How to Choose the Best Paint Finishes for Your Home

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Have you ever walked into the paint store, perfect paint chip in hand, and the sales associate suddenly asks you what paint finish you want?

Well it doesn’t matter how frequently I paint, or how often I look it up, I can never seem to remember what type of paint finish goes with what project. So I decided to create my own go-to painting guide to cover this topic. If you are anything like me, you are going to want to pin the images or bookmark this page, and stop that google cycle, forever!

Keep reading to see how you can pick the perfect finish for every project in your home!

How to Choose Paint Finishes for Every Project in Your Home

The following topics are covered in this guide:

• What is a Paint Finish?
• Key Brand Differences for Types of Paint Finishes
• Key Factors in Choosing a Paint Finish
• Which Paint Finish to Use Where

What is a Paint Finish?

A “Paint finish” is the term used to describe the end result surface texture that a paint has. As you go to different stores, and explore different brands, you will see that they may refer to this term in different ways. Most often by referring to it at a finish, sheen, or gloss. However, “Finish” is the correct term that encompasses the measurement of both sheen and gloss.

Paint Finish vs. Paint Sheen Levels vs. Paint Gloss Levels

Despite being used in a similar manner by some paint companies, finish, sheen and gloss are all different terms.

Paint Finish: The overall final dried look of the paint that measures both sheen and gloss.

Paint Sheen Levels: The specific measurement of light reflected at a manufacturer determined angle. Gives the paint a softness and its depth and luster.

Paint Gloss Levels: The specific measurement of light reflected at a manufacturer determined angle. Gives the paint a crispness and its shine.

Moreover, Sherwin Williams describes both sheen and gloss as a reference to the amount of light that is reflected off a surface, regardless of the color. This means that the higher the sheen or gloss of the surface, the higher the amount of reflected light. Despite these levels being measured without consideration for the color, they do impact how our eyes perceive a color. Likewise, it also impacts a colors visual characteristics, such as, depth.

Clear as mud, right?

The Science behind Paint Finishes

Did you know that there is an entire science behind paint, and the study of color.

Amazing right?

One aspect of this science is how the paint will look when it dries.

So Sherwin Williams scientifically takes these finishes and looks at the amount of reflected light, in order to assign a numerical value that indicates what level of sheen or gloss the finish is.

To do this, they reflect light into the receptor at an 85-degree (sheen) or 60-degree (gloss) angle from the surface, and then it is given a score on a 0-100 scale. With 0 being no sheen/gloss and 100 being almost mirror like.

So think of it this way, every paint will have a gloss and sheen score, and those scores may be different. In fact, they actually work together to create the overall dried (finish) look of the paint.

Key Brand Differences for Types of Paint Finishes

It is important to note that different brands have slightly different names for each of their finishes. I am going to use Sherwin Williams as my primary reference throughout this post, however, I will quickly introduce you to the different names and their alternative brand counterparts.

Sherwin Williams Paint Finishes:

Sherwin Williams brakes their finishes into these 4 categories, and within each category are several other finishes that you may see from them.

• Flat (Flat, matte)
• Eg-shel (low-gloss, eggshell, low sheen, satin, velvet)
• Semi-gloss (Semi-gloss, pearl, medium luster)
• Gloss (gloss, high-gloss)

These four categories are the types of finishes that Sherwin Williams paints come in, regardless of the paint base (for example: oil or latex) and are available within their different paint lines (For example: Resilience, Emerald, etc.). So while these finishes have certain qualities about them, so do the paint lines they come in, but that is a topic for a different day.

Alright, lets break down each of these finishes…

Flat Paint Finish

Characteristics

• Low sheen
• Low gloss
• Non-reflective

What We Like

• Easy to touch up
• Hides imperfections
• The end result color is perceived similarly to the paint chip

What We Don’t Like

• Porous
• Susceptible to smoke, dirt, dust, etc.
• Susceptible to moisture damage
• Difficult to clean

“Flat” paint may also be marketed as “Matte”

Eg-Shel Paint Finish

Characteristics

• Low to medium sheen
• Low to medium gloss
• Low to medium reflection

What We Like

• Moderately easy to touch up
• Moderately hides imperfections
• Perceived moderately close to paint chip

What We Don’t Like

• Moderately difficult to clean
• Susceptible to moisture damage

“Eg-Shel” paint may also be marketed as “Eggshell”, “Satin”, or “Low Luster”

Semi-Gloss Paint Finish

Characteristics

• Medium to moderate sheen
• Medium to moderate gloss
• Medium to moderate reflection

What We Like

• Easy to clean
• Provides a semi dramatic highlight
• Protection for high moisture areas

What We Don’t Like

• Moderately difficult to touch up
• Can draw attention to imperfections

“Semi-Gloss” paint may also be marketed as “Medium Luster”

Gloss Paint Finish

Characteristics

• High sheen
• High gloss
• High reflection

What We Like

• Great for highlighting architectural features of a room
• Very easy to clean
• Protection for high moisture areas
• Provides a dramatic highlight

What We Don’t Like

• Difficult to touch up
• Draws attention to imperfections

“Gloss” paint may also be marketed as “High-Gloss”

Key Factors to Consider when Choosing a Paint Finish

Okay, so now you understand what a paint finish (or paint sheen) is, and how they may vary by brand, but what do you do with that information?

Well, ultimately it will help you make an educated decision as to which paint finish to choose, but before you do that, we need to discuss one more thing.

And that is the key factors to consider when picking a paint finish. These include:

• Durability
• Ease of Cleaning
• Concealment of Imperfections
• Traffic Levels

All of these factors play a role in which paint finish you will choose, and they will be preferentially weighted based on what YOU think is most important.

Maybe you don’t care about ease of cleaning, and are willing to sacrifice in that area to make sure you get better concealment for all those imperfections. That is a choice you are going to have to make! So determining which of these factors is most important to you, is a great place to start!

Durability

Durability refers to a products ability to last over time. With regards to paint finishes, durability takes into consideration a myriad of factors, but most often looks at how well a paint can resist staining, fading, scratching, peeling, chipping, cracking…and so on.

Durability is important because we want our paint jobs to last. I personally don’t want to repaint a room, unless I feel inspired to update it.

Here is a look at Sherwin Williams paint finishes on a durability scale.

It used to be that durability was synonymous with high-gloss finishes, however, Sherwin Williams and other paint companies have made a lot of technological advancements over the years.

So its no longer a hard and fast rule that you need gloss to protect the product, there is durability in other finishes. Now, this is where the paint line can make up for some of this if you want to use a lower sheen.

For example, the Emerald line from Sherwin Williams. This paint line offers a washable and stain resistant product, in a flat paint finish. So if you don’t want a shine, but also don’t want to sacrifice durability, this could be a good option for you.

This goes to show you how a good quality paint is also important. Better quality will lead to better durability, regardless of the paint finish.

Ease of Cleaning

Ease of cleaning refers to the effort required to clean a product. With regards to paint finishes, this takes into account how easy it is to clean the painted surface without causing damage to the paint or the painted surface.

With that being said, the ease of cleaning (or the washability as some refer to it as) may be heavily factored into paint decisions in area’s that may require a lot of frequent cleaning (think bathroom and kitchen vs an upstairs hallway and ceiling)

Here is a look at Sherwin Williams paint finishes on an Ease of Cleaning scale:

When considering washability of a paint finish, it’s not just germs we want to think about! Think hand dirt on doors and cabinets, kitchen grease, kids playing with crayons, teenagers, and so on. Because of these things, a perfect bathroom paint finish may be semi-gloss, and conversely a guest bedroom paint finish may be flat or eg-shel.

Concealment of Imperfections

Concealment of imperfections refers to a products ability to mask any imperfections in texture, color, etc. With regards to paint finishes, this factor takes into consideration how rough the surface is, how even the base color is, if there are any bumps or gouges, and so on.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am the worst at prepping surfaces. I’m usually too excited to get started, and give it an “oh, what the heck…I’m going for it”.

This is certainly less important with paints lower on the sheen and gloss scale, but if you are painting with a paint towards the upper end of the scales, take the extra time to clean things up. Fill those holes, sand, and clean it up.

Trust me, your paint will thank you!

Here is a look at Sherwin Williams paint finishes on a concealment of imperfections scale:

Of course, if you are going for a rustic look, you can still achieve this with a high gloss paint, just know that it will highlight those rustic imperfections.

Traffic Levels

Traffic level refers to the frequency of human (or pet) access to a space. With regards to paint finishes, this comes into play with how often people are accessing the space, touching doors, trim, cabinets, baseboards, etc.

These occurrences naturally increase based on how often time is spent in a room. For example, think kitchen and bathroom vs. a guest bedroom. Or kitchen cabinets vs. a ceiling, and unless you have lizards crawling up your walls and across your ceilings (which, God I hope you don’t) then your ceiling traffic would be considered low. Doors that aren’t frequently opened would be considered low. Surely that makes sense?

Here is a look at Sherwin Williams paint finishes on a traffic level scale:

So high traffic areas in a home tend to be kitchens, bathrooms, their corresponding doors and cabinets, playrooms, and entryways. Lower traffic areas may be guest bedrooms, adult bedrooms, ceilings, formal living rooms, etc. Some features like baseboards naturally get dirtier than crown molding, while door trim may be prone to finger/hand dirt.

So looking at traffic, a perfect ceiling paint finish may be flat. While alternatively, a perfect cabinet paint finish may be gloss.

Which Paint Finish to Use Where

Now that you have an idea of the factors that you should be considering when choosing a paint finish, I am going to show you the standard choices for specific locations/projects. From there you will be able to make an educated choice for your own home or project!

Again, based on the factors above, you may determine that the recommendation doesn’t meet your prioritized factors, and that is okay! Take this information, and figure out what works best for you!

Paint finishes have a tendency to be presented as clear and specific choices. As you can see from this post, these decisions are fluid and flexible. Of course, prioritize your needs and pick the finish that works best for you and the project you are tackling! Happy painting!

Now that you understand paint sheen levels and paint gloss levels, you can pick the best paint finishes for any project! In other words, get to work!

Leave your paint questions in the comments below!

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