What It Means
Paint sheen is how much light a dried paint reflects. Makers sell the same color in several sheens, running from flat and matte (least shine) through eggshell, satin and semi-gloss to high-gloss. A lower sheen hides flaws in a wall better; a higher sheen stands up better to wiping and scrubbing, which is why makers point busy rooms and trim toward the shinier end.
Try It: Pick a Sheen and Work Out the Gallons
Pick the room and enter its size. You get a sheen from the makers' guides and the gallons for the walls, with no doors or windows taken off.
Flat or matte
Eggshell
Satin
Semi-gloss
High-gloss
Behr puts one gallon of two of its interior paints at 250 to 400 sq ft per coat. Rough or new surfaces and big color changes need more.
How It Sounds at Home
- "Go with eggshell in the bedroom, it hides the bumps."
- "The bathroom needs something you can wipe down, like satin."
- "Trim is always semi-gloss in this house."
The Breakdown
Which sheen where (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Behr)
| Sheen | Shine | Where the makers point it |
|---|---|---|
| Flat or matte | Least | Ceilings and low-traffic walls; best at hiding imperfections |
| Eggshell | A touch more | Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms |
| Satin | More | Hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, kids' rooms; more durable and scrubbable |
| Semi-gloss | Noticeably shiny | Trim, doors, bathrooms |
| High-gloss | Most | Trim and cabinets |
Worked example. A 12 by 12 foot bedroom with 8-foot walls has four walls of 12 × 8 = 96 square feet each, so 384 square feet in all (before taking off doors and windows). Two coats means painting 768 square feet.
| Coverage per gallon, one coat | Gallons needed | Gallons to buy |
|---|---|---|
| 250 sq ft | 3.07 | 4 |
| 350 sq ft | 2.19 | 3 |
| 400 sq ft | 1.92 | 2 |
What the result means. The spread comes from the surface. Behr says a smooth, primed or sealed wall and a subtle color change take less paint, while a rough, porous, textured or unpainted surface, or a dramatic color change, takes more. Read the coverage on your own can and put that number into the calculator.
Good to Know
Check the can: coverage and recoat times vary by product, and the label wins over any general figure. If your home was built before 1978 and you plan to sand or scrape old paint, read EPA's guidance on lead-based paint first; EPA says homes that old are more likely to have it, and sanding creates hazardous dust.
FAQ
What's the most common paint sheen for walls?
For living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms, the makers' guides point to eggshell, which has a touch more shine than flat. Busier rooms like kitchens and hallways usually get satin because it wipes clean more easily.
What sheen is best for a bathroom?
Satin or semi-gloss. The makers' guides put both in bathrooms because they're more durable and easier to clean than flatter finishes.
How much wall does a gallon of paint cover?
Behr says one gallon of two of its interior paints covers 250 to 400 square feet with one coat. Two coats need about twice the paint.
Do It in Buhata
Maintenance and Shopping
Add the paint colors, sheens and gallons you used to Maintenance in your Household X add-on, and put the gallons for the next room on the Shopping list.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Drywall patch
A repair that fills a dent, crack or hole in drywall with spackling or joint compound, often over a mesh patch, then sands, primes and repaints it.
- Caulking
Sealing cracks and gaps between parts of a house that don't move, such as around window and door frames, with a flexible filler called caulk.
- Punch list
A list of the small unfinished or faulty items left at the end of a building or remodeling job that the contractor must fix before the work counts as done.
- Baseboard cleaning
Dusting and wiping the trim where walls meet the floor. The American Cleaning Institute puts a wipe-down in fall cleaning and a vacuum before the holidays.
Sources
Sherwin-Williams, "How to Choose Paint Finishes"; Benjamin Moore, "How to Choose a Paint Finish"; Behr, "How-to Choose an Interior Paint Sheen"; Behr, "How Much Interior Paint to Buy"; EPA, "Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program: Consumers"
- www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/project-center/paint-sheen-guide
- www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/interior-exterior-paints-stains/how-to-advice/painting-101/choosing-paint-finish
- www.behr.com/consumer/how-to/interior/how-to-choose-an-interior-sheen
- www.behr.com/how-to/interior/determine-how-much-interior-paint-to-buy
- www.epa.gov/lead/renovation-repair-and-painting-rrp-program-consumers
Last updated .