Opportunity for a home ‘$pruce up’ is getting closer for 20 finalists, vote now for your favorite @ www.paintquality.com/spruceup

Rohm and Haas and the Arbor Day Foundation Narrow Pool from 135 Contest Contestants

PHILADELPHIA, PA., February 25, 2009 –  Spring is just around the corner, and so is the opportunity for 20 finalists to win a home makeover through the $pruce Up Your Home contest, sponsored by Rohm and Haas (NYSE: ROH) in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. Launched in September, the contest was designed to conduct a nationwide search for homes that could benefit from a facelift. A distinguished panel of judges pored over each of the 135 contestants’ photos and written entries explaining why their homes need a spruce up. The judges then selected the top 20 from across the country.

Now, it’s up to consumers to choose the most deserving of the bunch by casting their votes online at www.paintquality.com/spruceup.  One Grand Prize winner will receive a package valued at more than $20,000, which includes up to $12,000 in cash for an exterior house paint job and an $8,000 home improvement gift check. Eight first place winners will receive up to $5,000 in cash for an exterior paint job for their home. Each winning family will receive a young spruce tree on behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation. The Arbor Day Foundation will also provide 10,000 trees to the winner’s community through the foundation’s Trees for America program.

“It’s a great time to freshen up a home with paint and other simple improvements,” says Debbie Zimmer of the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute. “Paint, along with energy-efficient home improvements, can really turn a house into a home and take some of the pain out of utility bills. By choosing to make small improvements now, homeowners can immediately boost curb appeal and increase the value of their home.”

The $pruce Up Your Home contest was created in honor of Rohm and Haas’s water-based acrylic technology being designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society (ACS) in late 2008. The technology can be found in everything from house paints, caulks, and adhesives to dishwashers, baby diapers and even on or behind the walls of China's Forbidden City. The environmentally advanced technology has taken 20 million tons of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) out of the air since 1953 -- the equivalent of six pounds of fewer pollutants in the air for every man, woman and child alive in the world as of August 1, 2008.

Visit www.paintquality.com/spruceup to cast a vote for your favorite $pruce Up Your Home contest finalist. While there, check out the latest tips and trends from the Paint Quality Institute, a go-to source for consumers to learn more about interior and exterior paints and coatings.