Painting the interior walls of your home isn’t as simple as picking a color. When choosing which paint to use, there are various options, ranging from glossy paints to matte paint and everything in between.
The type of paint chosen should complement the flooring in the home as well as the furniture. You should also note how much light a room gets, as this will influence the appearance of the paint type and color chosen.
The texture of the wall, the size of the room, and even the practical uses of the room being painted all come into play when choosing a paint for your walls. Some may look great in the bedroom while others complement office areas or home studies. To get more insight, you can speak with a professional Dallas painter that can provide recommendations and valuable advice for painting your home.
Along with the color of the paint, the finish is another important thing to consider. There are several common paint finishes used for interior walls, including:
- Glossy
- Satin
- Eggshell
- Matte
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of matte paint and how it can be used to make your home look gorgeous.
Is Matte Paint Good For Walls?
Matte paint is one option for homeowners looking to affordably transform the look of their home. It’s very forgiving, as it has the ability to hide imperfections wherever it is applied.
If there are patches in the wall or areas with uneven textures, matte paint makes them less noticeable by soaking up light instead of reflecting it.
They also take less work to completely cover a wall and are excellent if you want to paint a larger space.
Touching up the walls is easy and doesn’t require a professional, although it is recommended to make sure that the walls look as smooth and even as possible.
Matte paint can be used in many rooms in the home, but they are often recommended for areas that don’t see many visitors due to how difficult they are to clean. They’re not ideal for children’s rooms, kitchens, and other high-traffic rooms.
If the walls get dirty, you can wash them and make them look fresh and clean with a bit of scrubbing to get rid of surface marks on the wall. While it may hold in the dirt, it is a great choice for guest rooms as well as ceilings, dining rooms, and attics.
It’s a good choice for any wall in the home that could use a new coat of paint. The low gloss of matte paint makes it look like velvet and allows it to blend in well with furniture pieces in the home as well as any décor you have.
You can choose a bold color or something more neutral to give the walls in your house a brand new look.
What Is The Best Paint Finish For Walls?
The finish of the paint affects how the color looks and can either absorb or reflect light. Depending on the room in the home being painted and how much light it receives, a flat, satin, or glossy finish may be used.
For ceilings, rooms that don’t get much traffic, and accent walls, matte paints are recommended. They may not be the best choice if a room is cleaned frequently, as the finish may become worn down over time.
Satin finishes are often ideal for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. They appear to be matte when facing them straight on, but homeowners can enjoy a very subtle glossiness when looking at the wall from an angle. They last long, though they don’t hide imperfections as well as matte paint.
If a room gets a lot of direct sunlight, you should make sure to prep the wall and use the primer to get the best result possible.
Glossy finishes can be either high gloss or low gloss and are ideal for many of the same areas in the home. They work well in areas that get a lot of traffic, such as the living room or hallways, and are very durable.
They will need to be cleaned more often, as they show imperfections and dirt, but keeping them clean is much easier than with satin or matte paint. They’re also ideal for bathrooms and other areas in the home with frequent visitors.
What Is Matte Paint Used For?
Matte paint can be used if you want a room to be painted a dark or bold color. Since the pigments are very concentrated, the coverage of the room will be much fuller no matter what color is used.
When choosing a hue, many people go bold and choose a deep or dark color. The finish softens the look of the paint, so bold colors don’t look too harsh and instead feel warm and rich.
They’re also great for creating fun, striped patterns on the walls of your home. Stripes can be styled in hundreds of ways that make the home look unique and add a whimsical touch to the walls. You can choose two bolder colors, neutral color, and bold color, or two colors of a similar hue.
You can also use the same color with two different finishes, such as matte and a glossier finish, to give the illusion of two differing shades. You can get even more dramatic and use different colors and finishes for the stripes.
If you want to create a dramatic effect within the home, matte paint can be used for accent walls to catch your guest’s attention. An accent wall allows you to add a bold color to the room and create a focal point that others are drawn to.
It’s also an excellent way to bring your personal style into the home without making permanent alterations. They’re ideal for smaller rooms, as they have a tendency to make rooms appear larger.
If you love the artwork, they can be used to showcase your collection and give sitting rooms a plush, dreamy look. Matte paints have a rich and velvety look that accentuates artwork as well as any other wall décor placed around the home.
It contrasts beautifully against the sheen of picture frames and adds a touch of elegance to the room that is difficult to achieve with glossier paints.
What Is The Difference Between Flat and Matte Paint?
When looking for paint, you’ll likely see both flat and matte paint on the shelves. While they are similar, there are some differences to look out for. These differences are very slight, so homeowners often use matte or flat finish for similar rooms in the home.
Flat paint has absolutely no shine to it and can feel chalky when touching it. It’s often used on ceilings and interior walls, as it has the ability to hide imperfections. Some flat paints are “washable”, but they can easily be touched up by applying another layer of paint.
Matte paint, also known as flat enamel, is very low-gloss while flat paint has no gloss at all. Matte gives the walls a velvety look and feels and typically contain anywhere from 0 to 10 percent gloss.
The added gloss makes it easier to clean than a flat finish, but it also forms a film that can become worn away with frequent cleaning.
Touching up the walls is much easier with flat paint than with matte paint, as the added sheen of matte paint makes it more difficult to blend when adding layers.
Flat paints are also more effective at masking bumps and other imperfections on walls. While they can be used in many of the same areas, matte paint can be used in areas with high traffic due to how much easier it is to clean than flat finish paint.
With so many options, making a decision can be overwhelming without the proper information. With this short guide on matte paint, you’ll be able to make the best choice when it comes to giving the room of your choice a fresh new look. Once you’ve settled on a choice of paint for your home, the process of painting can begin.
While painting the home on your own can be done, it is recommended to work with a licensed professional that can make sure your walls look as good as possible.
A professional can make sure that you’ve settled on the best choice of color and paint finish for the rooms in your home. They can also provide you with ways to preserve the color of your walls and give you useful tips on how to clean them.
If you’d like more information on when to use matte or flat paint, speak with a professional at Dallas Paints. We can recommend paints and styles for your interior walls that enhance their visual appeal and bring the room together.
We can also provide touch-ups to your home if the walls are ever looking a little dull or dingy. Don’t hesitate to speak with an expert in interior painting about making your home look pristine, put together, and freshly painted.
FAQ
Is matte paint better than glossy paint?
Matte paints are perfect for living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms. Glossy paints contain a gleaming sheen and are most durable, easy to clean, maintain, and stable. Gloss paints pronounce any imperfection on walls.
How does matte paint look?
Matte paint looks smooth and non-reflective and hides imperfections on surfaces, such as nail holes and cracks. The quantity of matte paint required is less than that of higher gloss paints, and its touch up is very easy. Matte paint is ideal for drywall, new construction, ceilings, and areas like dining rooms and adult bedrooms that don’t see much traffic.
Is flat paint application on my walls advisable?
Flat paints should be applied on surfaces and areas with many flaws like bumps, holes, or scratches. Since flat paint perfectly hides these imperfections, it will be your preferred paint you will want to continue using. It is perfect for a room that doesn’t see much traffic but has a lot of light, such as offices, dining rooms, and other formal rooms.
Is it hard to maintain matte paint?
Maintaining matte paint is not really a difficult task, although an additional effort is undoubtedly required. It would help if you had polishes, specialized cleaners, and sealants to keep the texture and finish in good shape, which implies that most cars with matte paint are only washed by hand, and there are many drive-thru cars washes around.
Does matte paint shine?
Matte or flat paints perform better in light than gloss, so this implies that they don’t contain sheen. Semi-gloss and gloss paint, on the other hand, are reflective, which makes their finish bright and shiny.
Can I wash matte paint?
Surface imperfections are easily masked with a matte paint finish because it doesn’t contain much sheen quality. You can still wash matte paints, and it is also resistant to stain than other paints with low-quality sheen. You can apply paint with a matte finish in any room in your house.
How is wall paint calculated?
Before you can determine the quantity of paint required to paint the walls of a room, find the sum of the length of the entire walls and then multiply the total sum by the room’s height, starting from the floor to ceiling. The answer you get is called the square footage of the room.
Which one is better for walls: flat or eggshell?
Using eggshell paints is preferable for walls and areas with less traffic in the home due to their difficulty ineffective in cleaning. Satin stands between high-gloss and eggshell and might be the right choice to consider if you are trying to figure out which is more important between longevity and the aesthetic.
Can matte paint be buffed?
The matte paint surface is not smooth, so buffing it will smoothen out the default imperfections and give you an unprecedented shine. Matte paint send absorbs light and creates a non-shiny surface. Repainting the car is the only available way to fix this problem.
What is the use of matte paint?
Matte paint looks smooth and non-reflective and hides imperfections on surfaces such as nail holes and cracks. The quantity of matte paint required is less than that of higher gloss paints, and its touching up is very easy. Matte paint is ideal for drywall, new construction, ceilings, and areas like dining rooms and adult bedrooms that don’t see much traffic.
What happens if you apply flat paint in the bathroom?
The paint may not work well. The bathroom is usually moist, and applying flat or matte paint on it would lead to a quick infestation of mold or mildew. Additionally, the paint’s resistance to staining is not great and is somewhat difficult to clean.
How can one clean without removing flat paint?
If you use clean water and don’t work, add vinegar to the moist sponge and gently scrub the walls. If vinegar also leaves some residual stain on the surface, it is time to use an eraser sponge for stubborn spots. The stain damaging your flat paint walls should be removed with this nice cleaning product.
How are matte painted walls cleaned?
Put a soft sponge in your solution and squeeze to get rid of excess water. Rub the stain off the surface gently with only the soft area of the sponge. Please avoid using the hard side because it can start ruining the matte finish from the wall. Once you no longer notice the stain, use clean water to rinse the area.
