A Guide to Choosing the Right Paint Finish
When it comes to picking the right finish of paint for your home, it can become quite daunting. As if picking the colour of paint alone isn’t enough to make you want to pull your hair out, now you have to decide if you’re better suited for a matte finish, high gloss or any of the in betweens.
When it comes to choosing the right finish, there are a few things I take into consideration with my clients to help decide on the best finish suited for them.
Step 1: Determine what it is that you’re painting
Painting cabinets vs. a wall will drastically change what direction you should be heading. If you’re doing your cabinet doors, sticky fingerprints are almost guaranteed. With that in mind, you will want to go with something with a higher sheen for durability and easy cleaning. If you’re painting walls then you certainly do not need a high sheen.
Step 2: Consider your household
Do you have kids? Pets? If so, a matte finish is probably not for you. Even I made the mistake of thinking because we don’t have kids (though we have two dogs) we would be perfectly fine with a low sheen finish. WRONG. Our dogs love to rub up against our walls, somehow lay right on top of them and dirt just flies off of them and onto the walls. Thankfully, we decided to do an eggshell finish throughout or house, which has medium durability so cleaning the walls is a much easier task. If we had gone with what I originally wanted, which was a matte finish… I may have regretted it.
If you’re someone that has no young kids or messy pets, then a matte finish is worth considering as matte is the most aesthetically pleasing and has the best coverage.
Step 3: Consider the traffic in the area’s you’re painting
If you’re painting your kids bedroom, matte finish is definitely a no no, but an adults bedroom? No problem, a matte finish would look great! Just remember- the lower the sheen, the harder to clean. High traffic areas such as kitchens, hallways, and family rooms probably wont do great with a matte finish if you have lots of people/pets roaming the house.
Step 4: Are your surfaces in good shape?
If you are painting a wall that has a lot of imperfections, you’re going to want to go with a lower sheen like an eggshell or a matte finish. This will help hide flaws, compared to a higher sheen like a satin or semi-gloss that will showcase them. High gloss sheen will show every imperfection so if you’re wanting to use this finish on doors/cabinets, do not, I repeat, do not skimp out on the prep work! You will thank yourself in the end. A High gloss sheen is also not suitable for walls.
A matte finish has always been my preference. Matte finishes have the highest pigment, making your space look rich in colour and has the best coverage which saves you money with the paint. If you have walls with imperfections it will save you time (and money if you’re paying someone to do the job) to work out those imperfections. Again, matte finish is not for everyone but if you’re someone who is confident with taking care of their space and doesn’t have little ones or messy dogs, then a matte finish would always be my recommendation!
Here are some more details on each finish.
High Gloss
- Highest durability
- Hard, ultra shiny and light reflecting
- Shows every imperfection so prep work is a must
- Best suited for kitchen, exterior doors and window trim
- Not suitable for walls
- Semi Gloss
- High durability
- Good for moisture areas
- Great for trim, kitchens and bathrooms
- Satin
High durability
- Described as velvety
- Easy to clean
- Reveals application imperfections and is harder to retouch
- Best suited for family rooms, foyer, hallways and kids rooms
- Eggshell
Medium durability
- Great for covering imperfections
- Good for lower traffic areas
- Essentially flat but with a hint of sheen
- A popular finish choice
- Flat or Matte
Medium to low durability
- Has the most pigment and best coverage
- Rich look in colour
- Best suited for adult bedrooms and low traffic areas.
- Also a popular choice
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