Adventures in Remuddling

We’ve painted with a variety of different manufacturer’s paints. Behr, Benjamin Moore, Pratt & Lambert, Devine, and Farrow & Ball.

Here’s a quick rundown and review of each:

Behr
behr.com
This is the kind you get at Home Depot. It’s relatively inexpensive ($20-25) and by far the cheapest of the five, especially when they are on sale. And it’s probably the only paint that will go on sale as the other paints are usually sold at smaller or specialty stores. The coverage is pretty good. Meaning, almost one coat is good enough (but definitely need a second coat). There’s a myriad of color choices, but the colors are not as deep or saturated. If you find a color you like, and the lighting in that room will not change much, this is probably the best choice. We used it in the first floor bathroom with good results. We also used it in the rest of the first floor, but that was for economic reasons. And although all five of these paint brands are low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, this brand probably smelled the most, which was not that much.

Benjamin Moore
benjaminmoore.com
Not too expensive ($25-$35). Almost an infinite number of color choices. This could be a good or bad thing. If you know what you want and can’t get that color elsewhere, this is the place to turn to. However if you have trouble picking colors (read: us), then trying to pick from the million swatches of colors can be very daunting. On the flip side, they are the paints of choice in the Pottery Barn catalogs. The catalogs even list the exact color of Benjamin Moore they use, and they’re limited to about 30 different colors (if you need help narrowing down your color choices). The coverage is very good, not much odor, and looks good and clean. They also sell small trial containers of some of the paints. And unfortunately for us, the did not sell the mini container for the color we wanted to try. Benjamin Moore was used in our front bedroom, although we custom mixed it after we bought the color (long story, maybe Serena will post an entry about that).

Pratt & Lambert
prattandlambert.com
A paint that I was pleasantly surprised with. It has the least odor of the bunch. In fact, I could barely detect a smell, (except when I stuck my face in the gallon bucket). It looks really good, and has very good coverage (still could use a second coat). It’s more expensive than Behr or BM, but not as much as Devine or F&B. I’m assuming they have a wide range of color choices, as we had the store custom match a color from a different manufacturer.

Devine
devinecolor.com
We’ve used this paint since our days in Oakland. Touted as “color therapy from the Northwest” they’re based in Oregon. The coverage is great, the best of the lot. And it looks great too. Their slogan is “goes on like yogurt and looks like chiffon.” There’s plenty of pigments in the paint. We loved the color changes from the sunlight to incandescant light (back in Oakland). They sell small paint pouches and sheets of paper of all their colors, to test the colors out. However, their color palette is the most limited. But that’s a plus for us. To us, they have the best white and brown/tan colors. It’s definitely pricey ($40-50), especially since there are so few dealers in the Northeast, and we have to get it shipped to us from Oregon. We used Devine in our middle and master bedroom, and soon the rest of our unit, as well as our previous condo in Oakland.

Farrow & Ball
farrow-ball.com
By far the most expensive (almost 2x Devine and more than 3x Behr). At $80/gallon though, it does look damn good. The colors seem to have the most pigments and the look of the paint changes dramatically with different kinds of light (ie. natural light, sunset, incandescant light, fluorescent light, etc.). For the price, you would expect the coverage to be good, however it is the thinnest of the group and in my opinion definitely needs at least 2 coats. I think this paint can only be ordered through designers and select design showrooms. Of note: the label on the paint reads: “Apply by brush” - ha! That’s funny. Anyway, you better be sure what color you want before putting down the cash for this paint.

Recap
If you’re on a budget and you don’t care how paint changes with light, go with Behr. BM is a good overall choice. If you can spare a little more change, go with Devine or P&L, and want some very good colors. If you really have an eye for color, or just want some exclusivity, go with F&B (assuming you can afford it). My money would go for Devine or P&L. The following chart is a visual recap. Numbers are all relative because each is ranked per this group.