Flat vs. eggshell paint

[Tonks]

Any thoughts? Contractor is suggesting flat so we can touch it up without having to repaint entire stretches of wall (he says you would have to do this with eggshell). That thought (repainting whole wall) is not appealing as some walls are two story.

We will be using Sherwin Williams Duration paint. To further complicate things, they have a flat, a matte, and a satin (eggshell). I was thinking about the matte but have gotten feedback that it has a lot of sheen and some people haven’t liked it.

Omg, paint is complicated. And honestly, at this phase of reno, I have reached decision fatigue.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

My 2 cents: I don't like flat paint. If it gets a smudge, it's really hard to clean. I usually choose eggshell, a barely there sheen but scrubbable finish.

 

[Bonfire]

Eggshell is scrubbable, but if you need to touch up it’s obvious. It doesn’t touch up well. We just painted our two story rooms and used flat. It’s beautiful and touch ups are unnoticeable. I also didn’t want any sheen with the large amount of light in those rooms. Good luck with whatever you decide. There are always pros and cons to each finish.

 

[Tekate]

I never had trouble touching up with eggshell, but satin probably would.. but I would guess your painter knows best, if you need to clean the walls, I'd go eggshell, I do in bathrooms if I'm not papering.

 

[Tonks]

Contractor and designer are both recommending flat. Maybe it’s because we get so much light the sheen from the eggshell would be too much? Idk. At any rate, I think we decided on flat. With this stage of our lives (two kids and two dogs), the ability to touch up is really nice.

Thank you all so much!

 

[MMtwo]

Years ago I sold paint. The semi glosses and glosses and even enamel eggshells have more binders and so are more durable/washable. The flat paint choices on a wall are the best choice for hiding any surface irregularities (think shiny pants on dimpled thighs) or avoiding a sheen when looking down a hallway. You are using a good quality paint in the flat, and chances are you will not have marks up high, either. I would definitely vote flat. I would use semigloss on the trim though.

Magic erasers are also a god-send.

 

[yssie]

We went with eggshell walls and satin trim/doors/etc. You really can't clean flat, and we figured with our zoo we'd rather have wipeable, scrubbable walls than repaint.

 

[partgypsy]

First I was going to say go with eggshell, but on 2nd though I'd go with what the contractors/painters suggested. It's true it's not a durable and marks up easier, but then again you can touch it up if you get marks. If there is a high use area like stairs what would be nice is to install wainscoting with a more durable finish (semigloss or varnish).

I'm in painting limbo myself. Already returned 1 color. Now have 2 colors but it will be weeks (month?) before either wall is ready to be painted. And so of course 2nd guessing my choices. They are both light colors and now thinking rather have something more medium color. While not excited by it she doesn't object to color for bedroom, but feels I should change color for bathroom a little darker and bluer. I wish my sister was here (she is really good with color) so she can see it in person.