The paint brand you choose affects the final quality of your paint job more than most homeowners realize. Premium paint is not a marketing upsell — it's a genuinely different product with better pigmentation, better coverage, and meaningfully superior durability. Here's how the major brands stack up for NYC apartment use.
Benjamin Moore
The dominant professional-grade paint brand in New York City for good reason. Benjamin Moore Aura is exceptional — the titanium dioxide concentration produces extraordinary coverage and color depth with genuinely fewer coats than commodity paint. White Dove OC-17 and Chantilly Lace OC-65 are arguably the two most used whites in NYC apartments over the past decade. Color matching is reliable, the retailer network throughout the five boroughs is dense, and the product line is comprehensive for every application. For trim: Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Alkyd is the professional standard.
Farrow & Ball
The luxury choice for clients who want the richest, most complex colors available. Farrow & Ball's color palette — developed specifically to work with the cool, gray-tinged light of northern European climates that is similar to many NYC north-facing apartments — is genuinely extraordinary. The paint is expensive ($125+ per gallon) and requires more coats over certain surfaces. The color depth is unmatched. In a well-lit, architecturally significant NYC apartment, Farrow & Ball on the walls reads as a design decision rather than just paint.
Sherwin-Williams
Emerald is Sherwin-Williams' premium line and is legitimately excellent — particularly for exterior work and kitchen and bathroom applications where stain resistance matters. Good color catalog, strong coverage, and wide availability. The go-to alternative when Benjamin Moore isn't available or when specific Sherwin-Williams colors are specified.
What to Avoid
Any commodity brand sold primarily in big-box stores (Home Depot, Lowe's house brands, contractor-grade economy lines). These products have lower pigment density, lower coverage, and lower durability than professional-grade paint. The savings on the can are completely offset by additional coats needed and faster deterioration. In a NYC apartment where painting labor is expensive, cheap paint is genuinely false economy.