How to choose the right paint finish for every room

A lot goes into choosing the perfect paint colors for each room in your house. It’s an exciting process that requires imagination, research and, often, experimentation. Equally important in selecting paint colors is pairing them with the right types of paint finishes.  Paint finish types impact the durability, visual effect, and tone of each room almost as much as the paint colors. Paint finishes can even affect the paint color, as a higher gloss tends to make paint colors brighter.

Understanding Paint Sheen

Sheen equals shine. The sheen of a paint finish is its level of gloss, which is its light reflectivity. Lower gloss percentages will be found in flat and matte finishes. Higher percentages of gloss will be in semi-gloss and high-gloss paints.  Paint sheen can have a dramatic impact on the aesthetic of the room. For instance, a matte finish (less reflective) tends to be softer and calming while a glossier finish will make a room feel brighter and vibrant. Something in between, like an eggshell or satin, reduces light reflection for a cooler, more subdued look.

From a functional perspective, a higher sheen level is more durable and is easier to clean, but it will also highlight blemishes and imperfections in walls and ceilings, as well as potential hiccups in your painting skills (oops!).  

Also, the purpose of each room might steer you toward a particular paint finish. A glossier sheen is better for high-traffic rooms like kitchens and bathrooms, because of its durability and resistance to stains and scuffs/marks. Higher gloss paints tend to be more moisture resistant, making them a practical choice for kitchens and baths. Non-gloss finishes, like flats, mattes and eggshells, are more suitable for bedrooms (unless you have younger, stain-prone children), closets and ceilings.

Understanding Paint Finishes

To choose the right paint finish for each room you’re painting, it’s important to understand the various types of finishes that are available and the features and drawbacks of each. Here are the most common paint finishes and the percentage of gloss for each.

Flat (1-5% gloss): Flat finishes absorb the most light and reduce glare. A flat finish is perfect for ceilings, bedrooms, dining rooms and offices. While a flat finish will hide wall imperfections and is forgiving to DIY painters, it’s also harder to clean and is susceptible to marks, spills, fingerprints and other stains, so it’s not recommended for kitchens, entryways and bathrooms.

Matte (5-10% gloss): Matte finishes absorb less light than flat finishes and gives a softer, warmer tone/vibe to a room than a higher gloss. They typically have more pigment, which enriches the color more than a flat finish. The soothing nature of a matte finish makes it a good choice for bedrooms, ceilings, a home office, or living room.

Flat and matte finishes tend to work best with darker color shades, highlighting their richness and depth. Both flat and matte paints are generally more uniform and hide wall imperfections well. For instance, flat and matte paints will hide small repair marks on a wall that may have had lots of prints and photos.  

Eggshell (10-15%): Eggshell is less glossy than satin but reflects more light than a matte finish. It can be used in the same applications as satin and may not highlight imperfections in the walls as much as satin. However, an eggshell finish is slightly less durable than satin and may scuff more. Choose an eggshell finish for bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms.

Satin (20-25%): Satin may be the most used interior paint finish because of its versatility. It combines durability with a velvety, lustrous look that works well in hallways, kitchens, kitchen cabinets and even doors. However, it can be finicky if you’re not careful with your roller and brush work. Both eggshell and satin finishes are easy to clean and resistant to scuffs and marks, which makes them better choices for kids’ rooms than a flat or matte finish.

Semi-Gloss (40-50%): More reflective than eggshell and satin, semi-gloss finishes provide a shiny elegance without being too bright. It’s easier to clean than most other paints, but it can highlight blemishes and imperfections on walls.

Gloss (70-80%): Gloss paints are strong, durable, and resistant to scuffs, stains, and grim. Gloss paints are best used in kitchens, bathrooms, doors and cabinets that are exposed to the wear and tear of daily life in your home. While a gloss finish will show wall defects, it’s a small price to pay for its toughness and cleanability.

Semi-gloss and gloss paints are more effective with brighter colors, like whites, yellows, and lighter shades of blues and greens.

High Gloss (85+%): A high gloss finish reflects the most light and adds elegance and shine to any room. High gloss sheens are mostly used for doors, molding, trim, window casings/sills and other non-wall or ceiling applications to emphasize the style of a space. It is unrivaled in its durability and how easy they are to clean. However, if you’re using a high gloss paint on walls, you must prepare the surface of the walls meticulously or every blemish will show.

In a nutshell, flat, matte, eggshell and satin paint finishes are most commonly used for interior walls and ceilings. Gloss and high-gloss finishes tend to be used more for cabinets, doors and trim due to their durability and ease of cleaning.

As for the cost of each type of paint finish, a good rule of thumb is that the lower the gloss, the less expensive the paint. But there are trade-offs. Lower gloss paints are also typically easier to apply and touch up, while glossier paints tend to be easier to clean and more durable.

Remember, just as you use different paint colors throughout your home, you should also select different paint finishes that are appropriate to the room’s purpose, colors, and the emotional vibe you’re going for. And don’t be afraid to experiment! Painting the interior of your house is one of the easiest and most cost-effective DIY home improvements. If you go with a particular finish and it’s not right, it’s a simple, inexpensive fix.