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Which sheen should you use for your paint?

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sheen paint.jpg

Flat Paint- The Most Popular

Advantages

  • Looks the most solid 

  • Hides imperfections in walls

  • Easier to paint with

  • Cheaper than other sheens

  • Better when trying to match up a color

 

Best places to use flat

  • Living room

  • Stairs with a lot of surface area (Flat will hide imperfections)

  • Adult bedrooms

  • Rooms with an accent wall

 

Disadvantages

  • Harder to clean scuff marks

  • Not good for doors, trim, baseboards

  • "Duller" looking than other sheens

  • Will scuff easier 

 

Places flat is not the best 

  • Bathrooms (harder to get off grease, mold, shampoo, and other products)

  • High traffic areas​

  • Kid bedrooms (harder to clean off kid "artwork")

Eggshell/Satin Paint- Best for Scuff Marks
Eggshell and Satin are very similar and some paint stores will interchange the two.  Eggshell has a slight more sheen

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Advantages

  • Better at cleaning off scuff marks

  • More durable

  • Has a "shiney" look

  • Better for high traffic areas

 

Best places to use eggshell/satin

  • Bathroom

  • Kitchen

  • Kid bedrooms

  • Rental Houses

 

Disadvantages

  • Wall imperfections are easier to see

  • More expensive

  • Harder to paint with (brush marks are easier to see)

  • Labor is harder and more expensive

 

Places eggshell/satin is not the best 

  • Living rooms

  • A room you want a "solid" look on the walls​

Semi-Gloss- Best for doors and trim
 

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Advantages

  • Really good at cleaning off scuff marks

  • Very durable

  • Very easy to match up on trim

  • Better for doors, trim, baseboards

 

Best places to use semi-gloss

  • Doors

  • Trim

  • Baseboards/Crown Molding

 

Disadvantages

  • Not good for walls 

  • Shows lots of imperfections on walls

  • Harder to paint with (brush marks are easier to see)

 

Places semi-gloss is not the best 

  • Walls

  • A room you want a "solid" look on the walls

High Gloss- Not very common
 

high gloss.jpg

Advantages

  • Great at cleaning off scuff marks

  • Very, very durable

  • Could be used for places where looks is not the most imporant, but durability is

 

Best places to use high-gloss

  • Very high traffic places where the look of the wall is not imporant

  • Places where you want to be able to clean very easily

 

Disadvantages

  • Not good for walls at all 

  • Shows lots of imperfections on walls

  • Harder to paint with (brush marks are easier to see)

  • Very, very shiney

 

Places high gloss is not the best 

  • Walls (the shiney look just doesn't look near as good as other sheens)

  • A room you want a "solid" look on the walls

Matte- In between flat and satin
 

matte.png

Advantages

  • Similar to flat

  • Not as shiney as satin/eggshell

  • May be a nice compromise to flat and eggshell

 

Best places to use Satin

  • Living rooms

  • Adult bedrooms

 

Disadvantages

  • Not as common (may not be able to get the quality you want at the paint store)

  • Not very scuff resistant

 

Places satin is not the best 

  • Bathrooms, kitchens, kid rooms

Most common combinations we see and recommend

Living rooms, dining rooms, large surface area stairs = Flat paint (looks good, each to touch up, easier to paint)

Bathrooms= Eggshell (easy to clean, durable)

Kitchens= Eggshell/Satin (durable and grease won't stick to it)

Kid bedrooms = Eggshell/Satin (durable) or Flat if you are ok with a few more scuff marks

Doors/trim/baseboards/crown molding = Semi-gloss white (durable, easy to match up)

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On a budge and want something easy?  Flat on all walls and semi-gloss on trim

- Easiest to paint

- Cheapest

- Can touch up areas when needed much easier

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