Howie finished taping and sanding the drywall on the second floor on Sunday, so while we’re waiting for the first floor to be insulated and sheet rocked, we’ve started priming and painting upstairs.

We’re using Benjamin Moore’s zero-VOC Natura line. I read a few reviews on other brands that complained about needing 3-4 coats to achieve the desired color, and only saw good reviews for Natura’s coverage. We’re using some pretty saturated colors upstairs, so coverage was key and so far the it’s been wonderful to work with. It’s a little pricey at about $50/gallon, but not only does it cover well, it also goes on smoothly, dries in 1-2 hours, and it’s odorless. In fact, it’s so odorless that I could smell our dog over any paint smell when she came into the room. Time to give Bernie a bath!

I’m debating using some sort of geometric allover stencil on an accent wall in the master bedroom to break up the orange a bit. Any thoughts?

In other upstairs news: The tub was installed yesterday and looks great in the marble surround! All of our bathroom tile has now arrived, so as soon as Larry finishes installing the Schluter membrane in the shower we can tackle bath tiling next.

Bathroom color & tile: Walls are B.M. Natura Goldfield, shower walls and tub apron are tiled with Ann Sacks Lucian field tile in Oxygen, Carrara marble tub surround and vanity top, and 12"x24" Anthracite floor tile with matching pebbles on the shower floor.
Bathroom color & tile: Walls are B.M. Natura Goldfield, shower walls and tub apron are tiled with Ann Sacks Lucian field tile in Oxygen, Carrara marble tub surround and vanity top, and 12"x24" Anthracite floor tile with matching pebbles on the shower floor.

While there’s nothing particularily “green” about the tile choices, we are using a no-VOC stone and grout sealer.