Faron, you're a hoot. Although, when I got off the plane with DH and Frank in tow, it might ruin the effect. And I've been to Fargo before... Anywho, back to paint. QUARTS!!! Wooohhooo! So, I wonder if my hillbilly Ace could order me some? If so, I'll buy the place up, because I do need colors other than white, and that Behr I used last time just isn't cutting it. I'm on a really tight budget right now, have a lot of painting to do (hopefully finished by Thanksgiving) and need a durable paint that's easy to apply and will last. I'd love to use really high end paint, but that's just not possible right now. In the meantime, I need to get that avacado green table more presentable and the black/red/brown chippy nightstand to go with my light teal bedspread! The dark, poorly finished dresser? Something must be done to that asap! The bookshelf with the faux spatter textured finish doesn't really "go" with my vintage/retro craft room vibe. The nightstand that used to be red that got painted white but the red remnants that have bled through because I used bad primer and now it's spotted pink? Not acceptable. The vintage desk that someone ages ago painted white, then had the brilliant idea to ?antique? it by slopping varnish all over it (and by slopping, I mean, really, slopping)? That just looks tacky, and not in a good way. So, bust out the sanding paper, the steel wool, the brushes and the paint, because here we go!

I used a brush. One of the good features about Aura is that it is self-leveling so it minimizes brush marks. I can't say that there are none, but some oak grain shows through more than any brush marks. For a primer, I used latex Kilz on about half of them (because I had some on hand) and Benj Moore Fresh Start All-purpose on the rest. I did two coats to try to fill in as much grain as possible. I considered a more aggressive approach to the oak grain cover-up but decided against it. THe overall affect is great for me. I suppose the level of smoothness desired is a personal choice. I'm pretty picky in general about things, but these cabinets went from a 2 to a 9 (on a scale of 1 to 10) so I'm fine with that. If you want a "10", I suppose oil and grain-filling is the way to go. The sink splashes don't really affect the cabinets. But I have no backsplash (yet) under my uppers, but I used Aura (eggshell) on the walls too. They get their share of splashes and wet hands turning on and off the disposal switch - also Aura painted. It is absolutely good as new. The lower cabinets in my primary work corner do get surprisingly messy, but they wipe up just fine. Over the year, I've seen a couple of nicks here and there. I keep a little craft squeeze bottle of paint and paintbrush handy and I dab on a spot if needed. Oh, that was another thing about the Aura claim that appealed to me... unnoticeable touchups. I know regular latex touchups never seem to blend well. Don't know how oil does.

Thanks to all for your recommendations! I have only made it to the Benjamin Moore store but did buy a LOT of samples. I painted my samples on 1/2 size sheets of poster board to see which ones I liked the best. Of those, I painted my top 4 colors on foam board which is really easy to prop up with my tile and granite samples. So far, I'm really liking the BM Bone White and BM Frappe. The warmer colors seem to work best with our lighting and dining/living areas. Thanks again! ~Des

Hi, please recommend an off white paint color that would go well with our carpet and brighten up the space. I really love revere pewter and light pewter but I’m not sure if that will fit with the color of carpet. Maybe winds breath or baby fawn would work? Open to suggestions!