Paint Finishes for the Bathroom

When it comes to most spaces in your home, there are specific paint finishes that are great for specific rooms.  For example, if you have children and they tend to be in the kitchen with you a lot and you or they tend to touch things with sticky fingers, you might want to go for a semi-gloss finish on things like cabinets and trim.  On the other hand, if you are painting something like a bathroom, laundry room, or even a garage where moisture is present, you will want to pick different finishes than a kitchen.  If you are painting a bathroom any time soon and you want to know about the BEST finishes for a moisture ridden room, be sure to read some of the options below as well as some of the tips included when it comes to painting a bathroom.

Three Types of Paint Finishes

When it comes to a bathroom, there are three different kinds of paint finishes you are going to want to consider.  All three have their own looks, their own benefits, and of course they also have their own disadvantages as well.

1- Semi-Gloss:  This is a less shiny option than the high gloss used in most kitchens.  Originally, before people had the option to use mildew or mold resistant paints for their bathrooms, because these types of paints weren’t available 20+ years ago, people used semi-gloss for their bathrooms all the time.   The paint tends to have a thicker viscosity, and the molecules between the paint are smaller and closer together, which means that less moisture will get through to the inside of your walls which of course makes this an ideal candidate for people that have mold or mildew problems in their bathrooms.  Semi-gloss, like high gloss, come in a variety of colors, and semi-gloss is also very easy to wipe down.  Simply take a soft cloth, some warm water and a bucket and you can swipe the wall from side to side to get rid of things like dust, dirt and fingerprints.

2- Satin:  If you ever have a sit down meeting with a top house painter in Washington DC, they are probably going to tell you that when it comes to a bathroom you use often, a Satin finish is going to be a bad choice.  And I agree!  But, if you want less of a sheen or shiny texture on your walls, you might want to consider going with a Satin finish.  Satin finishes go great in guest bathrooms because these are rooms that tend to be used a lot less for permanent dwellers in your home.  Usually if you have you, yourself and a son or daughter living in the home 24/7 you will have 2-3 bathrooms that you use constantly.  You don’t usually use the guest quarters unless you have guests.  Which is why satin paint is a good option for those rooms because you won’t have all that steam and moisture plaguing the bathroom.  Instead, it’s just going to be once in a while when you have guests that come over.  Satin, like semi-gloss is very easy to wipe down and clean and it comes in a lot of different colors.

3- High Gloss:  This is a surface that is very smooth and very durable.  Unlike matte or flat paint where you need to be careful how much pressure you put on it when it comes to cleaning it, semi-gloss and high gloss can take a lot of scrubbing and a lot of pressure when it comes time to getting out the warm water and rag to wash the walls.  High gloss also might be a good option for walls that will need to be cleaned often i.e.; hospital rooms, surgery rooms, kitchens where you have things like Hobart Mixers if you make a lot of cookies and cakes or you have a professional restaurant or bakery where you cook and bake a lot and you need a wall that is easily cleaned and needs to be cleaned a lot!  High gloss is also good for other things besides walls, such as doors, molding, cabinets, and even certain forms of woodwork.