You planned your room design with care. You spent countless hours poring over color swatches and room décor magazines. With organized folder, selected swatches and cash in hand you step to the paint counter at your local shop and present your genius before the store clerk, fully expecting his showers of praise. Instead, with a vacant stare he asks a question that makes your quivering mouth look like a gasping fish out of water: “what kind of finish would you like?”

Didn’t plan on that one, huh? Oh the choicess: flat, satin, semi-gloss, gloss, textured and combinations thereof. How do you make sense of them? How do you decide? I’m going to explain what they are and how to choose so that you don’t spend two hours in the isle reading the rear ends of cans or running from store clerks.

First off, you want a latex paint. They’re dominant in the interior paint market, better for your health; hold the color better and also easier to clean. You can choose alkyds (oil-based paints) but then you have to invest in paint thinner, masks, the right brushes and fumes: too much hassle.

Secondly, the finishes of the paint tell you how light react to it. Does it show the color or does the light bounce right back at you.

Flat is just that. Light hits it and just shows the color. Some people think this looks dull but if used with pastel colors (in a kid’s room), it is an excellent choice. A huge positive is that since it doesn’t really reflect light, it will hide imperfections. The draw back is that it is the hardest to clean. I like to use flat paint for ceilings and baby rooms, never on trims.

Satin is a fancy name for paint that reflects light but does it softly. Take an egg, put it up to the light and turn it. You see how it’s a flat white yet the light reflects off of it giving it a faint glow? That’s Satin. It’s also called Eggshell in some stores. This paint is a happy medium that allows you to paint entire rooms and get a soft glow without it being too shiny. Still hides imperfections on the wall while being easier to clean. I would suggest this finish over most for interior walls and ceilings. I’d still be careful about using it on trims since some colors dull the look of those fine moldings.

Semi-Gloss offers a nice sheen. This finish is great for cleaning and also good for rooms that you want to have more wall reflection. It may be a bit thicker and might hit your pocket more if you paint an entire room with it. That’s why you might want to focus on something like a bathroom or walk-in closet with this finish. Personally I use Semi-Gloss for doors and trims, making these bits of the room have a sturdier presentation.

Gloss is very shiny; it is perfect for door and window trims. I wouldn’t suggest painting an entire room with this finish because the light would bounce on it so brightly that you wouldn’t really be able to appreciate the color (and would have to invest in shades). I reserve Gloss for door trims and window trims because of that reason—but even then I still think it’s a bit too shiny.

Textured paints offer you the ability to do some really nice stuff like stone or grit that looks great if you design the room properly. They’re a tad more expensive and are usually closer to the eggshell category depending on the roughness but if done right, they’re so worth it.

So now, take this post and stand tall before that store clerk’s blank expression and answer his first question. And don’t run when he asks: “which brand?” That’s for a later post.