Whether you are building a new home or renovating an existing one, choosing the right paint for the interior and exterior is of utmost importance. Paint plays a significant role in making the living spaces cosier and a reflection of your personality
Whether it is a business or a residential property, choosing the right paint sets the curb appeal right while also enhancing the market value. So, while choosing the home depot paint for your home, make sure you make an informed decision and feel proud of it once you see the paint job done.
The right paint can work wonder for your property. A fine coat of the can enhance the overall appeal of the interior and when added to the exterior wall, it gives an entirely new look to the property. This clearly states why choosing the right paint should be one of your top priorities.
Paint is More Than Just The Color
While choosing the best color of paint for your walls is important, the best home depot paint should offers more than just color. A good paint is also an extra layer of protection to your walls.
With better paint quality you can also expect a better finish. The finish depends upon the skills of the painter but also on the type of paint you have chosen.
With the right paint, you can choose a number of textures, painting with the home depot paint sprayer or the roller painting technique, the ends results will be astonishing.
Last but an equally important aspect is longevity. High quality paint often means better long term returns on your investments. It’ll sticks to the wall for years, without losing its appeal and will add to the overall value of the house.
How to Choose the Best Color for your Project
Buying a can of paint may seems like an easy task until you enter the store. Brand lines keep coming up with new products every day, and there might be an increase in price from $5 to $20 for a gallon.
In order to help you locate the best paint for your upcoming job and budget, we tested many interior and exterior paints in different finishes.
Here are some of our best tips.
Select your Sheen and Color
Color selection is very common starting point. There has been a great improvement to the color-matching systems to the extent that you can get a closer replica of your preferred color in any paint brand. There can be a difference in the sheen across brands, though.
Whites and off-whites are still the top-selling colors for interior painting, but even the slightest difference in shade could make a difference.
It’s best to check the largest paint chips offered by the store. Note that what you see can be affected by a store’s lighting, so be sure to step out of the store to get a natural look on the color.
On getting home, place the chips on the wall beside the trim and check them out at different times throughout the day as natural light changes. It’s best to repeat this over the course of several days, and gradually eliminate the colors that are not working for you.
Note that colors may intensify over large portions when indoor, so you should get a lighter paint than a darker one in your type of shade.
Purchase small cans to be tested immediately you’ve screened your choices. Get large sheets of heavy paper and paint sample colors on it.
Then move the sheets from one location to another to observe how the colors fit. Let the tested sheets stay with you for some days to observe how the change in natural and artificial lighting affects the color throughout the day.
Choose your Paint
Going with the most attractive shade, but choosing a mediocre paint will make the outcome disappointing. Our tests convinced us that interior paint of economy grade performs woefully in general, and to cover dark spots might require you to apply 3 or 4 coats. For paint to be scored “Very Good” or “Excellent,” it must hide colors without using more than one coat.
The majority of the paints we tested claimed to get rid of priming. Paints used for exterior have developed so much in recent years in that aspect. These groups of paints are more durable and don’t easily yield to cracking and fading.
However, we still discover some differences among the paints we tested in our ratings, and most manufacturers say there is no need to first apply primer.
Interior Paints and their Uses
You will discover from our ratings for interior paint how well a paint cover what is behind it, the smoothness level of the potential finish, and the paint’s resistance nature to stains, sticking, fading, scrubbing, mildew, and gloss change. We have gathered the scores into one due to the similar performance of the brand’s eggshell, flat, and semi-gloss formulations.
- Flat: Although these finishes cover imperfections very well, their resistance to staining is not much, and they are ideal for low-traffic areas.
- Eggshell and satin: These only make use of smooth, well-prepared walls for their shine to hide imperfections on the surfaces. They are perfect enough to be used in kids’ rooms, family rooms, and hallways. Scrubbing might cause some of them to change sheen.
- Semi-gloss: Despite its shinier nature, these paints are specifically made to resist stains. Cleaning these paints is very easy though scrubbing might cause some of them to dull. They are the best to use on windowsills, kitchen, bathroom walls, and other woodwork. Using semi-gloss paints require smooth, properly prepared walls with little flaws.
Exterior Paints and their Uses
You will discover the paints that may last the longest on your home through our exterior paint ratings. We focused on paint’s resistance to color change, mildew, cracking, and dirt.
Exterior paints are of different sheens, just like interior paints; however, we’ve compiled scores of the different sheens of exterior paint into a single score to help simplify your decision. Below are the types to consider:
- Flat: This finish is the dullest of all and is ideal for those who need to mask flaws. Flat finishes best work on exterior walls, especially older and weather-worn surfaces.
- Eggshell and satin: These finishes contain a little gloss that is also ideal on surfaces, especially newer and smoother walls.
- Semi-gloss and gloss: They are majorly used for trim because they reveal the woodwork details and ensure easy clean-up.
Bonus: Money-saving Strategies
Most homeowners are not aware that Home Depot has a paint line made for contractors known as Behr PRO. Behr was introduced in April 2015 and offered paint at affordable prices compared to its consumer line. You can’t save much when you buy in bulk.
Make sure you price paint per gallon before you buy in bulk to see if the price per gallon is cheaper.
For instance, you may discover that a gallon of interior paint goes for $16.68 while the retail price for five gallons is $87.5, meaning that if you calculate the retail price per gallon, you will arrive at $17.50.
The paints might be available in your area, so run the calculation before you purchase. You can get the Martha Stewart Paints at Home Depot.
It will interest you to know that Martha Stewart’s ‘280 custom colors are added into Glidden paint’ as stated by PPG Architectural Coatings. This may also give you the opportunity to forget about the brand names and save some money.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have even a single thread of doubt, make sure you get professional consultation and make the right choice. Meanwhile, we have offered you some frequently asked questions about home depot paint that will help you in making the best decision:
How much paint should I buy?
Usually, the thumb rule of buying paint is that you require 1 gallon of paint for every 350 square feet. However, depending upon the coats you will be applying, you must double or triple the quantity for two and three coats respectively.
Is primer necessary before painting?
While primer always adds durability to the painting job, you may not need a primer if you are using a paint and primer solution. Home depot paints come with a lot of variety and it is best to ask a professional whether or not you must buy primer or mot.
Which paint is better, oil-based or latex paint?
Latex paint is a paint that is ideal for both interior and exterior applications. In fact, it is great when you are painting the kitchen cabinets or the walls that come in contact with a lot of greases. Oil-based paints, however, is limited to specialized jobs in which professional painters would handle the best.
What should I do with the leftover paint?
You have three choices, you can use it in smaller DIY jobs, dump it safely, or donate it to charity.
So, now that you know a lot of things about home depot paint, plan your next painting job and give your home the best makeover. However, we suggest to connect with our professional painting contractors near you and discuss your painting requirements to get the best results.
How do I select a paint finish?
There is a general rule to follow when deciding on paint sheens. “Higher sheen means higher shine,” and higher shine means more durability. Flat paint doesn’t shine; high-gloss paint shines well; satin, eggshell, and semi-gloss are somewhere in between, each with the individual applications and uses.
Are paints from Home Depot good?
You may be convinced by paint contractors to forget about Home Depot and purchase paint from stores like Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams. However, Home Depot paints are just too perfect for you if you are painting on a budget or are painting a guest bathroom or kid’s room.
What paint finish is ideal for the living room?
Eggshell or satin is the best paint finish for high-traffic living rooms. Cleaning eggshell is very easy using a wet rag. Although the satin finish is more durable than eggshell, it is best to use on active rooms such as playrooms.
Which is better between eggshell and semi-gloss?
You can easily notice and appreciate the difference. Drying of semi-gloss is harder, the finish lasts longer, and is more durable compared to the eggshell. This is why we recommend using semi-gloss in frequently used areas of your home, such as the dining room, kitchen, and the living room.
Which is the easiest to clean paint?
The easiest to clean and most durable of all paint sheens in the high-gloss paint. It is light-reflecting, very shiny, and hard. High-gloss paint is ideal for an area that is touched by sticky fingers such as doors, cabinets, and trim. However, high-gloss is not ideal for interior walls due to its shiny nature.
Will Home Depot accept the paint I want to return?
Fortunately, there is a Paint Satisfaction Guarantee available at Home Depot. If you no longer like the interior or exterior liquid paint purchased from Home Depot, you can bring the paint and receipt to your nearest Home Depot. When you return paint within 30 days of purchase, it will either be corrected or exchanged with a relevant can of paint.
What interior paint is the best for one coat?
Here are the best brands of one-coat paints:
- Sherwin-Williams Infinity.
- Behr Marquee.
- Pittsburgh Paramount.
- Glidden One Coat.
- Wilko One Coat.
- Zinsser Perma-White.
- Dulux NeverMiss One Coat.
- Kilz 2.
Does the second coat application make paint get darker?
Your finish will only look darker if you use two coats of paint for your painting job irrespective of the type of paint or the surface. Also, do not think applying one coat of darker paint will give you the expected darker finish.
Which one is better between Behr paint and Sherwin Williams paint?
There are Sherwin Williams paints that don’t perform well during rolling and brushing; however, their premium paint performs better than Behr. Behr Premium Plus Ultra has good coverage, but its material application is not.
Conclusion
You can quickly give your home the best look you want before the holiday with the tips discussed in this article. Whether you are painting your front door, a room, or an accent, what matters is the nice finish you get after the painting job. Whatever you want, Home Depot has all it takes to serve you all you need.
