Grrr...my house is coming soon and we have commenced on the renovations. Due to Covid, the keys to the house was delayed (had to literally appeal to HDB to prioritise us ahead). Initially, we really wanted the house to be ready before our baby arrives. But renovations were halted. And so, sigh baby arrived before the house.
We had to re-design the house and also make a lot of changes here and there to accomodate our newborn. One thing the Hub was really particular about was VOC emissions. Vinyl flooring was out of the question. We used tiles for the flooring. Then it came to paint.
We came across Benjamin Moore and thought many parents should know more about them. They are the only paint brand in Singapore that pride themselves for being Zero-VOC. (Note: the others are just low emission.) Initially, I have to admit I was very reluctant to make a trip down because it was so far from my house. >_<
Homeowners, let me tell you. You need to make at least a trip down because a lot of your questions will be answered once you are there. Just in case, you have the same questions as me, let me share a bit of what we found out here.
- All the series of paint are Zero VOC. Regal is being phased out. Aura is an ideal choice if you are using vibrant colours. Natura is the most eco-friendly range which is also certified to be asthma and allergy friendly. We chose the cheapest Ben because our house color was just a simple shade of white and the salesperson also assured us that Ben would be good enough if we were on a budget.
- Cost saving tip: Benjamin Moore is more expensive than other paints in the market. To enjoy some cost savings, buy in Gallons (4L) to enjoy economies of scale. For orders more than $1000, which is quite easy to hit, you get to enjoy free delivery as well.
- Even when I was there, I couldn't tell the difference between the various paint finishings. My ID could so we followed his recommendations.
Benjamin Moore holds a large variety of colours. If you are like me who is terrible at matching, you can download their mood-book brochures, which have some nice themes ready. For me, I printscreen the moods I like to my ID and he reverted with his recommended combi and litres required. We cross the samples collected from the mortar store against the tile to be absolutely sure. FYI, we made slight changes to our ID's choices for the tinge of white. The change is so slight, it was not very visible to an untrained eye like mine (never knew white has so many shades!)
Our paints have been up and I am quite pleased with it because there is no smell at all! We change from the basic Nippon paints to Benjamin Moore and this set us back by roughly 2 times the initial budget. Our friend used the basic paint for their renovation and she did feedback to us that it was starting to flake after a year. Her advise was 2 times the price was not an issue if the quality is good. But as we all know, only time can tell. Will update you guys here a year later on the durability.
