I love you, Ben.

It has long been my opinion that the very hardest part of painting a house is the very first step- picking the paint. I might be touting a very different story later in the life of this blog, but so far I still hold that if it is not THE hardest part, it is certainly AMONG the hardest.

First, let me say that I am a believer in the power of paint. I think it is a relatively easy way to make a vast difference in any space, regardless of the brand or color used. But now that I've been nice and admitted any paint is better than no paint, it is a distinct truth that not all paint is created equal. I've tried Lowe's paint. I've tried Sherwin Williams' paint. I've tried Home Depot's paint... and even the ritzy lines they carry. Yeah. They're alright. Some are more 'alright' than others. But I noted today, while passing through my friendly neighborhood ACE Hardware, that I positively swoon just by reading the words Benjamin Moore. *sigh*

To me, there is no better paint. Now, maybe I'm tainted by my upbringing. Mom and Dad sang praises to Benjamin Moore when they bought me my first paintbrush, but I have tried a lot of different brands, and I still stand by Benjamin Moore. It was a hard brand to come by in Colorado Springs before ACE starting carrying it. Oh, thank HEAVENS ACE started carrying it!!

So, If you're looking for my recommendation, that was it.

As for color recommendations, you're on your own. If it takes me less than two weeks to pick colors, divinity has intervened. Now, it just so happens, with this task, I decided on Benjamin Moore's Aura Affinity line almost instantly. I painted my house a rainbow of sample shades.




From there, it took maybe four days to come up with
The Gospel according to Benjamin:

House Body Color: AURA Affinity SPARROW
House Trim Color: AURA Affinity FRENCH PRESS

Want to know which of these many shades are, in fact, SPARROW and FRENCH PRESS?!?

Which ones do you think they are?