Blue, Blue, or Blue? A Palette of Eco-Friendly Paints

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I picked up some small cans of paint at Ecohaus. I'd narrowed down the color choices to a few shades of blue that I thought would coordinate with the tile nicely. We really liked one color, Porta Luca, but we were worried it was maybe a little dark, so I also got a can of Country Bay, for comparison. You can see here the paint test, with Porta Luca on the left. Matt and I both agreed this was the one! It picks up the dusky-cobalt in the tile, while also going nicely with the olive and light blue. It also goes well with the rest of the house--all the rooms make a statement with color.

The paint brand I got from Ecohaus was Mythic, a nontoxic, "ultra low odor" paint. According to the Mythic website, "Mythic paint is the only zero-VOC, zero-carcinogenic, premium quality line of latex paints available." And, after slapping a whole bunch up on the wall, then staring at the wall for quite some time, I have to say that never once did I even think that the house smelled like paint. And when I did think about the smell, that was when I realized there was NO smell. Seriously, none at all. Seems impossible, right? It made me feel good about the dog and kid wandering about during all this!

Sunset just did a page on fume-free paints, highlighting Mythic, as well as these brands:

• AFM Safecoat
• The Freshaire Choice
• Green Planet Paints
• Natura
• Yolo Colorhouse

Mythic also does custom color matches, so I ordered the bedroom and hall paints. Still need to pick the creamy accent color for the kitchen, so I'm headed back to Ecohaus soon!