I use Dunn Edwards Suprema Eggshell finish indoors.

We used different brands for different projects and for the money I was happiest with Behr's prime/paint. I HATE SW paints and will never even consider them again, it doesn't cover well and it streaks like there's no tomorrow. When I complained to the store, their response was "yeah, you have to use our rollers" and they cost 2-3 times more of course. I know a lot of people swear by BM however I was not impressed especially when you consider the prices they charge, IMO, it didn't live up to expectations when it came to coverage.

I'm in California and I like Kelly Moore. They are masters at mixing other paint brands' colors. The only time I've used Dunn Edwards was on my exterior siding. It's been SIXTEEN years and it really doesn't look bad.

Benjamin Moore's Aura.

Plus one for BM Aura. Their flat/matte paint is scrubbable.

I really like SW Cashmere. We've gotten great results with it. I've also used BM Regal Pearl.

Valspar is too runny.

My painter loves Fine Paints of Europe and we just did two rooms in it. It's expensive but he says he's done rooms more than ten years ago that still look great. It's probably not worth it, but if you like me, once and done almost forever, it seems to be a very good paint. But you also need to know how to work with it, it needs to be thinned.

Ha.....different strokes! I've always thought of Duron as sub-par " builder grade" paint. I put Valspar and Behr in that category too...wouldnt use any of them again.

My favorite is Pratt and Lambert but I can't get it in my area anymore. I now use BM and especially like their Aura line. I'd like to try Farrow and Ball next time....people here have given it two thumbs up.

My favorite is BM's Aura line, but save that for my bathrooms since I only need a gallon (I get the Aura "Spa" one for bathrooms.) I wouldn't paint my whole house in it due to cost. That said, it's the first paint I've used that doesn't flash when touched up. You seriously can't tell where the touch up was and you can actually scrub it. I really like the matte finish (I think it's rich and velvety looking) and I like the smell. . . FWIW, it does completely cover (one room was painted navy and the other red) in one coat, but I always use two coats of paint.

I recently used their BM Ben paint in eggshell and was pleased. The cost (I think around $30) was a little less than the Clark and Kensington eggshell I tried a while back that was fine. I also have used, and like, Do It Best Brand and Ace Royal.

After having a bad batch of SW Porch and Floor paint and that being a disaster project, I won't buy SW anymore.

Absolutely can't stand Olympic paint. Painted a night stand for someone a while back and that's what they bought. It was the most horrible, runny crap I've ever used. Also used a Valspar paint (don't remember which one) while helping someone paint and again had the horrible runny experience.

At this point, it's easier/closer for me to purchase the BM Ben paint so that's what I'll stick with for walls at this point.

Fine Paints of Europe has a directory of painters in each area that are trained to use their paints.

Ellen Kennon.

I just completed painting a second house, and three rooms were done with Fine Paints of Europe: a living room in red; a bedroom in the Borrowed Light formula, but in FPE; and another room with wallpaper and white wainscoting. The paint is just luscious, and I want to make the point that a good, experienced--but not "high end" in any way--just the local village guy--did a beautiful job and had no difficulties with this paint. He also used FPE high gloss on a buffet, and worried about it--which is good. He read all the information on line about how to apply it, and was careful. Looks great. They promise it lasts at least 15 years. I'll probably be gone by then!

Can't call it my favorite because there are so many and I've only used four, I think (Glidden, SW, BM, an Pratt & Lambert).

Glidden is "fine". I like SW's paint but not the colors so much. Pratt & Lambert was awful, it was like putting water on my walls and it splattered everywhere. BM is my choice for paint. I've also been told by a professional painter that Pittsburgh Paint is very good. BM's Aura really is nice paint but it it so expensive!

BM Aura Matte. I like the colors and my husband likes to paint with it. It works out well :)

Thanks everyone. We live in the east coast and I have never seen Dunn Edwards or Kelly Moore. I have heard of people using FPE but I have no idea where you get it and since I am doing my own painting, I don't want anything that requires "special training."

It seems like we used to have a lot of specialty paint stores - Duron, MAB, Finneran and Haley - and they all got swallowed up by Sherwin Williams (which in itself makes me kind of anti-Sherwin Williams, LOL!) We do have a local Ben Moore store with knowledgeable people but I just haven't been impressed the BM paint that I've used and it is really pricey to be just eh. I am curious about the Aura/Aura spa -- it is for my bathroom, I definitely only need a gallon, and I am intrigued by the scrubbability and the "can't see the touch ups" -- both traits are high on my list of paint requirements. Do you have any pictures? How much is it exactly?

You can have BM colors mixed in SW paint.

On the topic of porch and floor paint, the Valspar is actually pretty good. We have that on our deck and it has held up really well. We just had it repainted with the same paint and color this summer. But the last time the deck was fully painted was 4-5 years ago. The PO had painted it, so we have been stuck with paint vs. stain.

BM Nantucket Fog in SW Cashmere. Our contractor was impressed with the quality of the paint.

Valspar porch and floor paint:

If you're painting your bathroom, I really really would avoid SW, can post pics for you if you want, it streaked everywhere even after 3-4 coats on new drywall.

Last time I painted, I used Pittsburgh Regency and I really liked the color, the easy coverage and the fact that it was cheaper than Ben Moore.

Ben Moore Kitchen and Bath would be fine. It's what I used on my bathrooms. No need to spend $$ on Aura.

Only difference with the "Kitchen and Bath" and the "Spa" types of paints is an anti-fungus/mold additive is in there. You can buy the regular BM Regal paint and a little bottle of the additive as well and add it yourself.

BM Aura.

Funny, I actually prefer SW over BM.

Love Aura paint. I used it on the exterior and interior of my house (DIY) and it is easy to work with and looks beautiful. IMO, it is well worth the extra cost. If I'm going to all the trouble to DIY a paint job, I'm going to use the best paint I can get. After using Aura matte in my kitchen and seeing how scrubbable it actually is, I was sold.

I used Ben Moore Regal Select on my front door and it is HORRIBLE. It still feels tacky years later, dirt clings to it, and it peels off wherever it touches the weatherstipping, even though I waited months before attaching it to make sure the paint was thoroughly cured.

I've also used Dunn Edwards and really like it. I have it in my bathrooms (eggshell) and it has held up very well over the years and still looks fresh. I'm going to use it on a new interior door that I'm installing as I have no faith at all in BM paints for doors now.

Benjamin Moore regal select.

That Van Deusen is gorgeous!

I use BM Aura for exterior, mostly because there was a nearly full gallon of it in the basement when I bought the house! So I got a gallon of Aura exterior paint in my trim color for free, and it really is incredible paint. I would use Aura for exterior painting but not interior.

BM Regal Select for roller and brush. I use pearl on my interior walls, semigloss on woodwork, and flat for ceiling. Can't remember the sheen I used for exterior, but it is close to pearl. It's holding up really well. I love that it's thick.

I use BM fresh start primer underneath on raw surfaces.

I used BM Aura for kitchen and shelves and closets, because I think I was told it would be less likely to rub off on stuff. It seemed thinner than the regal select, but otherwise seems ok.

My BM store has sales periodically. I think right now, the interior paint is 20% off and exterior 30% off. Otherwise I can get preferred customer discount of 10%. It's all worth it because the results are good and the experience of painting is mostly trouble-free because of the thickness.

Farrow and Ball is gorgeous paint. It should be - it's price (with the VERY high shipping) is astronomical. It has WAY more pigment than other brands as it is ALL factory mixed from dry pigments. Paint store paint takes a base and adds liquid colorants - just to the richness and depth of color pigment gives.

I used Pratt and Lambert for years but it's now virtually impossible to find. It's a shame - it was great paint.

I used SW for the walls in my kitchen. It covers VERY poorly - has taken 3 coats to cover using 1/2 strength Repose Gray over white walls.

Kitchen & Bath, I use BM in my own house.

Living area walls, SW Cashmere, BM Aura, and Behr are my preferred brands.

Pittsburgh Paints is also a quality brand that I have used.

No complaints about any of the above mentioned brands in this thread.

I don't know why people feel the need to buy expensive paint. I have used Behr from Home Depot for decades and never had a complaint . All the woodwork on my house was painted 22 years ago and has not failed anywhere except one doorway where the rain puddles constantly. They can match anyone's colors and it is easy to work with.

Beteacher - It depends on what you're doing. 22 years was a long time ago and I'll bet paint has changed since then. I'll admit to never trying Behr so I can't compare..... hehe rhyming...., but for anything that I feel requires a better/tough as nails approach I do spend more.

As to stores being able to match anyone's colors and easy to work with, I find that varies store to store and person to person. The two paint stores I return to I'm convinced can match anything. On one occasion the one store messed around for over two hours on multiple cans of paint until they got it right. I was told they recalibrated their system after that. However, it usually only takes one or maybe two tweaks to get it right. I've even had BM colors mixed in BM paint that needed adjusted. My Lowes store (don't have a Home Depot) isn't the place to have other paint brand/colors matched. As for easy to work with... they're all "it looks close and can't do any better." Of course, close enough doesn't work for me when I bothered to go through the hassle of getting a sample, painting and moving posterboard all over the walls in different lighting and finally making a decision. If I wanted close enough I would have picked one of the other bazillion colors available out there.

I don't color match from brand to brand and I don't try to customize, personally.

Since I have tended not to fully repaint, ever, in a different colors (I've moved first, I guess) --I want complete reproducibility, because I do touch up.

I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in Benjamin Moore for particular room this time and that's when I went to Fine Paints of Europe, there, and that meant buying a fandeck, too.

What this means is, if I am committed to using a particular paint brand, and I can't find exactly the shade in say, Behr, that I would prefer in Benjamin Moore, I will use the "close enough" in Behr. (This would be if I were picking paint for someone else--I would use BM or FPE but many people will not spend the money).

Because quite honestly, I don't think that you can really tell the difference between two subtle differences in paint color if an entire room is painted in it and you are not comparing one swatch to the next. If you have no point of reference to what the exact color is, I don't think anybody could walk into a room that had one of two very close paint colors and say "this is X, not Y"

And I get an almost perfect score on those color discernment tests where you have to separate and line up different shades in order.

However, if you custom mix or have had color matches made that are not a specific formula within a paint brand, it can be almost impossible to get a match from mix to mix if you need to touch up.

"I don't know why people feel the need to buy expensive paint. I have used Behr from Home Depot for decades and never had a complaint "

I know why and I have a complaint! Will start by saying I personally always use Benjamin Moore and have never had a bad experience. This weekend I was a paint volunteer for my son and DIL's new house, and they used HD Behr paint. Oh my. I think my DIL was trying to save money but I can't understand how it saves money to put cheap paint on the wall that then needs to have a second coat to cover......seems a lot more economical and labor effective to buy decent paint that will completely cover the wall in one coat.

That Behr is junk; we had actually already primed the entire house which was another goof because DIL and her mother didn't realize the cans of leftover 'enamel' paint was actually latex (sigh) and thus didn't require priming over before the new colors were applied. And even with that coat of primer and using Behr's paint/primer combo....totally didn't hide the underlying original color.

Never again. I'm staying with my BM thankyouverymuch!

Best outcome for me--realizing how much I deeply appreciate my FINISHED house, LOL. No more knocking down walls, cleaning up and repairing other people's stupid home design decisions and repainting over an entire house's worth of horrible color. What a lovely feeling to come home to my own calm environment that is set up just the way I like it.

I really like BM Regal Select, but I recently got the majority of my house painted with Porter Paint & I really like it so far. The depth of the color is great & it seems to be washable. I've also used Valspar's highest quality paint & was very happy with the end result.