Paint Sheens 101
So you’ve selected a paint color! But now you've got another decision to make, what sheen to use. You pull out the little chart that shows the gloss levels increasing, but where to start? You decide that semi gloss is durable, and buy enough for your walls, ceiling, and moldings, one easy decision - right?
So you’ve selected a paint color! You’ve even researched what brand of paint to buy that will keep your home healthy! But now you've got another decision to make, what sheen to use. You pull out the little chart that shows the gloss levels increasing, but where to start? A quick Google search will tell you to never paint your walls in high-traffic areas with anything less than semi-gloss. So you decide that semi-gloss is durable, and buy enough for your walls, ceiling, and moldings, one easy decision - right?
YIKES - this is a disaster waiting to happen. You will end up with a shiny, reflective envelope full of imperfections. I guarantee you will not be happy with this choice.
I see this dilemma far too often with homeowners. Choosing the right finish the first time can save you time, money, and headaches.
Many factors go into selecting the perfect sheen for your application. First, let’s review the basics of sheen. Keep in mind, every paint company will have a different version of these terms and the order of increasing sheen intensity may vary.
The Basics of Paint Sheen
Flat Paint/Matte Paint - No Shine
Flat paint provides a rich depth of color and is great for less than perfect surfaces. Flat paint has the most pigment and will provide the most coverage. Since there is no shine, the light is absorbed rather than reflected. Matte paint is one step up in sheen from flat, but still very low luster. Typically, Flat or Matte finish is the least cleanable option and not good for high traffic areas.
Eggshell - Slight Luster
Not surprisingly, this finish is similar to egg shells. Eggshell offers a real depth of color with a soft and polished look. Good quality Eggshell paint is easy to clean, covers wall imperfections nicely, and is good for moderate to high traffic areas.
Satin - Velvety Luster
Satin is easy to clean, great for high traffic areas, but shows imperfections on flat surfaces. Can be used on walls of high traffic areas or on wood elements.
Semi Gloss - Subtle Shine
Semi Gloss is durable and stands up to repeated cleanings. This finish is often recommended for molding and trims, but can easily show imperfections on flat surfaces.
High Gloss - The Most Shine
High Gloss paint offers a durable finish. It is typically the most easy to clean out of all the paint finishes. High Gloss paint is super shiny and light reflecting. It’s often used for wood elements like cabinets, trims, and doors. Be careful with high gloss though, as it will show all imperfections! While it can be a beautiful look if your walls or ceilings are prepped correctly, it can turn into a disaster very quickly. Surfaces that take high gloss must be perfectly flat with zero imperfections. High Gloss paint requires preparation and a lot of labor to create the perfect end product.
Designer Secrets
A good rule of thumb is that the higher the sheen, the higher the shine and the easier the surface will be to clean. But many advancements in paint technology today allow for lower sheens to be just as durable and cleanable as their shiny counterparts. I’m going to share some tricks of the trade and what I typically use on my client home projects.
Ceilings
For ceilings, I always use flat paint. Since there is no sheen, it hides imperfections and has a beautiful depth of color. Ceilings tend to be uneven and a flat paint will hide those problem areas and will make the surface look uniform. My absolute favorite product for ceilings is Benjamin Moore Ultra Flat Water Borne Ceiling Paint. It provides a flawless finish and is the flattest finish offered by Benjamin Moore. It is Zero VOC and Engineered with Gennex® Color Technology. Check out my previous post “What’s in Your Paint” for more information on selecting a paint for a healthy home.
Walls
For the walls, I like to use an eggshell finish. It allows for easier clean-ability, but is not too shiny. For walls, I love to use Benjamin Moore Aura in Eggshell finish. It’s a rich and thick paint that provides full coverage, and a beautiful finish with great durability. Good for high traffic areas and it can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. It’s a paint and primer in one, mildew resistant, and Zero VOC.
Doors, Baseboards, Trims, Casings, Moldings
I like a satin finish for these wood elements. It’s very durable so it will hold up to normal every day wear and tear. My favorite product for this is Benjamin Moore Aura in a Satin Finish. It’s also great for high traffic areas and it can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. It’s also a paint and primer in one, mildew resistant, and Zero VOC.
Bathrooms
Painting a bathroom can be tricky, especially if you don’t want to use a glossy finish everywhere to avoid mildew! Benjamin Moore has a wonderful line of paint called Aura Bath and Spa in a Matte finish. It’s specially formulated for high humidity environments and is mildew resistant. It can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. I use this paint on both ceilings and walls in bathrooms for crisp low sheen look.
Cabinets
Painting kitchen cabinets is a very technical skill and requires proper preparation. Kitchen cabinets are one of the most commonly touched surfaces and get the most wear. Cabinets must be prepped properly by an experienced painter, primed twice, and then painted. Advance by Benjamin Moore is my “go to” for cabinet painting. As for finish, a paint with some shine is the way to go for durability, so I would avoid Flat paint for this application.
Need More Help with Paint?
Need help selecting paint colors, finishes, or environmentally friendly products?
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Interior Design and COVID-19
COVID-19 has impacted us all in different ways. We are learning new ways to cope, connect, and move towards a new normal. Through all of these changes and isolation, we have learned just how important it is to have social support from our friends, families, and colleagues. One of the big questions we face as interior designers is “How will the architecture and design community be impacted by COVID-19?”
COVID-19 has impacted us all in different ways. From tragic loss of lives, to lay-offs and business closures, the strain on our emotional, physical and mental health has been incredibly difficult for each of us in our own way. We are learning new ways to cope, connect, and move forward towards a new normal. Through all of these changes and isolation, we have learned just how important it is to have social support from our friends, families, and colleagues. We’re all missing human bonding.
Our lack of in person contact can trigger what Vivek Murthy, a physician and former surgeon general of the US calls a social recession - “social isolation that has a negative impact on physical and mental well-being of people and can even put us at risk for premature death.” There is reach that links social isolation and loneliness to poor health outcomes such as heart disease, dementia, sleep loss, depression and reduced life expectancy.
To help prevent isolation and a social recession, we need to ensure we are connecting with people outside our home for at least 15 minutes a day. Whether that be a phone call, video chat, or safe distance visit. It’s also important that we take time to help other people, be more conscious of others, and see the bigger picture of how we fit into our community. There are many beneficial health and wellness outcomes associated with acts of generosity, charity, and community bonding. A main one being increasing our sense of belonging and decreasing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Office Spaces
One of the big questions we face as interior designers is “How will the architecture and design community be impacted by COVID-19?” This is a loaded question, but ultimately, I believe this situation has given the design community the opportunity to be creative in new ways.
As we begin to reopen and return to offices at reduced capacity, new protocols are being implemented, as we disinfect our desks, chairs, keyboards, mouses, and phones daily. Our perspective and safety views on the office environment has changed, as we have all adapted a heightened sensitivity to touch and awareness of social distance. Even with new cleaning policies, there are still challenges with our current office layouts, conference room sizes, elevator capacity, distancing capabilities, and privacy that need to be addressed.
This is where designers and architects come in. We design spaces for people, and the way we design these spaces is going to change.“We’re coming to realize that as designers, architects, and building managers, we have a critical role to play in public health.” (Rachel Gutter, President of IWBI). We will be designing safer work spaces, with social distancing protocols, re-imagined office layouts, specifying materials that are easily cleanable and implementing maintenance schedules. The effects of COVID-19 will impact the way we think about and design spaces of the future.
Work From Home Life
This world wide social experiment of “Can we all really work remotely?” has sparked conversations among many companies on if they even need to return to a physical office. Companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook have embraced the option of the remote work lifestyle permanently. This opens the opportunity for people anywhere in the world to work for these companies since you don’t need to be present at a physical office everyday. Businesses have learned to adapt to the work from home life, and some are even working more efficiently than they did in the actual office. Benefits of remote work are:
Less Time Spent Commuting
Improved Employee Retention
More Independent Employees
Reduced Operating Costs
Diverse Candidates
Efficient Use of Technology
Increased Productivity
Positive Environmental Impacts
Better Work Life Balance
Healthier Employees
Less Stressed Employees
Financial Savings
Customized Home Office
Healthier Employees
Improved Creativity
More Time with Family
Many businesses are seeing these great benefits and investing more in their work from home employee support. A company's ability to do this depends on it’s type of work, flexibility, culture, access to technology and the ergonomics of the employees home. Even after the pandemic, work from home choices will be more of an option than ever before. Studies show that employees with the highest level of satisfaction are those who have options of where, how and when they work.
Residential Interior Design and Wellness
With more people working from home, this will change the way we design residences, specifically by creating a designated office space. Things to consider are layout, placement in the home, acoustical privacy, storage, supplies, sustainable components, ergonomics, clean-ability, healthy building materials, and incorporating strategies to avoid burn out. Creating a new lifestyle where home and work life co-exist in the same space. We’re seeing a major need for these newly developed, creative and healthy spaces in the home.
With a progression towards health and wellness in all facets of our life, and a desire for a cleaner and safer environment due to COVID-19, the Design and Architecture industry is taking great strides to incorporate human health into our environments. WELL Certification is about placing people at the heart of design and enhancing the human health and well being experience. It’s a certification process for buildings, backed by evidence based health and scientific research with leading physicians, scientists and industry professionals.
Over the last few months, I have seen the positive value that the WELL Certification can bring to me as a designer and to my clients. I am working towards earning my WELL AP certification to be able provide health and wellness education and support in our interior design projects. “A WELL AP denotes expertise in the WELL Building Standard and a commitment to advancing human health and wellness in buildings and communities around the world.” (wellcertified.com)
The WELL certification provides me with a unique understanding of how the human body is impacted by our indoor and outdoor environments, and how to create a healthier home for my clients. From contaminants in our water and air, lighting consideration and temperature controls, to healthy eating and fitness, WELL Certification covers all this and more to ensure buildings and their occupants health and wellness take priority, increasing the quality and longevity of our lives.
Stay tuned for more on my journey to becoming a WELL Accredited Professional and follow SJI on Instagram for #WellnessWednesday
What Paint Sheen Should I Use?
So you’ve selected a paint color! But now you've got another decision to make, what sheen to use. You pull out the little chart that shows the gloss levels increasing, but where to start? You decide that semi gloss is durable, and buy enough for your walls, ceiling, and moldings, one easy decision - right?
So you’ve selected a paint color! You’ve even done your research on what brand of paint to buy that will keep your home healthy! (Check out my last blog post “What's in Your Paint?”) But now you've got another decision to make, what sheen to use. You pull out the little chart that shows the gloss levels increasing, but where to start? A quick Google search will tell you to never paint your walls in high traffic areas with anything less than semi gloss. So you decide that semi gloss is durable, and buy enough for your walls, ceiling, and moldings, one easy decision - right?
YIKES - this is a disaster waiting to happen. You’re going to end up with a shiny, reflective envelope full of imperfections. I guarantee you will not be happy with this choice.
I see this dilemma far too often with home owners. Choosing the right finish the first time can save you time, money and headaches.
Many factors go into selecting the perfect sheen for your application. First, let’s review the basics of sheen. Keep in mind, every paint company will have a different version of these terms and the order of increasing sheen intensity may vary.
The Basics of Paint Sheen
Flat Paint/Matte Paint - No Shine
Flat paint provides a rich depth of color and is great for less than perfect surfaces. Flat paint has the most pigment and will provide the most coverage. Since there is no shine, the light is absorbed rather than reflected. Matte paint is one step up in sheen from flat, but still very low luster. Typically, Flat or Matte finish is the least cleanable option and not good for high traffic areas.
Eggshell - Slight Luster
Not surprisingly, this finish is similar to egg shells. Eggshell offers a real depth of color with a soft and polished look. Good quality Eggshell paint is easy to clean, covers wall imperfections nicely, and is good for moderate to high traffic areas.
Satin - Velvety Luster
Satin is easy to clean, great for high traffic areas, but shows imperfections on flat surfaces. Can be used on walls of high traffic areas or on wood elements.
Semi Gloss - Subtle Shine
Semi Gloss is durable and stands up to repeated cleanings. This finish is often recommended for molding and trims, but can easily show imperfections on flat surfaces.
High Gloss - The Most Shine
High Gloss paint offers a durable finish. It is typically the most easy to clean out of all the paint finishes. High Gloss paint is super shiny and light reflecting. It’s often used for wood elements like cabinets, trims, and doors. Be careful with high gloss though, as it will show all imperfections! While it can be a beautiful look if your walls or ceilings are prepped correctly, it can turn into a disaster very quickly. Surfaces that take high gloss must be perfectly flat with zero imperfections. High Gloss paint requires preparation and a lot of labor to create the perfect end product.
Designer Secrets
A good rule of thumb is that the higher the sheen, the higher the shine and the easier the surface will be to clean. But many advancements in paint technology today allow for lower sheens to be just as durable and cleanable as their shiny counterparts. I’m going to share some tricks of the trade and what I typically use on my client home projects.
Ceilings
For ceilings, I always use flat paint. Since there is no sheen, it hides imperfections and has a beautiful depth of color. Ceilings tend to be uneven and a flat paint will hide those problem areas and will make the surface look uniform. My absolute favorite product for ceilings is Benjamin Moore Ultra Flat Water Borne Ceiling Paint. It provides a flawless finish and is the flattest finish offered by Benjamin Moore. It is Zero VOC and Engineered with Gennex® Color Technology. Check out my previous post “What’s in Your Paint” for more information on selecting a paint for a healthy home.
Walls
For the walls, I like to use an eggshell finish. It allows for easier clean-ability, but is not too shiny. For walls, I love to use Benjamin Moore Aura in Eggshell finish. It’s a rich and thick paint that provides full coverage, and a beautiful finish with great durability. Good for high traffic areas and it can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. It’s a paint and primer in one, mildew resistant, and Zero VOC.
Doors, Baseboards, Trims, Casings, Moldings
I like a satin finish for these wood elements. It’s very durable so it will hold up to normal every day wear and tear. My favorite product for this is Benjamin Moore Aura in a Satin Finish. It’s also great for high traffic areas and it can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. It’s also a paint and primer in one, mildew resistant, and Zero VOC.
Bathrooms
Painting a bathroom can be tricky, especially if you don’t want to use a glossy finish everywhere to avoid mildew! Benjamin Moore has a wonderful line of paint called Aura Bath and Spa in a Matte finish. It’s specially formulated for high humidity environments and is mildew resistant. It can stand up to repeated washing with no color rub off. I use this paint on both ceilings and walls in bathrooms for crisp low sheen look.
Cabinets
Painting kitchen cabinets is a very technical skill and requires proper preparation. Kitchen cabinets are one of the most commonly touched surfaces and get the most wear. Cabinets must be prepped properly by an experienced painter, primed twice, and then painted. Advance by Benjamin Moore is my “go to” for cabinet painting. As for finish, a paint with some shine is the way to go for durability, so I would avoid Flat paint for this application.
Need More Help with Paint?
Not all paint is the same. Make a conscious effort for your families health by choosing a high quality paint and doing your research on it’s environmental impact. Need help selecting paint colors, finishes, or environmentally friendly products? Schedule a consultation with Sarah Jacquelyn Interiors today! No project too big or small, I love helping my clients specify the perfect paint for their home!
Colorful Creatives: Xced Design Build
Happy Friday! This week’s feature is a boss babe killing it in the construction industry! I had the pleasure of meeting Chelsey Jackel right after I graduated interior design school. She was a natural mentor and taught me so much about the construction industry. She’s incredibly personable, talented, and cares deeply about doing her absolute best everyday. Chelsey and I recently reconnected upon the opening of her new business, Xced Design Build. Their new studio space is absolutely incredible! Fully designed showroom, studio kitchen, collaborative work area, and a design library.
Happy Friday! This week’s feature is a boss babe killing it in the construction industry! I had the pleasure of meeting Chelsey Jackel right after I graduated interior design school. She was a natural mentor and taught me so much about the construction industry. She’s incredibly personable, talented, and cares deeply about doing her absolute best everyday. Chelsey and I recently reconnected upon the opening of their new office, Xced Design Build. Their new studio space is absolutely incredible! Fully designed showroom, studio kitchen, collaborative work area, and a design library. This space has it all! Their Logan Square studio was designed to serve as a collaborative work space for their Power Partners; independent Chicagoland Interior Designers who strive to learn, grow, and provide exceptional design service to their clients. I became a Power Partner in January and I love being a part of the community. I benefit tremendously from the relationships, co working space, and learning opportunities. They created exactly the space the independent designer community needed. This partnership also creates a trustworthy relationship with a build team you can depend on.
I hope you enjoy learning more about Chelsey and her process of developing her business and herself. One of my favorites quotes from her:
“I am working all the time on me, my journey, my business, my family, my feelings, my purpose and my overall satisfaction in this thing called life! I want that for everyone.”
