who are around paint every day, it also helps to work with materials with minimal chemical content. Per its safety data sheet, Benjamin Moore's Aura had one of the lowest concentrations of hazardous materials of all tested paints, including very low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Use our professional tips to ensure your interior paint job is flawless start to finish.
Best Value Interior Paint
Can the HOA make you change your house paint color? - WCNC.com
Can the HOA make you change your house paint color?.
Posted: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
We tested Emerald in a deep tone called Clematis in a semi-gloss finish. The paint was pretty thick, which usually indicates good coverage, and with just one coat brushed on our test board, Emerald completely covered our permanent marker circle. We brushed on a second coat 4 hours later (the suggested wait time), and we also rolled the enamel on a larger drywall sheet. Because this is an enamel often used on wood, we also brushed two coats of paint on a wood baseboard.

The Best Paint Primers, Tested and Reviewed
Like the Benjamin Moore website, the Sherwin-Williams one is loaded with color selection tools and some other helpful design tips. Similar to our top pick, but won’t cover as well and isn’t as strong over time. This paint shares many characteristics with our main pick but is slightly more expensive. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. As a data engineer in the Good Housekeeping Institute, Nik (he/him) works with all of our Labs to develop testing protocols and manage data collection and analysis. Before joining Good Housekeeping in 2022, Nik worked in the labs of MIT and Regeneron, working on projects ranging from chemical inventory and reporting to the development of bioassays.
The Best Exterior Wood Stains
We’ve deemed it the best interior paint for high-traffic areas such as hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms. The paint comes in satin, semi-gloss, eggshell, and matte finishes, which tend to be stain-resistant in varying degrees (satin has the highest stain resistance, while matte is on the lower end). Within one hour, the paint will be dry to the touch (but the dry time can vary depending on temperature and humidity). Overall, if you’re looking for easy application and a gorgeous finish, it’s the best interior paint for DIY home renovation projects. Just keep in mind that you can only buy it from the Sherwin-Williams website or store.
Home Exterior Painting Apps
As for color variety, our design experts like that the Behr Marquee comes in more than 1,000 hues. Finally, the one-coat coverage and paint-and-primer-in-one formulation mean you’ll save on material costs and time spent wielding a roller or brush. Our top recommendation for the best interior paint is Benjamin Moore Aura because it offers excellent coverage on walls, trims, and doors. Plus, it’s mildew and fade-resistant, so your paint job is guaranteed to last for many years.
How to DIY a Board-and-Batten Wall

As far as fading goes, darker and vivid colors tend to fade faster than lighter colors because the sun will beat on it. Generally, reds, blues, greens and yellows will fade faster than earth tones like beiges, tans and browns. This rule states that 60 percent of the room should be a dominant color, while 30 percent should be the secondary color or texture, and 10 percent should be an accent color. Use the 30 percent or secondary color in the draperies, accent chairs, bed linens, or on an accent wall. The remaining 10 percent should be in the accent decor, such as wall trim and throw pillows. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams are two of the best-selling brands on the market among professional painters.
Says Kathleen George, “With a brush, I know that I’ve inspected every square inch of a house.” Mini rollers speed application on clapboards and trim but should be followed immediately with a brush. If less than half the old paint is left, however, it may be worth stripping it all off. When siding (or bank accounts) can’t take the shock of a total strip job, Rich O’Neil, of Masterwork Painting in Bedford, Massachusetts, has successfully hidden rough, well-adhered paint under Peel Bond, a thick primer.
How to Paint Your Home’s Exterior
We should warn you that your pocket will take a hit, as it is one of the most expensive paints on the market. That’s because the paint has no cheap fillers or extenders and only uses high-quality pigments and resins. However, you cannot use it on cabinetry, doors, baseboards, windows, or molding (the brand recommends other enamel paints for that).
Budget pick: Benjamin Moore Ben
If painting a bathroom or a kitchen, consider bumping up the sheen one level to a semi-gloss for extra resistance to water. When researching interior paint reviews, try to notice whether the user mentions the quality of the finish. Benjamin Moore Aura is highly regarded and very expensive, closing in at over $70 a gallon. This price likely has to do with the high amount of solids, ranging from 40 percent to almost 48 percent (depending on sheen), more than any other paint we looked at.
Check out our experts' choices for the best cabinet paint brands, the best painter's tapes and the best paint sprayers for every painting project. A new paint job dramatically enhances a home's appearance, whether you're listing it for sale or simply want a change. However, painting on your own is a time-consuming and exhausting job. Our guide showcases the best painting contractors in Los Angeles to help you select specialists who can get the job done.
Compared to other premium paints where there are thousands of options to choose from, the Rust-Oleum paint only has 14. The best interior paint for the bathroom is the Rust-Oleum Studio Color Interior Wall Paint. Like our top pick for the kitchen, it features a moisture and mildew-resistant formula that’s beneficial for more humid areas of your home, which the bathroom tends to be. In general, satin or glossy can prevent mildew from forming, but the paint’s formula allows you to get the same benefits with a flat sheen. There are many advantages to using an all-in-one paint with a primer already in the formula, the main one being that it’s a huge time saver. It offers a buttery-rich finish plus a self-leveling formula that evens out the surface, so you don’t have to stress about leaving behind brush strokes and roller marks.
We repainted the test board after 2 hours—the time recommended by the manufacturer—although we felt a single coat would have been sufficient. We also rolled the paint on a larger drywall sheet, and it went on smoothly and uniformly. Glidden Premium Interior Paint is the best interior paint to buy when you want to apply a single coat.