Decorating the Nursery with Valspar & Lowe's

When I became pregnant the first go around (almost 7 years ago... how is that possible?!), one of my favorite parts of the process was putting the baby's nursery together. Truth be told, the space was more of a large closet than anything else (this is NYC, after all) but we loved every inch of baby's sparing square footage. We painted the walls yellow, as we kept the sex a surprise, and I can remember going to the paint store and painstakingly eye-balling every variation of yellow paint chip available.

Luckily, we were able to find a low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, but I have to admit I really knew nothing about the subject beforehand. According to the EPA, levels of select organic pollutants are found to be 2 to 5 times higher inside the home, and these pollutants (emitted as paint dries) include carbon monoxide and radon and can cause acute symptoms like headaches and dizziness. YIKES. Not what you want flying around when you're pregnant or have a baby - or anytime, for that matter!

Over the years, the paint industry has continued to evolve and become even more environmentally responsible. I got out with a few of my blogger friends the other evening at Bouley Botanical to celebrate Valspar & their first (& most complete) line of high-performing Zero-VOC paints in the industry. Available at Lowe's, Valspar has 4 products in total: Reserve, Signature, Ultra 4000 & Ultra 2000, & offers approachable price points that range from $15 to $45. Most importantly, Valspar has earned GREENGUARD Gold Certification on all 4 of its products, meaning they've met the most rigorous clean air standards which allow consumers to reduce their environmental footprint and lead greener lives. Awesome!

Hosted by the fabulous interior designer, Genevieve Gorder, the evening was a toast to Valspar and Lowe's, and a chance to celebrate a large company taking steps to help its consumers lead greener lives while not compromising quality. Now that is an initiative I can totally get behind.

And now I have the itch to re-paint my living room... 

Disclosure: I was provided with compensation to attend & promote this event. All opinions are my own.