I have several DIY clients who use Valspar from Lowe's. I've used it too. Valspar Premium is what I think it's called now. Used to be American Traditions, but when they expanded into Canada, they changed the name. I think it's great stuff! Success rate with my DIYers has been stellar, meaning lots of people can paint with it and do a good job. Great selection of colors too. Haven't really done much color matching out of Lowe's, seems like everyone finds their colors in Laura Ashley, Eddie Bauer or the Martha colors. Lowe's doesn't carry the actual Laura Ashley cans of paint. Some small hardware stores do though, like the Do It Best stores. That's great stuff too if you can find it. Generally speaking, I think it can be a good idea to just buy the color in the brand it comes in. As long as it's a *good* brand of paint and you buy the best grade of paint you can get you hands on, it will probably be a-okay. :-) I'm not so hot on Behr because the sheen levels are a little strange and it can be difficult to paint with -- seems like it doesn't suit a broad range of painting skills. As far as sheen goes, that's a pesonal preference. I like matte these days, which has just a snidge of sheen over a flat. And, lots of the mew mattes are scrubbable. After that I'd have to say eggshell. ICI's Lifemaster in eggshell is a really pretty finish, IMO. Don't know why, but I've found that brand and finish to be especially appealing lately. Sheen is hard because the color you choose can play apart in how shiny the walls end up looking. Never seems to be enough examples of sheen levels in the stores to really get a good idea.

Sometimes SW isn't even exact. After buy 20 tester quarts I decided to use Blonde for my kitchen and some other area. My granite has a lot of rusts in it and I liked that Blonde read a little rusty/gold. I had the painter use Cashmere and the result was not like I tested. The formula on the Cashmere was totally different and when I called them they said it was because of the different base. I even took some of the paint from my samle quart and put it next to the cashmere out of the gallon and they were different. Paint guy said it was a "better" color as it was more subtle. Only problem was it wasn't what I had thought I was getting. Even asked Funcolors about it and she said it was probably just the way they explained it at SW. The red they add for Cashmere is maroon and for the cheaper paint is called new red. Still a nice color but???

I have to say that I've been using Behr paint for quite a few years and I've been very pleased with the results. It covers well, goes on with minimal splatter, has a smooth finish, the color selection is great, and if you buy it when HD is having a sale you can get a rebate of $5 off per gallon. I've used Benjamin Moore in the past and was always fearful of trying other brands. A while back DH worked for ICI Dulux and we started using their paints, which were very good. Then a friend had her house painted and used Behr paint with terrific results....I've been hooked ever since. Last year I was part of a painting forum sponsored by Behr. They chose 350 folks from around the country to participate in a 4-6 month on-line forum. They asked for our feedback regarding their products and seemed genuinely interested in what their customers thought. I have to say that it was the most "working fun" I've had LOL. Each time we participated in a questionnaire, brainstorming session or working trial they rewarded us with Amazon gift certficates. THroughout the course of the forum they always thanked us for our participation by either a group "rah-rah" or individual email. I'm sticking with Behr ;o)

Another New York Times article about the things we love, How Low Will Market for Antiques Actually Go? Just part of the article, Compared with the heyday of antiques collecting, prices for average pieces are now “80 percent off,” said Colin Stair, the owner of Stair Galleries auction house in Hudson, N.Y. “Your typical Georgian 18th century furniture, chests of drawers, tripod tables, Pembroke tables,” he noted, can all be had for a fraction of what they cost 15 to 20 years ago. In 2002, Mr. Stair sold a set of eight George III-style carved mahogany chairs for $8,000; in 2016, he sold a similar set of eight chairs for $350. In 2003, he dispatched a Regency breakfront bookcase for $9,500; in 2016, the sales price of an equivalent piece had plummeted to $1,300. ... Dealers, auctioneers and designers point to a number of reasons for the declining interest in antiques and rapid rise of contemporary design. More homes have open-concept, casual living spaces rather than formal dining rooms and studies, which reduces the need for stately mahogany dining tables, chairs and cabinets. “In these big rooms, a contemporary piece becomes a piece of sculpture,” said Christine Van Deusen, a New York designer who recently commissioned numerous custom creations from Maison Gerard, Cristina Grajales Gallery and Iliad for a client’s duplex penthouse on the Upper East Side. “Vintage and antiques are finite, but creativity is infinite, so I can do things that I could not do if I were only looking for things that were in existence.” Midpriced retailers like Restoration Hardware, West Elm and CB2 make it easy to buy tasteful furniture on the cheap, with little hunting required. And a new generation of homeowners may be rebelling against the preferences of their elders. “The 40-something crowd isn’t looking to put a highboy in their house,” said Ethan Merrill, the third-generation president of Merrill’s auctioneers and appraisers near Burlington, Vt. (and Todd Merrill’s brother). “They relate more to pop culture, fashion-oriented materials and rock ‘n’ roll.” ... Will other 18th and 19th century furniture pieces ever return to fashion? Many designers say that antiques will rise again but, after nearly two decades of decline, few are willing to predict when. “The pendulum is going to swing just like it does in politics,” said Mr. Hayes. “It always does. But I don’t see it coming anytime soon.” Jamie Drake, the New York interior designer, also views the current dismissal of antiques as a trend, “just as color trends have moved from neutrals to vibrants, back to neutrals, back to vibrants,” he said. In his own home, most of the furniture and art is contemporary and modern, “but I do still have some antiques,” he said. A home without them, he added, “would be like a sentence without punctuation.”