A fresh coat of paint can change any place or most importantly your home; whether exterior or interior. It can boost up your rooms and give a fresh and energized look to it. Choosing colours for each room and space in your home is an important aspect. You just can’t like a colour from the colour shade and have any space painted with that colour. Colour coding is very crucial. Say you like red colour, but would it be appropriate to colour your bedroom red? Let us take another example, say you like white or off-white shades, how would it look if you think of painting your kid’s room with these colours? Therefore every colour has a subtle meaning and coloring the space/room should depend on the space/room itself.
What are the types of Paints?
Oil-based paint is commonly used for high-moisture areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens, and floors, trims, and moldings, since these areas take more abuse over time than walls do. Typically oil-based paints are less expensive than latex paints, take longer to dry, can create bad odor while drying, and contain more volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which essentially means they’re less environmentally friendly.
Latex paint (also known as water-based paint) is the most common type of paint for home use, since it rolls on smoothly, dries quickly, is environmentally friendly, and tends to have less of an odor than oil-based paint. The main drawback of latex paint, though, is it’s less durable than oil-based paint, meaning it’s more prone to scratches.
Paint Finishes
After you choose the paint, you have to decide on the paint finish. The average person may not know what the right paint finish is, nor should they be. They want their home painted and done nicely. But choosing the best paint finish for bedrooms and other rooms is important. The basic rule of thumb is that the higher the paint sheen, the higher the shine. With a higher shine, the paint would be more durable. There’s a lot more to choosing an interior paint than picking a colour. You have to consider the colors of the furniture and flooring, and the amount of light a room gets, too. Picking a paint that’s too shiny can reflect too much light, and one that’s too flat may appear dull. It’s the paint sheen, or finish, that affects how the colour appears. And that depends on whether it absorbs light or reflects it. In addition, for paint to hold up well over time, it has to be durable enough for the surface and the situation.
High-gloss paint is the most durable and easiest to clean of all paint sheens. It’s ultra-shiny, light-reflective, and hard. High-gloss paint has too much shine for interior walls; you’d find the reflections and drywall flaws distracting. It is a good choice for areas that sticky fingers touch, such as cabinets, trim, kitchens and doors. They have high durability.
Semi-Gloss is good for rooms where moisture drips, and grease stains challenge walls and it is needed to easily wipe away frequently. Also great for trim work that takes a lot of abuse. With semi-gloss finishes, your walls will have a shiny look and really catch the light. It is slightly less durable than high-gloss paint but it is the most lustrous paint finish of the group. This makes it appropriate for kitchen walls, kid’s room, bathrooms, and trim.
Satin has an attractive luster that is often described as velvety. It’s easy to clean, making it excellent for high-traffic areas. Its biggest flaw is it reveals application flaws, such as roller or brush strokes. Touch-ups later can be tricky. Best suited for high-traffic areas such as family rooms, bathrooms, foyers, kitchens, trim, chair rails. Satin also has high durability.
Eggshell paint falls between satin and flat on the sheen and durability scale. It’s essentially a flat, low-shine finish with little luster, like a chicken’s egg. Eggshell covers wall imperfections well and is a great finish for gathering spaces that don’t get a lot of bumps and scuffs. Its practical application lies in living rooms and dining rooms. Its durability is medium.
Flat or matte finish lies on the no-shine end of the finish spectrum. Therefore it is a non-reflective finish. A friend to walls that have something to hide, flat or matte paint soaks up, rather than reflects light, has the most pigment, and provides the most coverage. It’s good for adults’ bedrooms and other interior rooms that won’t be roughed up by kids. That’s because it’s tough to clean without taking paint off.
