Interior Paint Reviews and Buying Guide:

Painting the interior of your house can be a great DIY job as a homeowner. I have recently painted a few interior walls and found the work to be enjoyable and not too difficult. Once you get the room setup with blankets on the floor and tape along the edges of the ceiling and surrounding walls, it flows pretty easily. To paint an interior wall only takes a few hours, depending on the size of the wall. My recent project included a huge 18 x 12 living room wall and then the entire dining room which had a hexagonal shape (made things a bit tougher). Home Depot and Lowes are 2 great sources for interior paints and they usually hold "how to paint interior wall" seminars at their stores so you can get an idea of what is involved and how much paint to buy. We also found good quality paints sold in stores like Wal-Mart (Kilz interior paint) and Sears. Perhaps the hardest part of painting the inside of your house is to actually buy the interior paint - there are dozens of colors, brands, and finishes to choose from. We are hoping that our research will help guide your decision making process and let you come up with the best interior paint for your project.

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Where should you begin? Firstly, will you be doing the work or will you hire someone. As far as home improvement jobs go, painting a wall or room in your house is about as easy as it gets. You could hire a painter, but we don't recommend that unless you are planning on painting the whole inside of your home - in that case it's better to have a professional in and out as fast as possible otherwise your house could be a disaster zone for weeks. Start by taking home sample colors from the paint store - some will even let you have a 2 oz sample that you can put on the wall as a test. Most colors will change slightly when applied to a wall, so it's always a good idea to test the paints first before committing to the entire job. I knew I was going to paint the living room wall and the entire dining room so it was fine for me to paint a 2 foot by 2 foot spot on the walls with sample paints. I let them sit for a few days to see how the colors "settled" and then chose colors based on the results. For my darker color in the dining room I went one shade lighter and for the lighter color in the living room I went with a shade a bit darker. I was painting over previously painted walls and wasn't sure how many coats I would need in order to hide the layer of paint below. Assume that you will need two coats of paint on most surfaces, especially if you are painting a lighter color over a current darker color. There are some one-coat paints that do a great job of "hiding" the previous paint color and having to paint just one over the walls will save you a lot of work. Experts agree that water based latex paints are better than oil based paints for most jobs. Latex interior paints wear longer, have fewer odors, and clean up nicely. Volatile organic compounds (VOC's) are a new term you see on the packaging of paints. VOC's are related to the fumes that are released into the air when you paint. We all know these fumes can cause things like headaches or even dizziness and the long term effects are still totally known. Go with paints that have low VOC levels or none at all. Rooms that are exposed to sunlight need to have paints that are fade resistent since light is the #1 reason for paints to fade over the long run. Paints like Valspar Ultra Premium and Olympic Premium are both good selections if you need paints that hold in sunny rooms over time. When it comes to price, don't think that the more you spend the better off your are. In several reviews for interior paints, including that done most recently by Consumer Reports shows that even Kilz sold in Wal-Marts at discounted prices did a good job. Benjamin Moore paints tended to be some of the most expensive for a single gallon container costing about $55 for their low luster paint and low $40's for the flat finish. On the opposite side of things the Kilz low luster was $19/gallon and $18/gallon for the flat finish. A gallon of paint should cover 400 to 450 square feet of surface area so measure your walls, ceilings, etc. and come up with a # you can take to the paint store. Experts say add 25% to any figure you come up with for square footage since you may need to touch up some areas or need to go over a few spot more than twice. Overall, painting a room in your house is very cheap to do - $40 for paint and a day of your labor which is free. We found some solid reviews for interior paints in both magazines and on websites. Consumer Reports (March 2008) is probably the most thorough testing low luster, flat and semigloss paints for things like hiding, surface smoothness, staining, scrubbing, gloss change, sticking, mildew, and fading. It's important to find a paint that is resistance to mildew if you are going to use it in your bathroom. Also, some paints are better for high traffic zones in your house where they may get dirty over time. When you are considering the finish of the paint, the gloss and semigloss paints work best on things like doors and trim since they are easy to clean. The flat and matte finish paints work well on walls and ceilings and are recommended for decorative spaces. The low luster paints are the best all around. We found several online forums with consumer opinions about the "best interior paint" listed on sites like Doityourself.com and City-data.com. Lowes.com offers up a nice "buying guide" on "picking the right interior paint" with pointers and painting tips that come in handy when you are doing it yourself. Overall, we suggest going with a longer lasting paint even if you pay a little more. Considering the time and energy involved to paint a single room, why have to go back after 5 years to do it again with a paint that has faded versus buying a better quality paint that lasts twice as long and only sets you back $10 or $20 more up front.

Best Low Luster Interior Paint:

As we mentioned above, low luster paints are good for most jobs and you don't have to spend $50/gallon to get a quality paint. Kilz Casual Colors Satin sells for $19/gallon at Wal-Mart and does a great job of hiding previous layers of paint with only a single coat. It leaves your walls feeling smooth and resists staining and mildew. Although it's not the best at holding up to fading, Kilz is considered a "good value". Not recommended for rooms that get a lot of natural light. Behr Premium Plus Enamel costs $24/gallon at Home Depot and has a solid reputation except for the fact that it too doesn't hold up to fading very well over time. The Benjamin Moore Aura goes for $55/gallon and is considered a good selection if you are looking for a single coat paint that will be covering a contrasting color. You may pay more for the gallon of paint, but if it only takes a single coat then you have saved time and broken even on money.

Flat Interior Paint:

Flat paints are best suited for walls, ceilings, and rooms with "surface imperfections". Flat paints are also not very stain resistant so put them in low traffic areas of your house like the living room or dining room. If you had to go with the top pick in this category we would say buy Benjamin Moore Regal Matte at $42/gallon since it scores so well in almost all categories. Based on price, though, you would have to consider Behr Premium Plus Enamel at $22/gallon or the even cheaper Kilz Casual Colors in Flat finish that sells at Walmar for $17/gallon. They don't do so well when it comes to fading but at half the cost to the Benjamin Moore you'll have to weigh your options. If you are painting a kids room that will probably get repainted as they grow older, consider the Behr or Kilz, but if you are painting a room that will probably stay the same color for 10 years, then the Benjamin Moore paint will hold up better.

Top Rated Semigloss Interior Paint:

The great thing about semigloss and high gloss paints is that they are easy to clean, but keep in mind that they show "surface imperfections" more. Also, experts note that the semigloss paints show a "gloss change" when they are cleaned so they are best used on things like banisters, trim, doors, shelves, railings, cabinets, windowsills, and doorjams. We think that the Valspar Ultra Premium ($25/gallon) semigloss at Lowe's is a top rated interior paint. It resists fading in rooms that get lots of natural sunlight so it will hold up well over time. Also, Behr Premium Plus Enamel sells for roughly the same price at Home Depot as a semigloss interior paint and it will do well in rooms that get less light since it is prone to fading. A good discount paint to consider is the Dutch Boy Home which sells for $18/gallon at Walmart.

Interior Paint for rooms that get a lot of sun:

One of the biggest problems homeowners have over time is the paint on the inside of their homes fades due to exposure to light. If you do go with an interior paint that is prone to fading, consider putting in blinds or curtains to help keep the peak hours of sunlight out of the room and protect the paint job. If you prefer to have rooms open to the sunlight or natural light throughout the day hours, go with fade resistant paints like Glidden Evermore ($20/gallon) and sold at Home Depot. This low luster paint does better than most in that category and is priced fairly. A flat interior paint that holds up well to fading is the Olympic Premium found in Lowe's for $17/gallon. A semigloss like Valspar Ultra Premium $25/gallon at Lowe's is best for areas in your home that receive plenty of sunshine.

Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.

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