Buying guide: Paint

Benjamin Moore, Devine Color, Farrow & Ball There's a paint for every painter. Whether you value colour range, ease of application or designer credibility, you're sure to find your ideal match here. Beauti-ToneWell priced and carried nationally at Home Hardware, Beauti-Tone has a great website that covers project ideas, tips and trends. Web site: beauti-tone.caBehrWidely available through Home Depot, Behr is one of the best of the mid-priced brands. Features like large-size paint chips and in-store colour-matching computers make it popular among home painters.Web site: behr.comBenjamin MooreA favourite brand with designers as well as consumers, both of whom like the paint line's vast range of colours, it offers excellent coverage and wear. Widely available.Web site: benjaminmoore.caCIL PaintsOne of the best-kept industry secrets, CIL is an excellent mid- to premium-priced paint with a beautiful colour palette. Its parent company, ICI, makes several fine house brands, such as Color Your World.Web site: cilpaint.comDevine ColorBoutique line Devine Color is the brainchild of Oregon artist Gretchen Schauffler. Sample cards feature real paint smears from the 115-shade palette. Sample pouches (about $5 each), which cover roughly four square feet, let you test the shades.Web site: devinecolor.comFarrow & BallOne of the last traditional-style British paint manufacturers, Farrow & Ball boasts a small palette of can't-miss colours, many of them historically accurate and bearing quirky names like Pointing, String and Mouse's Back. Sample pots (about $8 each), which cover roughly 10 square feet, let you test colours.Web site: farrow-ball.comChat with other readers about decorating and design in our forums.Page 1 of 2 General pain, Sico, Ralph Lauren General PaintAll-Canadian General Paint was one of the first to design software that lets you scan a room photo and preview it in a paint shade. General's Z-Coat is one of the most environmentally friendly latex paints on the market.Web site: generalpaint.comMartha Stewart Everyday ColorsYou can't beat Martha's taste, and the paint chips show potential colour combos, making it easy to capture the decor guru's knack for coordination. Midpriced and widely available.Available at: canadiantire.caPara PaintsAnother venerable Canadian company, Para is known for such innovations as durable and scrubbable Elite eggshells and flats, and their Group of Seven line, which incorporates colours inspired by the canvases of Canada's legendary art movement.Web site: para.comRalph Lauren PaintRalph Lauren Paint has the same designer cachet as Martha Stewart Everyday Colors and is similar in quality. Along with the basic finishes, there are textured paint treatments such as Suede and River Rock, which require specialized application methods.Web site:rlhome.polo.comSicoOne of the oldest Canadian companies, Sico is known for its super-washable flat paint, Cashmere, and for accuracy in nailing reds, often a difficult pigment for many companies to formulate. Web site: sico.caPage 2 of 2