Choosing The Best Paint Finish For Your Home

Be careful with which paint finishes you use where. High gloss on a ceiling can produce an undesirable mirror-like effect once nighttime arrives and artificial lighting switches on. And matte paint on a well-used backdoor can quickly become a fingerprint gallery. Particular finishes are best suited to distinct areas of the home. Following these basic guidelines will produce an excellent result next time you redecorate.

Matte Finishes

All paint colours come in a flat finish which has no sheen at all. Such a surface, suitable for adult bedrooms, offices and dining rooms, produces a dull, velvety look that enriches the hue. This flat finish tends to hide flaws and imperfections, and so it's ideal for less-than-perfect walls. Touchups are relatively easy as well. You should always reserve matte paint for ceilings as using a shiny type can result in bright glary spots. Though flat paint brings a lot of positives, it is extremely porous and so can quickly pick up grime from marks and fingerprints. Also, constant washing can degrade the surface.

Low Sheen Paint

Low sheen paints might also go by names such as satin, eggshell or low-lustre, depending on a particular manufacturer's labelling. This surface travels the middle road between total flatness and glossiness. It displays an attractive subtle glow without being shiny. Because satin is less porous than matte, it doesn't show up dirt as readily and also tolerates cleaning better. Thus bathrooms, kitchens, children's bedrooms, living rooms and hallways are good candidates for low sheen paint. One weakness is that it can show up surface imperfections more than matte does. 

Semi-Gloss Finishes

Medium sheen or semi-gloss paints are hard-wearing and easy to clean, being less porous than satin and matte paints. This level of shine suits doors, windows and other wood trimmings in the home. It's not advisable to paint walls with semi-gloss as not only will it create a plasticky look, but glossy paint tends to highlight every bump and crevice on the surface. So it can make walls look more uneven and degraded than they are. Even in kitchen areas that receive splashes and spills and thus need constant wiping, a washable satin or matte will look better and perform equally well.

Full Gloss Finishes

High sheen or high gloss paints are gleaming, hard and durable. This type of finish suits places that receive a lot of wear, such as front and back doors and frequently opened windows. Because it is so non-porous, grime doesn't stick to the paint that easily, and stains glide off its glossy surface in any case. It is best, when re-decorating, that you don't get interior painting services to paint walls with this sheen as doing so will create an unattractive artificial effect.

Talk with interior painting services about which type of paint in which colour would look best throughout your home.