Paint the House Green

It’s been a few months since Green$aver filled our walls with insulation. I can tell you we really do feel the difference in the home temperature. We’re still painting, however. When Green$aver had to put holes in the walls to blow in the insulation, it served as an opportunity for Jane and me to change the colour scheme in our house. Of course painting always always always takes much longer than you think it will take.

Happily, it’s now easier to paint the house green (even when you’re painting it yellow). Benjamin & Moore, located a block away from us, carries its Ecospec and Nutura lines sans Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). We also picked up primer from Home Depot completely free of the VOCs. Home Depot also carries paint brushes and trays made from recycled materials.

What’s the big deal? – VOCs are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, such as paint, cleaning supplies, glues, and even office equipment to name a few. They include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors than outdoors, up to ten times higher according the US Environment Protection Agency. For someone like Jane who is borderline asthmatic, VOCs are unwelcome guests. Depending on the compound, VOCs can contribute to pollution and global warming as well.

After changing the kitchen colour from forest green to lemon yellow in order to brighten up the room, we realized that we’ll also need to stain the cabinets a darker colour to compliment the yellow. Benjamin & Moore carries Minwax’s water-based wood stain line, which offers a variety of colour choices. It’s more work, but worth it when it’s done – hopefully before Christmas.

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