Choosing the Right Paint for Your Project

Finding the right paint for your home project is exciting, and there are various factors to consider before picking a paint type to work with. Follow this guide for the best results!

How to Choose the Right Paint Type for Your Project

Paint can breathe new life into your home and is an easy way to inject some of your personality into each room. However, paint is not one-size-fits-all, meaning the same paint will likely not work for your entire home. For example, areas that experience high amounts of moisture, like bathrooms, may need a different type of paint than a bedroom that gets a lot of sunlight.

With this in mind, you’ll want to be careful when choosing paint for your home project. We’re breaking down everything you need to know!

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Understanding the Basics of Paint Types

First, it’s important that you understand the different paint types because various paints are made for various surfaces. Here’s a quick summary of the three main types of paint and what they’re best used for:

• Acrylic: This paint is chemically based and water-resistant when dry. The chemicals make it more elastic, which makes acrylic paint a popular choice for exterior walls.
• Latex: Unlike acrylic paint, latex paint is water-based. It’s nontoxic and easy to clean up, making it an ideal choice for walls and ceilings. However, it doesn’t hide stains as well as other types of paint.
• Oil-based: Oil-based paint is just as the name suggests. Its natural or synthetic oil base means it will take longer to dry but will also resist scratches, stains or accidents. Oil-based paint is a bit more high-quality than latex paint, and it works great in high-traffic areas like hallways and living rooms.

Tips for Choosing the Right Paint Finish

Paint finishes reflect differing amounts of light off your walls, so the finish you choose depends on whether your walls are prone to stains and how much light you want to be reflected in your room. Below are the most common paint finishes:

• Matte: Paint with a matte finish is an excellent choice to hide any unsightly scratches or bumps in your wall because it doesn’t reflect light well. However, matte paint cheaps easily, so you may need to repaint often.
• Eggshell: This paint type combines a flat matte with a more glossy finish. It reflects light better than matte while still being subtle. It does have a slight glow, but not as high as a gloss finish.
• Satin: Satin paint is shinier than matte paint but less glossy than semi-gloss paint. It’s also a bit glossier than eggshell paint and, thus, more durable.
• Semi-gloss: Semi-gloss paint is less glossy than a high-gloss finish but shinier than eggshell. It’s perfect for brightening up rooms, and light shades are especially beautiful.
• High gloss: High-gloss paints will bring more shine and attention to your walls than any other finish. Remember that this means it will also call attention to imperfections like bumps.

The Impact of Wall Surface on Paint Choice

Sometimes, the color you paint on your wall doesn’t exactly match your swatch. This is largely because of your wall’s surface and how you prepared the wall before painting. You’ll want to choose paint for walls based on:

• Wall materials and paint type: Think about your project and all the items you wish to paint. You may have wood, brick, concrete and metal surfaces to revitalize, and there are different factors to consider when painting each of these. For example, acrylic latex paint is best for brick, while latex paint is best for wood.
• Finishes: Paint with a high-gloss finish will work better on brick, concrete, wood and metal surfaces. An oil-based, high-gloss paint finish is especially durable, ensuring the paint will last and not chip or crack too soon. Matte paint works best on ceilings, while eggshell paint is ideal for interior walls.

How to Choose Paint for Different Rooms in Your Home

Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms (oh my!) serve different purposes, which will affect the paint type and finish that you choose. Here’s how to choose paint according to the room in question.

1. Paint for Kitchens and Bathrooms

Bathrooms and kitchens are exposed to the most moisture, from the steamy shower to the water from the kitchen sink. For this reason, oil-based, semi-gloss paint is the best choice. It’s durable and moisture-resistant yet easy to wipe clean.

2. Paint for Bedrooms and Living Rooms

Your bedroom is where you rest and relax, and bedrooms are pretty versatile in terms of paint. Many homeowners choose eggshell latex paint, which provides some shine and is easy to wipe down. You can also use matte paint since bedrooms don’t tend to see the same wear and tear as areas like kitchens. One exception is children’s rooms, where the paint needs to be tough and durable. Since matte paint is prone to chips, choosing another finish would be wise.

Living room paint also doesn’t typically need to be especially durable unless you have young children or find yourself wiping down walls often. Matte paint is perfect if you don’t have to clean your walls often, while satin paint is the better choice if you need something durable.

3. Paint for Basements and Garages

Your basement and garage may contend with humidity and moisture, similar to your kitchen. These rooms are also prone to scratches since they’re typically used to store belongings. Latex paint is a good option for both rooms because it dries quickly, can be wiped down easily and doesn’t have a strong odor. While you may be tempted to use exterior paint on your garage walls since they are exposed to outdoor air, latex paint is the better choice since exterior paint is usually formulated with more toxins.

What Paint Type Should You Use for Your Project?

When choosing a paint type, consider the following factors:

• Your budget
• The size of the room(s)
• The type of room
• Ideal paint colors and glossiness
• The surfaces to be painted
• Whether you’re painting interior or exterior walls

These will narrow your choices and help you choose the best paint. For example, high-gloss paint is the most expensive because of its durability and how easy it is to clean. While you may want high-gloss paint for high-traffic areas like kitchens, it may not be necessary for your bedroom, and you can stay within your budget by choosing eggshell or satin paint. As another example, matte paint may work in a low-traffic room since it chips relatively easily.

Rent Painters Can Handle Your Interior Painting Project

As you can see, there are many things to consider when choosing the right paint type for your project, and in most cases, it’s best to leave it up to the professionals. We at Rent Painters take the guesswork out of your paint projects. We’ll help you choose the best paint type, color and finish, and we’ll bring all of our own supplies. To start your project, request a quote with Rent Painters!