For anyone who has been painting lately or for anyone who has been in Lowe’s lately, you may have noticed that select paint chips at Lowe’s are labeled with the National Trust for Historic Preservation logo. My first reaction: why is the National Trust partnering with a big-box retailer that puts small hardware stores out of business? Why not Ace Hardware or somewhere similar? I have no idea, but I’m sure the Trust has its reasoning. Thoughts?
Valspar, the paint brand of Lowe’s, teamed up with the National Trust to develop over 250 historic paint colors used at the Trust’s historic sites across the country. (See the National Trust’s blog.) The colors are labeled by the site name (i.e. Lyndhurst, Woodlawn, Oatlands, Grand Hotel, Jekyll Island Club, and many more). In the paint chip display at Lowe’s, the colors are not separated from the rest of the Valspar colors, but are identified by the Trust’s logo. This makes it possible for anyone to choose a Trust color, even if someone who is not looking for a historic paint color. The National Trust receives a portion of the proceeds from the paint and Valspar supplies paint to the historic sites.
While I’m not necessarily proud to announce that I shopped at Lowe’s for recent apartment fixer-up materials, I’m happy to say that Vinny and I chose colors from the Valspar National Trust colors. And since Lowe’s is one of two most common home improvement warehouses in the country, at least the Trust’s paint colors will be exposed to anyone who is shopping for paint.
Preservation in Pink 