Kitchen walls also require a durable, washable paint. Unless you want a shiny, glossy finish on the walls, opt for either eggshell or satin paint. Use eggshell paint in the kitchen for walls farthest away from the stove. Eggshell is durable and washable without showing many imperfections.
Since kitchens are such a busy part of a home and often need extra cleaning, a satin or semi-gloss finish is the best options. Satin and eggshell finishes are commonly believed to be the same, but in fact, satin is a bit shinier. Satin finishes are easy to clean and good at standing up to mildew, stains and dirt.
Ideally, eggshell paint is also best suited for areas such as ceilings, bedrooms, dining rooms and living areas where there is not a lot of dirt build up or traffic. In addition, its medium-level durability provides added protection a flat finish does not.
Builders don't use satin or eggshell because it is often impossible to touch up and it also reveals imperfections in the drywall work which is often rushed to finish the job on budget.
A satin finish delivers higher durability than an eggshell finish. It's scuff-resistant, making it a great choice for painting molding and walls in high-traffic areas such as living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, kids' rooms, and entryways.
If your kitchen gets a lot of use then you want a paint that is stain resistant, grease-resistant and can withstand plenty of cleaning and scrubbing, especially around the cooking area and high traffic areas such as around the door.
WHEN TO USE EGGSHELL PAINT: Eggshell is commonly used in living rooms and dining rooms, as it is durable and does not pick up dirt easily. If your walls have bumps or imperfections, an extra coat of eggshell can disguise them more easily than satin or high-gloss finishes.
You can't really go wrong with eggshell finish on your walls. Sometimes called satin finish, eggshell has slightly more luster than a flat finish, but you won't be left with shiny walls. It also resists stains better than flat and can be wiped with a wet rag.
Eggshell finish
"It is the easiest paint to wipe clean and is great for all areas of the home, including bathrooms and kitchens," she says.
The shiny reflective property of a paint's sheen comes from a reflective particles in the paint. The more layers that are put on, the more light gets reflected back to the viewer. It's odd that this has happened with a low sheen; I have seen this with satin and eggshell quite a bit myself.
Eggshell in both oil based and water based are self undercoating so negate the need for a separate undercoat. Two coats of either should suffice.
Of the two, satin is more durable and is slightly less likely to scuff or mark than eggshell and it's easier to clean when it does get marked. This makes it a better choice, especially for woodwork such as painting skirting boards, than eggshell for high traffic areas like hallways and living rooms.
Flat paint has a velvety, matte look and is the best choice to hide any wall imperfections.
While there are many types of paint to choose from, the best paint for kitchen cabinets is typically semi-gloss, gloss or satin. Matte is not practical in kitchens and baths where you will need durable paint you can easily clean.
Oil-based polyurethane will give your cabinets a lustrous finish, deepen the wood's color, and work well with almost any wood species. Needing three or four coats to ensure the maximum durability, semi-gloss finishes may take on a plastic-like finish, which some homeowners do not like.
Satin is more durable—an advantage in high-traffic spaces.
This is why satin paint is more resistant to dents, divots, scuffs, scratches, and stains, and more durable on the whole. Eggshell paint is more likely to become damaged by these impacts and abrasions because it has fewer binders and more pigment.
If the satin paint is fresh, you can paint over it with the eggshell paint straight away. However, if the paint job is older than a couple of weeks, you'll need to prep the walls first, including sanding and priming the walls.
Can You Put Eggshell Paint Over Gloss? The finish isn't as flat as regular flat paint, but it doesn't have the glossy sheen of gloss enamel. There is no difference between surfaces when it comes to eggshell paint, just the preparation you need before applying it is the only difference.
Eggshell and Satin Sheen
Eggshell and satin sheens are recommended for a bathroom doesn't get too much use — like a powder room or guest bathroom.
In addition to flat, eggshell paint is the next most popular ceiling paint finish. Despite their low sheen, eggshell paints absorb most light and hide imperfections in the ceiling. The cleaning process of higher sheen paints is easier than that of flat paints, however.
The lack of shine make the paint blend better with the previous paint. Builders do not like to have to paint walls edge to edge, so they use flat paint. During the building process, there are many trades that come into the home and damage the paint job. This makes it easier to fix.
Rollers that are smooth are needed for smooth surfaces. The delicate eggshell finish is achieved by using polyester foam rollers, which take up even amounts of paint without adding extra texture to the paint. Fine rollers are typically the best choice for painting eggshells.
Among all the different types of paint finishes, there are a few things that make eggshell stand out. Its sheen, or the level of glossy reflectiveness it gives off, is moderate (somewhere between the low-gloss finish of flat paints and the super reflective sheen of high or semi-gloss paint).