Our customers in the Portland area often ask for our assistance in choosing the best paint sheens for rooms or woodwork in their home. At Absolute Painting we try to find out the customers needs and learn about how often their walls, ceilings or woodwork get dirty. Typically the higher the sheen of paint, the more washable it will be. Most interior paints have a few types of sheens to choose from.
The lowest sheen is usually referred to as flat or matte finish and in most cases this will not wash easily. This paint will have a dull appearance and not reflect much light. It will hide imperfections in surfaces better than a higher sheen paint. In some higher quality paints they do make a washable flat/matte finish.
The next level up would be an eggshell or satin finish. Although this comes in many different names and versions, this is the most popular choice for most homeowners when painting walls. It gives a medium level of washability without being too glossy. It reflects light nicely and is great for most areas. If you have children or pets it is a great choice.
If you are worried about cleaning walls or woodwork on a regular basis or if it is an extremely high traffic area you may consider using semi-gloss or gloss paints. This is popular for bathrooms and kitchens but not used as much as it was in the past. The down side to this product is it shows any imperfections in drywall or millwork. We do recommend this for use on doors/millwork as they take a lot of abuse that walls usually will not. Typically we use an enamel paint for doors/millwork that will dry harder than wall paint and be more durable.
All of the paint companies that we deal with offer many different grades and sheens of paint. They often use different names for the sheens so it can be a bit confusing. We are happy to help you if you are purchasing paint for your home.
