Now, it might seem odd, coming from someone with an art degree, but I like the ones that are unglamorous, middle of the road paints. Local manufacturers like Vista , Portola Paints out of Los Angeles, and the tried and trues like 150 year old Sherwin Williams are some of my favorites for a number of reasons. Key considerations are price point, performance, and in particular, availability which is so important since we do our work in an area where most products residing on the edges of commerce need to be ordered; local stores in the Coachella Valley don’t carry a heavy stock of product inventory.
So, at the risk of being met with some blow back, products like Benjamin Moore, Farrow & Ball, Pratt & Lambert, or the other ‘European Style’ paint systems seem a bit over rated to me, and they tend to be over-priced and over-marketed as ‘exclusive’. In my mind, performance trumps exclusivity. “There, I said it!”
Granted, Benjamin Moore has some amazing color palettes, and many times I’ll refer to the palette for color reference, but some of their modified millwork products are cumbersome to use in the field with slower dry times. They are expensive, offer no special discounts, and coverage for their wall paints isn’t great either. Farrow & Ball has beautiful colors, or ‘colours’ but, sadly, they will not warrantee any finishes unless you use all their application tools – their primers, their everything. It reminds me of the proprietary nature of ‘everything Apple’. Ironically, Pratt & Lambert is owned by Sherwin Williams, but their formulations are a bit different, and certainly more expensive so I tend to default to less expensive and proven brands like Sherwin Williams where I know I’ll get superior results and performance at a lower cost.
So to wrap it up, while I love colors that are unusual, different and rare, when it comes to paint, simplicity, dependability, affordability, and availability top my list of selection criteria. Speaking of dependable and available, call us to take advantage of our August Special! We would love to spruce up your home before the summer ends, and we’ll take 10% off any interior or exterior painting job if it’s booked by August 15, 2018. So call us now, and let’s get your home refreshed this summer at a great price.