Gentle Readers, it’s been a minute since I’ve painted a room myself. As with childbirth, one tends to forget the pain the minute you see the delivered result.
Recalling the painting adventures of my own early adulthood, when money was scarce and time was plentiful, I thought it would be appropriate for Georgie (with Ruthie’s help) to do the painting in her new apartment in Philadelphia.
How, you may ask, did *I* end up getting roped into it? Well, the girls (recent college graduates, but what can I say besides “the girls”?) didn’t quite finish during their allotted time. So on the next visit, I agreed to help.
It started out fine…
…but deteriorated quickly.
Anyway, I found myself giving my daughters a tutorial about paint sheens, so I thought that you might benefit from a refresher, too.
Practically speaking, please keep two things in mind. First, that the higher the sheen (semi-gloss, high gloss), the greater the cleanability. Second, even for the same sheen there may be different rules for walls and trim, so please pay attention.
HIGH-GLOSS
I ADORE a high-gloss paint finish. It’s classic and gorgeous.
You may use a brush when putting high-gloss paint on trim. You’ll see the brushstrokes, but that’s charming :) For a finish as glassy and smooth as a 31-year-old’s Botoxed forehead, you must apply the paint with a sprayer. (This is best done by a professional.)
Look closely at the picture below: the ceiling beams were painted with a sprayer, but a brush was used on the French doors. Can you see how the doors have a teeny bit of texture? Interesting, right?
Now, high-gloss paint on walls = high drama! Here, you MUST use a sprayer. Never, ever use a brush — or worse, a roller! — to apply high-gloss paint to walls. A roller will leave an orange-peel texture in its wake. It’s disgusting, and you should be embarrassed to allow anyone to see it.
SEMI-GLOSS
This is the most common finish for trim. It’s cleanable, has a little bit of a shine, and provides a subtle contrast with walls in a flatter finish. You cannot go wrong using a semi-gloss finish on your doors, trim, and the exterior of cabinetry. (More on that in a sec.)
Some people think you should use a semi-gloss finish on walls in bathrooms and kitchens. NO. That is incorrect. I never, ever use a semi-gloss finish on walls. Applying it with a roller will give you that orange-peel effect to which I referred earlier, and using a brush…well, seeing brushstrokes on walls is NOT charming, as brushstrokes on trim and cabinetry can be. If your painter gives you a hard time about this, I advise you to hire someone else.
SATIN
Slightly less shiny than semi-gloss, satin is my preferred paint finish for trim in contemporary houses, as the dullish sheen reads modern to me. I also use it on bookshelves, because a semi-gloss finish can stick to books over time.
Cabinet doors can be painted in a satin, semi-gloss, or high-gloss finish (something wipeable, in other words), but I strongly suggest that the interior of cabinets be satin. Same reason as for shelves: it’s durable and won’t feel sticky over time.
The nice people who make custom cabinets often use satin paint when they do a “shop finish,” which means they use a sprayer. It’s sooooo smooth and pretty.
EGGSHELL
Eggshell is the finish to use on kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and kids’ bedroom walls. Anywhere prone to splashes or marks. It’s wipeable and moderately moisture-resistant, and you can apply it with a roller. (Finally! A roller-friendly finish!)
If you have a bathroom with no fan and/or terrible ventilation and your painter insists that you use a satin finish on the walls because it’s more moisture-resistant than eggshell, the only way I would approve it is if the painter uses a sprayer. Which they won’t. So stick with eggshell. Please.
FLAT
A flat sheen is tricky. Pro: It visually smooths out bumpy, imperfect walls, which are especially common in historic houses. Con: Flat walls are difficult to clean. Magic Erasers are fantastic, but if you scrub too hard, you’ll get a shiny spot.
So. Please feel free to use flat paint in historic houses with bumpy plaster walls; in child- and dog-free homes (sad!); and in low-traffic places such as bedrooms. On a staircase in a house from 1890, flat paint is the last thing I would advise. (The FIRST thing I’d advise, of course, would be wallpaper ;) ).
OTHER SHEENS
The sheens above are the most common, but manufacturers get tricky sometimes. Benjamin Moore offers a “scrubbable matte” finish for certain lines of their paint, and I use that quite a lot. As the name suggests, it has a flat look and doesn’t get shiny when you clean it.
Many manufacturers offer a “pearl” finish. I don’t really get it; I think it’s somewhere between eggshell and satin, but I’ve never used it.
As for Farrow & Ball, forget it. They do everything differently, and I literally have to make a chart reminding me of the difference between “Estate Eggshell” and “Modern Emulsion.” It’s great paint, but they don’t make it easy to use.
I hope this is helpful, Gentle Readers! Please feel free to forward this to the young adults in your life when they ask if you’ll pay for a painter. Send them a copy of my book, too, and point out that YouTube is rife with how-to videos. Then tell them that painting a room builds character. They’ll really appreciate that.
Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, D.C., but we also love working in NYC and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We’re now scheduling projects for fall. Please contact us to discuss.
