Used to swear by flat finish for all interior walls until I painted my living room

For years I was convinced flat paint was the only way to go, no shine, no reflection, looked like a museum. Then I painted my living room in a south-facing house and every single scuff and fingerprint showed up within a week. Finally repainted with eggshell sheen in the same Benjamin Moore color and it hides marks way better while still looking pretty matte from a distance. Anybody else have a finish they changed their mind about after a bad experience?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.nina17h agoMost Upvoted

Wait you painted a SOUTH facing room in FLAT? Oh honey. That's a MISTAKE you only make once. I made the same error with a north facing room and thought flat would be fine but no, my cat's tail left a greasy mark on the wall that would NOT wipe off. I was scrubbing that thing with a magic eraser and it just made it WORSE. Now I do eggshell or satin for anything below shoulder height. Flat only goes on ceilings and maybe some dark accent walls where nobody touches them.

felix82416h ago

Got me rethinking my whole approach honestly. I used to just grab whatever flat paint was on sale and slap it everywhere, never really thought about how it holds up. This is making me reconsider for sure.