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We’ve finally chosen our interior wall colors: Sharkskin, In Between, and Jasper from Parker Paint’s low VOC line Klean Air.

So what’s the big deal about low VOC paint? First of all let’s explain what VOC’s are. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are harmful and stinky organic chemical compounds. In the case of paint, the primary VOC’s we’re talking about are Toluene (a neurotoxin)  and  formaldehyde. Yeah. Formaldehyde…that gross, smelly stuff that the frog or fetal pig came floating in during your high school biology lab! Only when we are exposed to formaldehyde its not doing our body any favors the preservation department. In fact, it does quite the opposite. VOC’s can make you sick and even kill you. Effects include: “Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system…and cancer.” (United States EPA). What’s more, the VOC’s in paint continue to off-gas even after the paint dries; so wearing a respirator while painting doesn’t save you from its harmful effects. ‘Nuff said, right?! We think so.

All of this compelling (and disturbing) information made choosing low VOC paint a no-brainer for us. I’m happy to report that there are more and more low VOC brands to choose from now, including FreshAire Choice, Olympic, and Ecos to name a few. In the end, we went with Klean Air by Parker Paint because of its large color selection and low price. Parker Paint’s Klean Air low odor/VOC coating meets the GS-11 Green Seal and US Green Building Councils LEED program standards. It contains only 5 grams of VOC per liter compared to a typical can of flat interior latex paint which contains about 150 grams per liter of VOCs.

New Paint Colors

So enough of that unsettling talk about organic compounds and cancer…let’s talk color! Sharksin (a creamy gray) will be in the laundry room and shop, Jasper (a sage-like green) will be in the bathroom, and In Between (a gray-blue) will be in the entry, living space and bedrooms. Although we usually go for pretty saturated colors, we chose colors that are not overly dark this time. Due to the extreme slope of the roof, the walls along two sides of the building upstairs are only about 5 feet tall where they meet the ceiling. We decided having a white ceiling that came down that low would make the space seem short and confined. To combat this effect, we’re painting the ceilings the same color as the walls. So we chose colors that are light enough to work on the ceiling.

We’ve looked through hundreds of paint swatches and read countless peculiar color names. The most perplexing of the color names was “Sample Pot”. For the life of me, I can not figure what it could possibly mean, but the name’s not what’s important. We’ll rest and breath easy knowing that our home has less toxins and chemicals in it. This is all part of a greater plan to make our lives more healthy.