Eggshell. Havenly interior designer Melissa Wagner always recommends clients use satin or eggshell finishes, as “they're middle-of-the-road and aren't as 'controversial' as gloss or flat finishes.”
Eggshell is always an interior designer's preferred paint finish, which is why our founder, Nicole, an interior designer, chose this as our ultimate finish for walls. The name eggshell stems from the fact the finish appears mostly flat with just a touch of luster... similar to a chicken egg!
Flat, eggshell and satin paint are best for interior walls, whereas semi-gloss and gloss paint are best for trim and woodwork.
Another reason why consumers and designers often favor using Eggshell or Satin paint is that they've had a bad experience with the “chalky” look that low-quality flat paints have after a few years. To avoid this, the painting professionals at Freeland Painting recommend – and use – superior grades of flat paint.
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.
For living rooms that also serve as high traffic family rooms, the best paint finish to use is often eggshell or satin. Eggshell can be easily cleaned so any spills and drips can be wiped with a wet rag. While satin finish is more durable than eggshell, it is ideal for active rooms like playrooms.
Matte Paint Is Perfect For The Bedroom.
Matte paint is also great at hiding any imperfections or textures on the surface, making it an easy low-prep and low-maintenance option. This finish absorbs light, which can sometimes make a color look slightly lighter.
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.
Although both matte and eggshell paints are durable, eggshell finishes tend to be the more durable of the two.
A eggshell paints has a slight sheen and reflects a bit more light than a flat finish, but is not highly reflective. Paints like these are great for window casings, molded baseboards, doors, and other trim applications. The material is easy to clean, and it is rather durable as well.
Flat or matte sheens almost always work best for ceilings. If your ceiling has many imperfections, you'll want to stick to a flat paint sheen. Another benefit of using flat sheen on ceilings is that any light emitted from ceiling lights or windows can cause textured plaster to stand out from the sharp angles of light.
Emulsion paints are water-based, making them almost odour-less and the most preferred choice for interior wall paint colours. The paint is quick drying and has a very low level of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
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.
The main difference between eggshell and semi-gloss paint is the sheen. Eggshell is nearly matte with just the slightest hint of shine. Semi-gloss reflects far more light, giving it a far more noticeable sheen.
The more reflective or glossy the paint sheen, the more noticeable those imperfections will be. Conversely, flat or matte finishes absorb light, helping to hide bumps and bruises. So, paint with a flat finish is the most effective paint for hiding wall imperfections.
Pros: Matte paint hides the imperfections and flaws of the painting surface, making it great for walls in your bedroom, dining room and living room. It is also great for ceilings and any sort of touch-up or remodeling work.
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.
Builder's Beige is the generic colour that most new homes come with. It usually is the colour that a builder uses for an entire subdivision of homes.
In a nutshell, eggshell paint falls in between the extremes of flat and high-gloss in regard to shine, and such is the case for its price. It costs more than the flat finish and of course, less than the glossy type, but at the same time, it's also less inexpensive than the satin.
Home builders frequently buy paint in bulk, using favorite pale browns, light grays and warm- or cool-white hues in multiple homes.
Satin: Satin finishes are the most common interior paint finish. They have a velvety sheen and are easier to clean than flat and eggshell paints, which makes them a great choice for high-traffic areas like kitchens, playrooms, family rooms, bathrooms, and laundry rooms.
Often confused with other finishes, the difference between eggshell and satin paint is that satin delivers a higher gloss, while offering better stain resistance and durability than lower sheens, including eggshell.
Semi-gloss is often most compared to a satin finish, but has much more sheen than the latter. That means light from windows and lamps will bounce off semi-gloss paint more easily than than a flatter finish, like eggshell or satin.
Choose an eggshell finish, which is about as shiny as an actual eggshell, for a more durable coating that doesn't shine much. A satin or semi-gloss paint is even easier to clean, but will show off a lot of the ceiling's flaws. If your ceiling is perfectly smooth, satin or semi-gloss are suitable options.
If you are working with a new wall, professionally finished with a perfectly smooth surface, satin paint is a great option. However, if there are any imperfections in the surface, such as bumps, cracks, or holes that have been filled but still are visible, flat paint is a better choice.