When you hear the phrase “house paint,” decorative – or architectural – coatings likely come to mind.

It includes an array of waterborne and solventborne paints, lacquers, varnishes, and stains that are applied onsite and used primarily on the interior and exterior surfaces of homes and apartment complexes, The ChemQuest Group noted in its “2015-2020 Global Market Analysis for the Paint & Coatings Industry.”

According to the report, decorative coatings comprise the largest coatings segment, accounting for approximately 41 percent of total global coatings value and 55 percent of its volume in 2015. Revenues for that year were $58.24 million on sales of 21,963,000 liters.

The global decorative coatings market has grown annually by 4.9 percent in value and 4.3 percent in volume over the past five years, per ChemQuest. The segment value for 2020 is predicted to be $73.28 million, the report states.

Experts believe the housing market had an effect on growth in the interior architectural coatings market in 2017.

“Economic indicators are favorable for the interior architectural coatings industry in the coming year with projections indicating that both housing and commercial construction will grow in 2018,” said Jenny Burroughs, senior product marketing manager, PPG.

“As the housing market continues to rebound, so does the real estate resale market,” added Jeff Spillane, Benjamin Moore’s senior manager, Product Training Implementation. “When a single new home is built, it drives multiple real estate sales. This leads to an increase in repaints. This will continue to grow throughout 2018.”

Coatings demand tends to follow overall economic activity, especially that of industrial production and construction spending, Chemquest noted.

“Real estate dynamics inherently impact paint sales,” said John Hoskins, vice president of Paint Marketing at Behr. “When demand is rising and supply is short as we saw in 2017 and we expect to continue through 2018, homeowners look at color trends, unique finishes and textures to personalize their space, which all drive interior paint sales.”

2018 color trends and styles

PPG Paints selected Black Flame (PPG1043-7) as its 2018 Color of the Year and Senior Color Marketing Manager Dee Schlotter sees darker hues emerging as a key trend for next year.

Additionally, Glidden paint brand and Olympic paint brand selected Deep Onyx (00NN 07/000) and Black Magic (OL116), respectively, for 2018 Color of the Year.

“We are seeing a shift toward warmer colors and even bolder colors after a long stretch of cool and pale hues,” said Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Color & Design expert. “People are interested in brightening things up with color by incorporating more saturated yet easy to live with hues for 2018.”

According to Sara McLean, color expert & stylist for Dunn-Edwards, there are five trend stories – Memories; Natural Wonders; The Stars; Adventures; and Childhood Wonders – consumers will see.

“One trend we see continuing into 2018 is highly-stylized design with touches of luxury and romanticism,” she said. “Touching on the maximalist trend that is borne out of a reaction to the simple, spare designs of the recent past.”

Memories “highlights key past architectural and fashion eras trending again — including the Art Deco era, French fashion circa 1940s-1950s, and even Baroque design — all showcasing the best in design,” said McLean, who described the story colors as “chic, sophisticated with notes of feminine Baroque and French nostalgia.”

“Blue-greens, lacquer red, dark-brown wood tones, bronzed caramel are lightened with touches of grayish pink and gold,” she continued. “Iridescent finishes add drama.”

Natural Wonders focuses on “back-to-basics” and highlights the health and wellness industry. It “creates a platform for essential simplicities but with many dimensional layers,” McLean said. “Finding the beauty in the elements without having to be extremely rustic and simplistic in design adds wonder and delight to the design.”

The Stars “features the influence of technology through virtual and augmented realities.”

“Life is experienced more through fantasy and those hyper-innovators who create these new frontiers through technology are inspirations,” McLean said.

According to the color expert and stylist, this story features glossy pastels, 1980s retro hues and touches of street art color accentuate hot pink, dark blue and a range of dense colors.

The Adventures stories reflect the name – focusing on global travel and design.

“Adventures colors are dense, lush and exotic with fusions of emerald, red, amber and mystic purple,” according to McLean. “Under-the-earth color highlights include lava, volcanic rock and gemstones. Deep, murky nighttime sky colors add depth.”

Lastly, Childhood Wonders “celebrate the simplicities of life through joy and play” inspired by “childlike atmospheres.”

Behr recently introduced its 2018 Color Trends palette—a selection of 20 new colors the company predicts will “command” the home décor and paint industry in the new year.
Behr also revealed its 2018 Color of the Year: In the Moment T18-15.

“More and more, we’re observing homeowners making color decisions based on the mood or feeling they want a room to evoke,” said Erika Woelfel, vice president of Color & Creative Services. “For example, using light colors from the palette to open up a room and impart a sense of calm, or infusing bright, saturated accents to create a stimulating energy in spaces where you entertain family and friends.”

Regulatory trends and “green” coatings

There is a continuing movement toward volatile organic compound (VOC) reduction, Chemquest noted.

The report stated the U.S. is still shifting towards lower VOC waterborne products, while “most of the industry emulsion resin suppliers have moved the bar even lower – adding properties at 25 and as low as 10 VOC when formulated to eliminate odor and toxicity issues from free monomers left after polymerization.”

The movement has spread to zero VOC colorants as well, and toward resin systems having improved properties such as film hardness, stain, and scrub resistance, per Chemquest.

Benjamin Moore’s R&D facility is continuously working to create innovative, high-performance coatings for both residential and commercial settings,” Spillane said. “Benjamin Moore is committed to developing products that are safe and minimize our impact on the environment and has received 39 U.S. patents for innovative products since 2005. Our lowest VOC paints include: Aura, Regal Select, ben, Natura, Waterborne Ceiling Paint, Eco-Spec WB and Ultra Spec 500.”

“In the architectural coatings industry, low-VOC is no longer a specialty product offering – it is a must-have option for all brands in the space,” Burroughs said. “In a crowded and competitive landscape, it is important to know how these products differ, understand the standards for low- and zero-VOC certification and how they impact job specifications. The main differentiator in the market is the classification as ‘low’-VOC vs. ‘zero’-VOC. Previously, painters were forced to make major sacrifices with product application to achieve lower VOC levels. However, low- and zero-VOC products have come a long way and now apply similarly to regular paints in coverage and spreadability.

“In addition LEED V4 is now a primary requirement for most commercial new construction projects, which calls for a higher level of understanding and commitment to sustainability in product offerings.”

The company offers PPG PAINTS PURE PERFORMANCE Interior Paint; GLIDDEN PREMIUM Interior Paint + Primer; and OLYMPIC ASSURE Interior Paint + Primer.

“At Dunn-Edwards we have always focused on being a leader in producing high quality No-VOC or Ultra-Low VOC coatings,” said Sam Carrillo, senior product marketing manager. “Our ‘Greener by Design’ strategy provides the roadmap ensuring that we not only provide our customers with eco-friendly products, but also through our manufacturing process (first LEEDS Certified Paint Manufacturing Facility).

“We offer a wide variety of products with superior performance for all interior applications. For example, our EVEREST Paint line is an ultra-premium interior, zero VOC, 100 percent acrylic paint line that has very low odor and no added organic solvents,” he added. “EVEREST Paint line is ideal for use on high end residential and commercial projects, where self-priming, Zero VOC, and low odor products are preferred. EVEREST Flat applies easily and combines exceptional hide with superior stain resistance, washability, and adhesion. Its low odor, Zero VOC formulation, and excellent durability make it ideal for high-traffic areas in homes, commercial offices, schools, hospitals, and other closed ventilated buildings.”

John Gilbert, Chief Research and Development Office at Behr said that consumers who are looking for “greener” products or are concerned about VOCs “should look for a paint that is GREENGUARD Gold Certified.”

“GREENGUARD Gold Certification offers strict certification criteria and considers safety factors to account for sensitive individuals (such as children and the elderly),” Gilbert said. “Government regulation limits VOC levels for paint at 380 grams per liter (g/l) for most finishes (e.g., semi-gloss, eggshell, satin) and 250 g/l for flat finishes. However, many architectural paints are far below that threshold—such as BEHR MARQUEE Interior Paint and BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA Interior Paint, which both offer less than 50 g/l, and BEHR PREMIUM PLUS Interior Paint, which offers less than 5 g/l.”

Developing premium interior products

What are consumers looking for in terms of performance in their interior coatings?

Carillo said its generally “long lasting, durable” ones.

“They are looking for paints that are not only ultra-low VOC, but have excellent performance/durability,” he continued. “Most consumers look for interior paints that are extremely washable, thus allowing the coating to look better for a longer period of time. Painting professionals look for superior application properties (brush/roll/spray characteristics).”

According to Burroughs of PPG, professionals “expect high performance in product application and color matching accuracy and speed to help them get their projects started and completed efficiently.”

PPG’s customers, specifically, she said, “expect a quality experience with every touchpoint they have with PPG from the product that is applied on a wall to the service they receive in-store or on a job site to the product’s ease of use.”

When it comes to do-it-yourself painters, or DIYers – one of three customer types, which also includes the professional painting contractor and the buy-it-yourself segment – they “look for durability, washability, stain-resistance and stain blocking capabilities,” Burroughs said. “They also seek tools and support in their color selection process.”

The DIY customer – to which roughly 30 percent of overall global demand is attributable – is most prevalent in Europe (45 percent of sales). North America is next with around 30 percent of sales for DIY-ers, according to ChemQuest.

Overall, DIY segment size is proportional to labor costs – i.e., areas having the highest labor costs (Europe and North America) also have the highest DIY coatings percentage, according to Chemquest. The converse is true in all other regions, the report states.

“We are seeing costumers looking for products that fit the specific needs of their projects,” Spillane said. “It is important for costumers to know that not all products are created equal and to use this information to determine the best product to use to achieve the result they are looking for.”

Added Hoskins: “Customers that prefer to do-it-themselves are looking for easy-to-apply finishes that are both beautiful and durable. They want to combine steps and avoid multiple coats as much as possible. They also want ‘easy-to-maintain’ features, like mildew-resistance, scrubability, impact resistance and resistance to color fade.

“Because time is money, professional painters are very focused on application characteristics: brushabilty, sprayability, flow and leveling, sheen uniformity and touch-up,” he continued. “Dry film performance is important when specified, otherwise, application characteristics will determine their choice.”