Colorhouse Creates Environmentally-Safe Paints for an Online Market

Founded in 2005, Colorhouse is the brainchild of two artists who decided to create “healthier paint and better color.” Virginia Young and Janie Lowe started a painting business in Portland, Oregon called YOLO Paint, and quickly realized that the paints they were working with left something to be desired.

“Because we were breathing, touching, and working with paint everyday, we became concerned (and a bit obsessed) about what was in the water-based paints we were using,” they said. “As time went on, we began feeling grumpy at the end of our workdays with headaches and sore throats. This motivated us to research paint in more detail.

“As we looked into what was in paint, we learned that there were a lot of toxic chemicals, even in the water-based paints we were using. Our search for healthier paint options pointed us to the vibrant green building community – a grassroots community that is about sharing knowledge and pushing the envelope on building materials that are better for us and the planet.”

The two artists learned how to make their own paints with clay and rice paste. Realizing that this pared-down approach to paint was not only time consuming, but costly and impractical for clients, they began talking to both paint and “green” chemists in order to create a formula that had the performance qualities they demanded without all of the chemicals found in traditional paints.

Today, Colorhouse offers low-odor paints that have premium performance and contain no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), no reproductive toxins, no chemical solvents, and no toxic fumes/HAPs-free. From packaging to paint, Colorhouse’s focus is on sustainability. In a further show of its commitment to being “green,” Colorhouse paints are manufactured in the only LEED Gold Paint facility in the US.

In October 2014, Colorhouse released its Chalkboard paint. Chalkboard paint combines 10 harmonious colors with a zero VOC Chalkboard formulation. It is available in the following artist-crafted colors: WOOL .05, WOOL .06, GLASS .05, GLASS .06, METAL .05, STONE .06,METAL .06, WOOD .05, WOOD .04, NOURISH .06
Colorhouse.

According to the company, its Chalkboard paints have been well-received among both “moms and DIY’ers.”

Recently, the company broke into the lifestyle category with the exclusive color palette for Rejuvenation, a regional rollout in action with Home Depot stores in NY and Chicago, and it is pioneering selling paint online for both The Home Depot and Amazon. This is a remarkable accomplishment for a multi-billion dollar industry that has, even today, relied heavily on its brick-and-mortar stores.