With so many different options available, choosing the right kind of finish can be exhaustive. Eggshell, flat, satin, gloss, and even semi-gloss, how do you distinguish between the looks and the best sheen for your project? After all, finding the right finish can be difficult when pictures can’t show the differences. Luckily, we’re here to help. Choosing the right sheen for your next paint project is vital for its longevity as well as its appearance.
Flat Finish
Flat finish is popular among people that prefer a dull, matte finish. It doesn’t provide much protection for humid environments, and it does not wipe off clean. Therefore painting your kitchen or bathroom with flat paint is not an ideal option.
Flat paints are usually used for painting ceilings and rooms with low foot traffic. It is often considered a modern or trendy sheen for low-traffic areas.
Eggshell
Eggshell paint offers a few advantages over flat paint. Eggshell has a subtle shine but not nearly as much illumination as semi-gloss paint. It provides an elegant and refined look to the walls.
Eggshell paint is also easy to maintain. Its sheen allows this paint job to be cleaned with a wet towel, although semi-gloss is much easier to clean. It protects from humidity; therefore, it is the right choice for kitchens, bathrooms, and high traffic areas. Eggshell sheen is used often in contemporary settings.
Satin
Providing an even brighter sheen than its eggshell counterpart is satin paint. Like your dining room, it is one of the best options for painting high-traffic areas. It’s has a long life span and is very easy to clean with a rag and water.
Semi-Gloss
Semi-gloss is the best option if you look for a shimmering sheen but don’t want the full-scale shine that gloss provides. Kitchens are ideal for semi-gloss paint because of their resistance to water, oils, and other food-related liquids.
Only gloss can match the humidity protection features of semi-gloss paint. The bathroom is the room with the highest humidity in your whole house, making it a great candidate for a semi-gloss makeover.
Due to its high durability, semi-gloss paint is also used extensively for door frames, moldings, and trim both interior and exterior. The exquisite shine it provides when dry also makes it desirable for such areas of your home.
Gloss
Gloss paint provides the most significant amount of shine of any paint finish. It’s also the most durable and protects against humidity like no other. Whether it’s a high-traffic area or not doesn’t matter because gloss paint is the most durable paint on the market.
Gloss paint’s shimmer makes it the shiniest finish out of all the paint sheens available. Making it excellent for painting trim, furniture, bookshelves, and kitchen cabinets.
Wrapping Up
In the end, you should choose a paint sheen based on the area you want to paint. Higher gloss paint will always be more durable than a flat or eggshell due to its glossy shine. You should also decide if you’re going to clean your walls after painting routinely.
