The Three Paint Finishes You Need for Your Kid's Bedroom
When it comes to redecorating a child's bedroom, most parents are so focused on choosing a paint colour that they forget the importance of choosing a paint finish. Paint comes in a variety of 'sheens', and each one has its own pros and cons in different residential painting applications. To give your kid's room the best new look, you'll actually need a combination of three finishes—one for each part of the room. Here's all you need to know about choosing them.
Matte Finish for the Ceiling
Whether you're a traditionalist who prefers white ceilings, or you want to give your child a funky colour up above, make sure you choose a paint with a matte or flat finish. Choosing a shiny gloss paint for a ceiling is usually a bad idea because ceilings tend to have accumulate defects like cracks and scratches over the years. Such defects can be hard to patch without professional help, and gloss and other reflective paints will highlight them so they stand out as soon as you turn on the lights or open the curtains. Matte paint, on the other hand, is dull and non-reflective. It will give your child's ceiling a smooth, flat finish, hiding dents, chips, and more. That also makes matte paint a great way to distract from unsightly textured or 'popcorn' ceilings, which are notoriously difficult to remove.
Satin Finish for the Walls
The lustre of a satin finish sits somewhere between flat matte and ultra-shiny gloss. Its unique texture is said to appear velvety and glowing rather than shining. This tends to make colours feel brighter and livelier, which is great for a fun and fresh kid's room. However, the real benefit of satin paint for children is its durability. Unlike more fragile gloss paint, satin is less likely to chip if your child knocks furniture or toys against it. Its finish also makes it easy to wipe clean, which is perfect for getting rid of those sticky fingerprints and accidental drawing marks. Just make sure you don't scrub too hard when cleaning it, as over-aggressive wiping can dull the satin finish.
Semi-Gloss Finish for the Trims
Finally, when it comes to the trims and doors, your best choice is a semi-gloss paint finish. Semi-gloss is highly reflective, which makes it appear brighter in a lit room. It's also the easiest paint to clean, standing up to more scrubbing than any other finish. This is perfect for baseboard trims and the bottoms of doors because being close to the ground makes them accumulate dirt and dust more quickly. The bright shine will balance out the greyish tone the trims and doors take on when they get dirty, and the wipeable finish will allow you to get them clean without causing damage to the paintwork.
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