Zero VOC paint is very real. It is different than normal paint. Is it significantly healthier? ... I don't know. However, if you are sensitive to smells, then I think you have your answer.

There are quite a few well regarded brands out there Olympic (lowes), FreshAire (HD), Mythic (which personally I didn't have a good experience with coverage on) as well as the lines from the traditional paint companies SW and BM.

Some paints are 0 VOC, but use VOCs in the tint, which apparently can be higher than low VOC paints. Some are 0 VOC period (including the tinting agents). But be aware that 0 VOC tints mean that color matching can go bad... quickly. Our third attempt at medium brown is still pinker than we'd like, but it's in the kids room and they had to be sleeping in it that night so ... eh one out of two likes pink.

If not giving off an odor is important to you or you are worried about VOCs, I would do it. In fact, I'm going to when we paint our home. Probably not the cabinets (I know weak convictions right?) but I'm hoping they will be sealed in.

I liked this article on the topic which talks about some of the over-branding that is happening as well as some of the science.
Consumer Reports VOC Article

There's a big difference between zero VOC and zero odor. Zero odor is very pleasant, but if the odor is from marigolds, for instance, it's not likely to cause any harm. VOC's can harm people and do harm the environment.

I am very allergic to formaldehyde. Headaches, nausea, the whole thing. I don't get that from nasty odors. Yucky diapers might make me gag, but they don't make me ill. :) I went to an organization meeting at a place that had been newly done up on the cheap (paint, carpet, carpet padding, upholstery). I was in that place for no more than 10 minutes and was sick for a day and a half. They decided I was the canary in the coal mine and decided not to meet there any more. :)

I can highly recommend Fine Paints of Europe. The kitchen was pretty well sealed from the house, but I did spend some time in there after painting and had no reaction. The workers were thrilled because there also is no odor and the paint quality is excellent.

Very different from when the cabinet installers didn't think and used some thinner on something. I was in the living room, with the doors from the kitchen sealed with plastic, and got really sick instantly, and started having hysterics. My GC took care of it. I left for the day so they could wash it down and air it out. There was no infiltration from the paint at all (none expected because of the paint specs), and there was a lot more paint applied. The cabinetmaker also found some ultra-low VOC varnish for the cabinets. It was a little ticklesome when it was wet, but didn't actually make me sick.

I don't remember off the top of my head if the Harmony line from Sherwin Williams is no-VOC or low-VOC but we used it throughout our house. I have allergies and am very sensitive to smells so I need a low or no-VOC paint. The SW Harmony is terrible. There was no order, which is great, but it does NOT hold up at all to cleaning. I have two young kids that tend to put their hands on the wall a lot, so I am constantly cleaning them. Even with just water, every time I try to clean the wall the paint comes off and it is very obvious. I would never use that line of paint again. I am hoping to repaint soon but will definitely use a different brand.

I have the zeal of the convert on this topic :)

I actually spent this evening painting my bedroom with BM Natura paint. I will never go back to high-VOC stuff - like everyone else said, it is no scam.

I've used BM Aura, Natura, and the Freshaire brand, and I'm a huge fan of the BM products. Freshaire was awful, in my experience. Very poor coverage and bad odor.

As plllog wrote, VOC is not the same issue as odor, and some low/no-VOC paints do have odor. The BM products do have a very subtle, but detectable odor, to me at least. It's nothing compared with traditional paint.

I have heard from several friends that professional painters have told them that they don't like low-VOC paint or that it's just a marketing ploy and there's really no difference. I think 2 factors could be at work there:
1) the painter's sense of smell has actually been desensitized to paint odor due to so much exposure, and he/she really doesn't think there's much difference in the fumes; or
2) the painter doesn't want to deal with the change from his/her usual product.

The BM Aura and Natura really are different from regular paint - they are quite thick and they dry very quickly (a couple of hours). Coverage is excellent, you can often do fewer coats with great results. I don't know the reason, but I've been told that they are actually better than traditional paint for subsequent touch-ups blending in. So far, that's true in my experience. I'm using eggshell on my walls and have used satin on furniture, and the finishes hold up wonderfully to my kid, dogs, and cleaning. I really love this stuff.

I am also loving Aura, for what it's worth. We're still just painting samples (man, I wish we could pick a color!!) but we got several no/low VOC brands in the process of collecting way too many samples...Aura, Yolo, and American Pride/Mythic (same paint, different branding). Aura was far and away the winner as far as going on smoothly, coverage, etc.---enough to convince me that even if we end up with a Yolo or AP color, we'll get it mixed in Aura.

And YES, there is a huge difference! We have used BM oil-based Satin Impervo, Super Spec, and now Aura (some left by PO) and while I love the Satin Impervo as a product, it STINKS. Seriously---off gassing for eons! With the Aura, I love that I can paint an entire room and not feel sick!

Thank you everyone for your responses!!! I thought I was correct in thinking that having the Zero/ low VOC paint would make a difference and that it was not just words on marketing brochures. Always hard to know when to trust the "experts" and when they are just trying to not have to deal with something new.

I am leaning towards using BM Natura paint. It is on the pricier side per gallon, but definitely worth it for our family. Can't really put a price tag on healthy indoor air quality and trying to minimize environmental pollutants!!

The painter is somewhat right -- the odor is definitely lower for all good-quality paint than it used to be, and low- and no- VOC does not mean completely non-toxic. Read the fine print on those cans! Because it's winter and maybe you don't want to open your windows, the Natura may be a good paint for you. But, if you're at your budget limits, you can definitely get a good quality paint for less.

I used three kinds of paint:

Cost-wise, lowest-to-highest I used
SW Duration, BM Royal Velvet, BM Aura

Quality-wise, the Aura was the best, the Duration second-best, and the Royal Velvet the worst.

The Duration is an incredible value (watch for those SW sale weekends!) for the quality of paint we got.

--Janet

I have to disagree wtih chocolatebunny, I have used the SW harmony line (no VOC) and was extremely satisfied with it. I was able to remove crayon from the nursery walls with just my finger, no cleaner, no water. The coverage is same as SW regular paints, but the cost is higher. I did think there was an odor, it was not smell-free, but that wasn't why I was buying it.

For all you BM lovers out there-BM is sold at my local ace hardware. i went in to inquire about it and they told me the quality of BM is no diffeernt than ACE brand. I was dissatisfied with ace brand. Has anyone had this experience or heard this?

"BM quality is no different from Ace" and a Mercedes is no different than a VW. My advice, find another store with folks that know what they are talking about.

As for VOC's, as some of you have already discovered, not all "0" VOC paints are created equal. If you want no emissions, then you need to be sure the store isn't adding them back in with the colorants (they are about 50% VOC by volume). Certainly there are also significant differences in quality among the brands. You best guide to quality, like most other things, is price and your own experience. For the better brands, significant progress has been made in formulating low/0 VOC paints without sacrificing performance so you can indeed have your cake and eat it too.

I went zero voc on my paint and just can't imagine going back. I'm sure you'll get tons of responses on that front.

As far as non-toxic is concerned do yourself, and maybe your painter, a favor and google "professional painter cancer" and you'll see thousands of hits on the increased cancer rates in professional painters. The stories started coming out 10 years ago and have been non stop. The most recent by IARC says that painters have a 30% greater risk of bladder cancer....

Non toxic is pretty unlikely.

I've used Mythic, which the company describes as being low odor and 0 VOC. I can attest to the former: there definitely is some odor, but it's not particularly strong, and I found it not unpleasant. It had a sort of clayey smell. Thus, very natural. Beautiful paint, BTW. I've used other paints in the past, and I'll never again use paint that's not 0 VOC.

And don't forget milk paint, if you're going for a color-washed look (a la Tuscan style or retro renovations):
http://www.milkpaint.com/about.html
Or Safepaint, which is made by a milk paint company as an alternative for people who want solid color as opposed to colorwash:
http://www.milkpaint.com/path_walls.html

OP here...to keep you all updated: we have decided to go with BM Natura paint which is zero VOC and odorless. Using eggshell finish on walls and flat on ceiling. Ceiling color will match Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee since that is what is on the rest of house's ceilings. Two walls will be BM Ladyfinger and the central wall will be BM Mascarpone...color names seem appropriate given its the kitchen:)

Paint goes on tomorrow (Sunday) so I will let you all know how things go and what we think of the BM Natura paint. Stay tuned for photos!

Good luck! We just finished painting with BM Aura eggshell today. I only got a gallon for our 18' x 13' kitchen because we were lukewarm on the color, and figured I'd get another one this afternoon if we liked it after the first coat last night---turns out that we got two coats out of the gallon! (Which is good, since I used up half our paint budget getting samples mixed....augh!) Pretty amazing coverage, and we liked the color once it was up on the wall, so it all worked out. :)

UPDATE - The Benjamin Moore Natura paint is fabulous. Truly minimal odor...could stay in the kitchen during painting and eat in the kitchen at meal time with no odor at all only a few hours later. And truly "Zero VOC" in that both the paint and the colorant are zero VOC, unlike other zero VOC paints which add in colors with VOCs.

Both the Ladyfinger and the Mascarpone are gorgeous and went on smoothly. We will only be using BM Natura paint from now on for sure!!

Mascarpone:

Ladyfinger:

Very informative discussion! Thanks so much for posting this, Contemporganic. Your walls look lovely! I have quite a bit of painting to do in my home and will be using BM Natura.

I will echo another poster on Mythic. We had coverage issues when we used it so we switched to the BM Natura.

I do think it is not only more pleasant to use no VOC but a health issue. I believe the state of CA mandates either low voc or no VOC.

Search NYTimes for a good article on this.

Dear plllog, can you please tell us which varnish your cabinet maker used for your cabinets?