What’s Up with Paint!

Cocoon yourself in earthy tones, practice peacefulness, with neutral optimistic paint colors - and reimagine what your home means to you.

If you're redesigning a room or building a new luxury home, paint and the specific colors that you choose can make an important difference in your homes’ mood and environment. Currently, natural looking paint colors are very popular and should be for the near future - they provide a sense of peacefulness and bring natural elements inside your home. Rich blues, muted and bright greens that team with nurturing neutral colors that mimic the earth’s seasons like - browns, beiges, and grays. These popular paint colors provide a relaxing and calm simplicity to your space.

Some earthy shades include - ultimate gray, mighty mushroom, forest green, cavern clay, blueprint blues, terracotta, and some pastel colors with warm shades.

Benjamin Moore - “gray, beige, white and earth tones dominate our bestseller list when it comes to our most popular interior paint colors”.

Bright and airy are big trends this year plus monochromatic white will make your home look clean and calm. It can make low light and darker spaces look larger and welcoming too.

There’s plenty of white colors to choose from - depending on if you’d like cool or warm undertones. Researchers at Purdue University say they’ve created the whitest paint - this new paint and technology will be used to cool down buildings in the future.

1. Chalky Blue - PPG
2. Flora - Benjamin Moore
3. Sun dream - Fung Shui energy color
4. Red Delicious - PPG
5. Alaskan Husky - Benjamin Moore
6. Room Green - Farrow & Ball
7. Gentleman's Gray - Benjamin Moore
8. Whiskers - PPG
9. Alabaster - Sherwin Williams
10. Poised Taupe - Sherwin Williams

1. Warm creamy white
2. Pale Gray
3. Beige
4. Bronze
5. Dark Gray
6. Pewter
7. Slate or Navy Blue
8. Earthy Green

1. Colorful door with accent color
2. White trim as an exterior accent color
3. Wood as an exterior accent
4. Two-tone colors on the exterior
5. Black as an accent color - Ex: exterior shutters

Flame Retardant Paint - Protective paint coatings for refineries, pipelines, chemical plants, and even for the Boring company (Elon Musk’s company) who’s building underground tunnels and highways. They are using abrasive blasting, fireproofing, and new flame retardant coatings. This new paint can also have applications for homes in the future - making them safer.

New Vegan Paint Options - several worldwide paint companies have a fresh vision for paint. Vegan paints are like regular paints but without animal byproducts. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine explained vegan paints in one of their latest issues - about the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle choosing vegan paints for her daughter's nursery. Vegan paint replaces the animal products with a natural plant-based binder, such as casein or legumin - plus they also certify the paint is cruelty-free and not tested on animals. Some people believe vegan paints can create healthier environments. Organic and Natural Paint Co.offers new vegan paint options and Auro Paints offers vegan paints in the UK. Learn more about top vegan paint and wallpaper brands where the paints are eco-friendly, free of odors and sometimes infused with essential oils like rosemary and eucalyptus. For more information visit the Vegan Paint Guide.

New Waterproof Paints - there are new types of waterproof paints that work better than past versions. They are safer for the environment (free of fluoride compounds) plus they are cheaper to produce, along with sticking to more surfaces. (example - new highly waterproof paints for windmills that make energy)

Environmentally Friendly Paints and Coatings - new safer green materials, coatings, and paints that have fewer chemicals and less of an environmental impact. Argyle is a true earth-inspired green paint color - that’s made its debut as a future popular paint color. There are also new green (non-destructive) paint cleaning supplies along with paint blasting.

The Psychology of Paint Colors- recent research suggests that people are painting the walls in homes now more than ever. During unstable times, can certain paint colors help you feel and stay calmer? If you're looking for a paint color to keep you at peace during the pandemic or other stressful times - new research shows green might be the perfect color. Designers, builders, and paint shoppers are gravitating to muted greens, blues, and teals along with neutral shades like gray and creme.

FlatMatte Paint - a new type of paint that's been developed for artists - can also have applications for homes. SoFlat paint doesn't have the glare or the distraction of texture. It delivers a matte surface that allows for depth and intensity - so that each color can take center stage. See Golden Paint’s SoFlat paint for artists.

In an article for ArtNews, Kyle Chayka coined the term “quarantine palette”. It’s a collection of gentle paint colors that have been popular during the pandemic. Indeed paint companies say calming un-offensive hues are topping their lists of best-selling colors - warm and earthy colors and those that mimic beaches, and bodies of water - which create a cozy, calming effect.

New Paint Coatings and Technology - there are new, smarter architectural paint coatings including a new smooth silicone paint technology that's non-stick - and can easily be cleaned and also helps with corrosion. The silicone paint is environmentally friendly and it's being used for major infrastructure and waterways such as - bridges, ports, and sea harbors, highways, pipelines, railways, airports, and plants. Also, some of the latest paint coatings now stick to different types of abrasive surfaces - which are used for pipelines, highways, and bridges. Additionally, there are new non-skid performance paint coatings for aircraft carriers - that help fighter jets stick the landings on the short runways. Learn more about recent news in the paint industry and the future of paint.

Thermoplastics - Thermoplastics are the promising paint coating of the future. They’re plastic polymers that can become soft and molten when heated and then when they cool they become hard. Thermoplastic paints and coatings have several benefits - they have a low melting point, and can be produced at a high volume along with lower costs. Plus, they’re strong, durable, and capable of being remodeled. Thermoplastics are ideal for recycling - and can be sound-deadening and also protective.

Example of Thermoplastics - the thermoplastic road marking paint - the yellow directional paint on the roads that we see almost every day.

• Healing Concrete - a recent discovery has found a new type of concrete paint coating where enzymes in human's red blood cells could aid in self-healing concrete - says researchers from Worcester at the Polytechnic Institute.

• Solar Paint - It’s the next big thing in renewable energy. A team of researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) developed a paint that generates energy from water vapor. It absorbs the moisture from the air. Any place that has water vapor can produce fuel and can generate clean electricity. Solar paint can not only turn the roof of a home but the entire home - into a solar generating surface. The future applications for solar paints are unbelievable.
  
• Paint and Coatings that Saves Lives- Kraton Corporation received an emergency exemption from the EPA for the deployment of its BiaXam copolymer. It’s an enamel that helps against SARS CV-2 with its protective coating for high-touch contact surfaces. This coating could potentially help cut back on the transmission of the Covid virus.

Alford Homes is a professional home building company located in Dallas, Texas. Greg Alford, the owner of Alford Homes, has been building luxury custom homes for 40 years. The award-winning builder shares some of his favorite paint tips below.

• Water-based Enamel Paints - Alford Homes uses water-based paints in their luxury homes. Water-based paints are safer for the environment, stay true to color, last longer, and harden with time - plus the color doesn't fade - like oil-based paints. White-colored walls, cabinets, and ceilings stay white and fresh and don't yellow over time.
• Ultra-High Gloss Paints - the Hydroxy HP paints are high-quality, water-based paints that have an ultra-glossy, slick-looking enamel finish. With several layers of paint, they can even have an eye-catching mirror-like effect.
  

An Example of the ultra-high gloss paints that Alford Homes utilizes in their luxury homes - is seen in the teal/blue computer desk room. The shown color is - SW-6492 Jetstream by Sherwin Williams.

In this same home, the ultra high gloss paint was used on the ceiling in the dining room (pictured above) and on cabinets in the master bathroom suite. The sleek high-gloss paint is becoming popular in the high-end luxury home marketplace.

• Our Premier Paints Brands - Alford Homes’ premier paint brand is Kelly Moore Paints - and they occasionally use Sherwin Williams, and Benjamin Moore.
  

1. Benjamin Moore - OC-17, White Dove
2. Kelly Moore -1600-121, Duro-Poxy White
3. Sherwin Williams - SW-7042, Shoji White

• What Paint Colors are Best for Each Specific Room Type - Entry, Bedroom, Kitchen, etc,
• Determine How Much Paint You Need - with a Paint Calculator
• New Paint Color Match App - with Tools to Match Paint Colors and Hues
  Two New Paint Visualizers - to Try Paints in a Virtual Setting Before Purchasing Them

1. New App to View Your Home Painted with Different Paint Colors
2. Online Paint Visualizers - find new paint colors and test them in a virtual room setting

Alford Homes is a professional home builder that constructs luxury residences in University Park and Highland Park in the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and other prestigious areas throughout Dallas, Texas. For more details on the professional home building company, Alford Homes, please visit AlfordHomes.com or please call the office at 972-429-1074 to schedule a private consultation with one of Dallas’ finest home builders - Greg Alford of Alford Homes.

Note - all photography of residences are of Alford Homes located in the Dallas - Ft. Worth Metroplex.