Choose The Right Sheen The widespread consensus is that paints with glossier finishes are easier to keep clean and more resistant to moisture, mold, and mildew than flat finishes.
The best type of paint for bathrooms is a satin, semi-gloss, or glossy finish with a mildew-resistant additive. Ideally, your chosen paint should last a while However, if you're set on a flat or matte finish, there are options for you too. Don't forget to clean and prime walls before painting for the best results.
Semi-gloss or Gloss: Semi-gloss and gloss paint are both very durable and well suited for bathrooms because they are highly scrubbable.
Eggshell finishes are more easily wiped, but they aren't good for moisture-prone areas. Satin finishes are slightly glossy and are suitable for a low-moisture bathroom, like a powder room. Semi-gloss finishes repel moisture well, and are easily wiped. High-gloss is excellent at repelling moisture, and is easily wiped.
Beyond the water-resistant benefits, paint with a higher sheen value is much easier to clean. Wiping food splatters and soapy spills is easier, and there's no risk of scrubbing the color away. As a result, glossy paints are much more durable than matte and eggshell finishes for wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms.
Flat paint – Flat paint provides the matte finish many home decorators want, but the problem is that is simply does not tend to hold up well in a bathroom. However, it can be made more functional (but also become bit more shiny) with the application of sealer.
A high-quality, mildew-resistant paint like Aura® Bath & Spa is truly best-in-class for painting your bathroom walls. Aura Bath & Spa is the first paint to offer a water-resistant formula in a modern matte finish.
Oil-based paint is known for its extreme durability over time and water resistance. However, it is not recommended to paint on bathroom walls due to harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in the paint. Typically, using oil-based paint requires good ventilation, which is difficult to get in a standard bathroom.
Oil/Alkyd. Good adhesion, excellent durability and stain resistance make Sherwin-Williams oil/alkyd-based paints excellent choices for trim in high-traffic rooms, such as kitchens and bathrooms.
Paints with a glossy sheen—like satin or semi-gloss—are best for humid rooms. Instead of absorbing moisture like matte or eggshell paint, they deflect it. Glossy paints can resist moisture because they have a more complex finish.
Gloss tiles may bounce more light around your bathroom whereas matt tiles provide a non-reflective finish. This can be ideal if you're looking for less shine and a more natural finish.
Eggshell and Flat/Matte Finishes
While they don't reflect light much, making them ideal for hiding wall imperfections, they do have a downside. Their porous nature means they can absorb moisture, which isn't ideal for a bathroom.
A: Flat, eggshell and satin paint are best for interior walls, whereas semi-gloss and gloss paint are best for trim and woodwork. My personal preference may fall to flat paint because I like the look, but most people are quite happy with eggshell paint, which has a soft glow to it where the light hits.
Polished Chrome: The Classic and Timeless Favorite
Polished chrome has been a staple in bathrooms for decades, thanks to its bright, reflective surface that adds a touch of elegance and cleanliness to any space. It's like the little black dress of bathroom fixtures: simple, timeless, and always appropriate.
We highly recommend gloss and semi-gloss finishes for bathrooms due to their superior moisture resistance and durability. These finishes create a hard, shiny surface that repels water and is easy to clean.
Silk paints are vinyl emulsions that have a higher sheen level than eggshell or matt paints, with more of a shine than a soft sheen paint. Due to this, they have the moisture resistant properties that give them the durability they need to perform excellently in bathrooms.
Experts recommend choosing either satin or semi-gloss finish for your bathroom interior because of their durability and wash-ability. However, take note that satin looks best in bathrooms with low moisture and humidity while semi-gloss works well for spaces with high humidity and moisture.
In any case, this list of 2024's most popular colors is designed to inspire ideas for your upcoming dream bathroom makeover. According to top interior designers, modern blue, light green, and warmer neutral bathroom color schemes are popular in 2024.
Semi-gloss and high-gloss paints are two of the most commonly chosen bathroom options due to the durable, shiny finish that can endure moisture and be easily cleaned. Stain-resistant and can take quite a bit of cleaning by wiping or scrubbing, these paints are ideal for bathrooms and other high-traffic areas.
Painting your bathroom
The important thing is to choose a paint that's long-lasting and resists humidity. That's why you should generally avoid classic matt finishes. Satin and gloss paints are more durable and have the added advantage of being washable.
One quart of paint can usually cover around 90 to 100 square feet. To give you an idea, that's about the size of a small bathroom wall or a couple of doors.
Eggshell and satin sheens are recommended for a bathroom doesn't get too much use — like a powder room or guest bathroom.
Due to the high levels of humidity and condensation that both kitchens and bathrooms are subjected to, they become prone to paint cracking, peeling and mildew. In order to avoid these problems, painting with a satin or semi-gloss paint is recommended.
According to Apartment Therapy and others, greige (gray-beige) is among the worst choices for a bathroom. Greige is an example of a shade that can be a winner in other rooms but tends to feel dingy in a bathroom. In a similar vein, overly earthy colors should also be avoided.
Allow sufficient drying time
You must give the paint enough time to dry before using the bathroom. You should wait at least 48 hours before taking a shower. After one week, you can use the bathroom as you would normally.