Last night I attended an ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) outing for the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago Chapter where the guest speakers were Benjamin Moore. Now, I own an architectural salvage company and we try to create distinctive displays for our inventory that emphasize the craftsmanship of the past. So we’re always applying new paint to our backdrops in our showroom.

We have been waiting anxiously for the new low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints to be readily available. VOC paints have a bad reputation for being hard to work with as well as the VOCs diminish air quality, and may be detrimental to your health. Today, alternative manufacturing techniques have allowed the development of low- and no-VOC paints that release no, or minimal VOC pollutants, and are virtually odor free. For three years, Benjamin Moore has been working on a low-VOC paint collection. What they came up with is Aura: a 100-percent acrylic, low-VOC, green-friendly interior paint that meets all regulatory guidelines in all states.

I have to tell you that Benjamin Moore has outdone themselves with the new Aura Paint Collection. This 100-percent acrylic Hybrid Resin System makes Aura paint resistant to water spots, water sensitivity and color rub-off and keeps damp environments or repeated washings from altering the paint. And its environmental friendly.

The Aura Collection was developed from the ground up rather than altering existing paint technology. According to Benjamin Moore senior marketing manager Jeff Spillane, “they decided to work on changing the raw material itself, rather than working with an existing material like most paint suppliers do. Specifically for Aura, Benjamin Moore created a patented ColorLock technology, which integrates a proprietary resin with an exclusive waterborne colorant system. It was created without any added VOCs and contains no glycol, so the color is locked in.”