Bamboo and No VOC Paint

I have several home projects going on right now, but the one that has jumped to the head of the list is my family room. I’m going to paint and replace the nasty, doggy smelling carpet. I have decided to use Home Depot’s Freshaire paint. It’s a no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint meaning it has no odor and this is good for the environment because other paints release unhealthy gases. It’s also good because I have environmentally triggered asthma and this paint will lessen my chances of an attack. I also chose to go with this paint because the company is Green. The paint cans are made from recycled materials; the labels are printed with soy based inks and on 75% recycled paper.

I saw Carter Osterhouse on The Today Show last week saying Benjamin Moore’s Aura low VOC paint was priced comparably to readily available paints and had to giggle because I was at BM last week and a gallon of Aura cost right around $50 and a gallon of Valspar or Behr cost around $25 for their premiums. BM also has a line called Ecospec and that runs right around $40 this one is a low VOC. It’s rated low because when they put the pigment into the base paint it put VOC’s back in. Freshaire’s pigments put no VOC’s back into the paint. Since this paint won’t be available until April 1st I am guessing it will cost right around $40 per gallon. This will give me a chance to get a fan deck of colors and prep the family room walls.

The other project for the room is flooring. The DH and I planned to put Pergo laminate in the room but we happened to spy some Bamboo at the end of the aisle for $70 per carton. It is more expensive but it turns out that it’ll only cost $100 more than the laminate. The bamboo covers 24 sqft and the laminate 18 sqft. So we decided to go with the Bamboo. It costs more but it’s a hardwood and twice as thick as the laminate and we’ll get more of a return in the future if we decide to sell. Bamboo is also a Green choice since it’s a renewable resource and it gives off low or no VOC’s.

Hopefully by the end of Sunday April 6th the family room will be finished. Before then I will take before photos and post them when the DH and I start the project.

Until next time good reading, writing and decorating!