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we use a lot of off white or creamy white but I also when possible use very pale neutrals with a couple of accent walls in a slightly darker neutral. Beiges, taupe, tans, grays. 2 coats of satin Valspar or Behr or something similar that the painter likes with additional mildewicide added. 2 coats of satin can be pretty vigorously scrubbed so minor scuffs and splatters come right off. I get really tired of all white walls.
I stayed in 2 really crappy apartments and they both used Navajo white. Is this the cheapest easiest to match color available?
Color doesn't normally add to price.
Some colors are stock colors where you can buy them off the shelf with no mixing.
Antique and Navajo are two of these colors here.
There have always been various grades of paint... the least expensive were white-wash water based with the most expensive being oil base with lead...
Kind of ironic that the top of the line lead paints or yesterday are the cause of remediation today.
Expensive isn't always a good value...
The other school of thought is it is not worth the expense of using a long lasting paint if the walls have to be repainted when tenants move...
I painted my grandmother's home 20 years ago and it still looks great... non smoker, no fires in the fireplace, no deep fried cooking and a fastidious housekeeper with no pets or little one running around.
Her 100% wool carpet from 1962 also looks like new...
A perfect paint job can be ruined in one year with a little effort... careless moving of furniture, smoking and fried foods will do it every time...
All tenants like color. The problem is that each tenant likes a different color. So, if you want a red house, then get yourself a red bedspread, red sofa, red cushions, and a red area rug. I'm not going to paint my house red for you because the next tenant will want a blue house.
For newer homes and problem areas like closets that are jam packed... only one paint I will use... it is Zinsser Perma White... I do add tint so it is not white.
The paint is a real problem solver and comes with a no mold guarantee... about $22 a gallon.
Ultra, can you tell me why a closet would be a problem area? And would this paint be good for a bathroom, as mine has no window.
Thanks OP for starting this thread and to everyone for the great advice.
Ultra, can you tell me why a closet would be a problem area? And would this paint be good for a bathroom, as mine has no window.
Thanks OP for starting this thread and to everyone for the great advice.
I've found closet problems in older home with lath and plaster walls where clothes are piled so air can't circulate... no problem at all if hangers are used.
At one two bedroom house... tenant families ranged for 2 to as many as 6. Larger families often translate into more moisture in the air... more cooking, more showers, etc.
Twice I have had problems with mold in closets... both times it was with large families that kept windows closed and had clothes piled in the closets.
Since I switched to Zinsser Perma White... never had another problem with mold/mildew.
Primer if necessary: Kilz
Wall paint: Kilz latex paint in an off white, can't remember exact color name
Alternate wall paint: Porter/PPG Antique White flat with a splash of black in it (covers a little better)
Trim: Glidden High Gloss pure white.
With close to 50 units to maintain, a consistent color makes life so much easier. One less thing to juggle around. As a note, I am really liking this Kilz paint. The price is pretty good and I get good coverage from it.
It's not yellow like navajo. Not too glaring like white.
I use white walls because you're supposed to decorate it!
I remember Ellen Degeneres showing the inside of her house, and it's all white. with stuff hanging on them of course.
That's the way you're supposed to do it. I hate beige. It's a sea of beige these days. It has somehow become the standard paint these days, but it's uuugly
I've observed that women always want to paint the wall some color, and that they say they'll return it to "original condition"..... BUT do they actually do the proper prep work before repainting it? TSP or Krud Kutter the whole wall?
Yeah, painting is easy. prep is 90% of the work, and it's much more difficult, and often skipped.
One recent rental shopper asked me if she could paint the wall a mocha color. I asked her if she was ready to do the prep, which consists of this and that. She paused, probably thinking "what prep?"
One of my former tenants painted beige over the existing semigloss white without sanding the whole wall first.
So unsurprisingly, the beige paint started peeling in bits and pieces not long after.
Never again will I allow or trust tenants to paint.
I think tenants should consider and understand the potential headache they will cause the LL and refrain from asking if they can repaint a white wall.
You stick with the whitish wall and you decorate it. Whitish walls can be coordinated with everything on the planet with little effort. Red sheets and pillows? Yeah that goes with white too !
Last edited by noooooob; 01-30-2013 at 03:03 AM..
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