Choosing interior paint: sheens, colors and primer

Paint is one of the easiest ways to change how a room feels, but three choices decide how the job turns out: the sheen, the color, and whether the walls need primer first. Get those right and the paint looks even, cleans up well and lasts. Get them wrong and you can end up with walls that show every flaw, a color that looks different than it did on the chip, or old color showing through.

For what painting costs, see interior painting. To get a ballpark for your own rooms or see a photo of your room in a new color, try the painting calculator and color preview.

What sheen means

Sheen is how shiny the paint is once it dries. The flattest paints reflect almost no light. The glossiest reflect a lot. Sheen changes two things you'll notice:

How well it hides flaws. Low sheens hide bumps, patches and uneven texture. Sherwin-Williams says flat or eggshell finishes are best for covering imperfections. [1]
How well it holds up. Shinier paint is generally easier to wash and stands up better to scuffs and moisture. Sherwin-Williams recommends satin or semi-gloss for rooms with heavy traffic or moisture. [1]

So there's a trade-off: the shinier the paint, the tougher it is, and the more it shows what's underneath.

Which sheen to use where

Sheen	Looks like	Good for	Watch out for
Flat	No shine at all	Ceilings, adult bedrooms, formal living rooms, uneven or textured walls [1]	Scuffs and stains are harder to clean off [1]
Matte	Very low shine	Living rooms and dining rooms [1]	Less durable than satin in busy rooms
Eggshell	Soft, low glow	Hallways, family rooms, kids' bedrooms [1]	Shows a bit more than flat
Satin	Smooth, slight shine	High-traffic rooms, hallways, woodwork [1]	Shows wall flaws more than eggshell
Semi-gloss	Noticeable shine	Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, trim, closet doors [1]	Shows every bump and patch
Gloss	High shine	Trim, cabinets, doors, furniture [1]	Needs very smooth surfaces

Sheen names and shine levels vary from brand to brand, so compare real samples if you're switching brands.

A common setup in many homes: flat on ceilings, eggshell or satin on walls, and semi-gloss on trim and doors. Bathrooms usually get satin or semi-gloss on the walls because they hold up to moisture. [1]

Picking a color

Paint chips are small and printed, and colors change a lot under different light. Test the real paint on your walls before you buy it by the gallon.

Benjamin Moore's advice for testing samples: [2]

Paint samples right on the wall, or on a white board you can move around. A sample on a white or light wall is easier to judge.
Use at least two coats on each sample. One coat won't show the true color.
Look at the samples from morning to evening, in both daylight and lamp light.
Try the sample on different walls. A wall next to a window and a wall in a dark corner can look like two different colors.

A few more things help:

Look at what stays. Flooring, countertops, cabinets and furniture don't change with the paint. Hold samples next to them.
Check nearby rooms. If you can see from one room into the next, the colors should work together.

HomeCloud's color preview lets you upload a photo of a room and see it in a new color. Colors on a screen won't match paint exactly, so treat the preview as a starting point and confirm with a real sample on the wall.

When walls need primer

Primer is a base coat that helps the paint stick and gives it an even surface. Sherwin-Williams says primer helps provide a uniform surface that promotes good adhesion of the topcoat. [5] Many paints today are sold as "paint and primer in one," and Benjamin Moore says those products are self-priming on most properly prepared surfaces. [3] But some walls still need a separate primer first.

Situation	Why primer helps
New drywall or bare spots	Raw drywall and sanded-down patches soak up paint unevenly. Drywall primer seals them for an even finish. [3, 4]
Water or smoke stains	Stains can bleed through regular paint. Fix the leak first, then use a stain-blocking primer. [3, 5]
Glossy paint or old oil-based paint	Paint may not stick to a slick surface. The surface is cleaned, then sanded or coated with an adhesion primer. [3, 5]
A big color change	Primer helps cover the old color in fewer coats. [3]

Going from a dark color to a light one is where primer earns its keep. Glidden recommends a good white primer over dark walls, and a second coat of primer if the old color still shows through once it dries. [6]

How many coats

Plan on two coats of paint for most walls. Benjamin Moore recommends two coats of its paint and primer products for full color and performance [3], and Glidden recommends at least two coats when covering a dark wall, letting each one dry fully. [6]

If the old color still shows through after primer and two coats, add another coat. Patched spots that were sanded down to bare drywall should be primed before the finish coats [3], so they don't look different from the rest of the wall.

Before you paint: fix the walls

Paint won't hide damage. Cracks, nail pops and peeling paint should be repaired first, or they'll show through, especially under satin or semi-gloss. Our guide to drywall cracks and nail pops explains which ones are cosmetic. For the repairs themselves, see drywall and ceiling repair, and the findings for paint cracking and moisture staining at the ceiling.

Older homes need extra care. Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint. Scraping or sanding it can create lead dust, and the EPA recommends hiring a lead-safe certified contractor for work that disturbs paint in those homes. [7] If you do it yourself, the EPA says to use lead-safe work practices. [7]

HomeCloud is a licensed general contractor that evaluates homes and prices and does the repairs, including interior painting.