New Jersey Painting Guide
How much paint do you need?
Enter your room dimensions — get an instant shopping list.
Your paint list
| Walls (– sq ft) | – |
| Ceiling (– sq ft) | – |
| Trim & doors | – |
Most popular paints, by brand
What the pros actually buy — and what it costs. Tap a brand.
Regal Select ~$75/gal
The workhorse. What most pros reach for on interior walls — great hide, washable, low odor.
Aura ~$95/gal
Top shelf: excellent one-coat hide in many colors and a rich finish — built for deep, dramatic colors.
ben ~$55/gal
The value line. Solid for bedrooms and low-traffic rooms where you want the BM color deck without the premium.
Emerald ~$100/gal
Sherwin's flagship. Superb durability and washability — the "never repaint the hallway again" paint.
Duration Home ~$90/gal
Excellent stain resistance — a favorite for kitchens, kids' rooms, and rentals.
SuperPaint ~$70/gal
The contractor favorite — great coverage per dollar, inside and out.
Marquee ~$52/gal
Home Depot's top line. Plan on two coats regardless of the one-coat label — still the best DIY value going.
Premium Plus ~$38/gal
The budget king. Fine for ceilings, closets, and rental refreshes.
Manor Hall ~$65/gal
PPG's premium interior — silky finish, strong hide. A sleeper pick pros respect.
Timeless ~$58/gal
Good all-rounder, widely stocked at independent dealers.
Estate Emulsion ~$130/gal
The designer darling — unmatched depth of color in a chalky matte. Fragile: not for hallways or kids.
Modern Emulsion ~$130/gal
Same rich color in a washable finish — the practical way to do Farrow & Ball in real homes.
Prices are typical NJ retail per gallon (2025–2026) — actual shelf prices vary by store.
Benjamin Moore vs Sherwin-Williams
The two best paint brands in America, measured head-to-head — 2026 data.
Benjamin Moore
Sherwin-Williams
What a gallon really costs (2026 retail)
Typical US shelf price. Sherwin-Williams runs 30–40% off sales ~4× a year — striped bars show the sale price.
True cost: dollars per year of service
Premium paint lasts 10–15 years indoors. Cheap paint gets repainted twice as often — the sticker price lies.
Spec-for-spec: the top 4 compared
Interior lines, manufacturer-published figures.
| Spec | BM Aura | BM Regal Select | SW Emerald | SW Duration Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price / gal | ~$100–130 | ~$80–90 | ~$90–120 | ~$75–95 |
| Coverage | 350–400 sq ft tie | 400–450 sq ft wins | 350–400 sq ft | 350–400 sq ft |
| Volume solids | up to 48% wins | 36–47% | 37–41% | 33–40% |
| VOC | 0 g/L wins | <50 g/L | <50 g/L | <50 g/L |
| Scrub / washability | Superior tie | Excellent | Superior tie | Excellent |
| Stain resistance | Color Lock tech | Stain Release tech | Advanced stain-blocking wins | Antimicrobial + stain-fighting |
| Touch-up blending | Harder on deep colors | Easiest wins | Good | Good |
| Finishes | Matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss | Flat, matte, eggshell, pearl, semi-gloss | Flat, matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss | Flat, matte, satin |
| Mildew resistant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Which paint for which job?
Our recommendation after painting thousands of NJ rooms.
Living room & bedrooms
BM Regal Select, eggshell — best coverage per dollar, touches up invisibly.
Kitchen & bath
SW Emerald, satin — shrugs off steam, grease, and scrubbing.
Hallways & kids' rooms
SW Duration Home — built for fingerprints and magic-eraser warfare.
Deep / dramatic colors
BM Aura — richest color depth; often covers in fewer coats.
Trim, doors & cabinets
BM Advance, satin — levels like oil paint, cures hard as furniture.
Best deal, premium tier
SW Emerald on 40%-off sale — flagship paint near mid-tier money.
The pro's verdict
There is no loser here — a premium line from either brand beats a budget line from the other, every time.
Buy Benjamin Moore when color depth matters most: deep accent walls, sunlit rooms where cheap paint flashes, and trim work where Advance is simply unmatched.
Buy Sherwin-Williams when value and convenience win: 4,000+ stores, 40%-off sales that make Emerald cheaper than mid-tier paint, and Duration for the rooms kids destroy.
The rule we paint by: never choose paint by the gallon price — choose by the cost per year on your wall. Premium paint is the cheapest paint you'll ever buy.
Prices are typical 2026 US retail per gallon and vary by store, region, base, and tint depth. Specs per manufacturer-published technical data sheets.
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