Good luck getting SW paint at the moment. They had one of their main plants in Texas go down during the February deep freeze and it apparently is still not up and running. They also got themselves into a disadvantageous contract to supply Lowes, which is biting them in the butt. So what did SW do? They raised their over priced paint once again! The whole paint industry is really disrupted at the moment. Fortunately, Behr is in relatively good shape as to production. They even came out with their new super premium Dynasty line this week. Super paint in the MId $50 range. Both SW and PPG have been in buy out the competition programs for the last couple decades. In retrospect, maybe they should have been paying better attention and investing in their own core operations.

Or the cheapest solution of all: ignore the unevenness, drop down a vapour barrier such as 6mil poly sheeting and then lay the vinyl. Since your budget is so tight that $100 worth of testing is pushing to the brink, you might as well purchase the cheapest vinyl product and lose the warranty (as in ignore the flatness ratings). Put down the vinyl and hope for the best. No. I'm not kidding. Simply install the vinyl to the best of your capabilities (use the vapour barrier for $0.11/sf includes the Red Duct Tape you need) and leave it be what it is. You will spend more time and energy (and money) trying to figure out the work around when there really isn't one. You either spend money on the test or you spend money on the subfloor system like a sleeper system (more than $100) or a DIY option like Dricor (really not $100!!!). Or you ignore everything and lay the floor over what you have. Those are your options.

All black really just looks like a black hole. If you want a dark color, try something softer/warmer - Urbane Bronze is a shade that I have seen used very nicely - and play around with judicious use of contrasting or complimentary color on some trim or surfaces (I do like the dark window frames). Cedar accents really work well with dark to medium grays and dark blues.

@reddifab: I used the following paint and primer. Here you go: Primer: SW PrepRite ProBlock Latex White Ceiling: SW SuperPaint Interior Acrylic with Air Purifying Technology Flat Extra White Trim: SW Pro Classic Waterborne Interior Acrylic Enamel Extra White My contractor deals with SW so I got his discount there. I actually have always used BM paint, so all my walls are BM colors, and the SW Extra White looks beautiful with all of them. I’m very pleased with the application of both brands. So far I’ve used BM Balboa Mist, BM Proposal, BM Beacon Gray, and am now considering BM Portland Gray. I should be done painting all the rooms in January. Hope that helps. Good luck with your paint job!