A Simple Guide To Selecting The Right Paint Finish - Emulsions For Walls And Ceilings

One of the key benefits of our Colour Match Paint products is that you aren't limited to a specific type of paint...

We can literally match any shade into whatever type of paint you need for the job! Whilst this is amazing (even if I do say so myself!) I do know that it can feel a little overwhelming when you're trying to make sure you make the right selection and I also love to save you guys some money where possible so you don't spend on more specialist paints in rooms that may not need them. Cue our Perfect Paint Finishes House! This simple guide makes it easy to choose the perfect paint finish for you depending on the room you are decorating.

As you're mostly selecting your paint finish based on which room you're decorating or your preferred sheen level we've tried to simplify our product range and pop the best product for the job into the relevant rooms in your home with this blog focusing specifically on your walls! Thanks so much to the gorgeous accounts that let us use their beautiful pictures when pulling this together, check them out on Instagram using the handles listed in each image! 

Just another quick note to explain why we have so many paint brands to offer in our Colour Match Paint products...we've selected brands that bring a variety to what we're able to offer meaning we have the best paint for each job!

• Leyland/Johnstone's are made by the biggest paint manufacturer in the world. We've been working with them for over 25 years and they really do bring fantastic quality paints and incredibly great value prices to the market. 
• Zinsser is made by the biggest specialist paint manufacturer in the world. Being able to provide the specialist products from Zinsser alongside your more standard emulsions manufactured by Leyland/Johnstone's means we cover all requirements and are confident in the quality of what we mix for you. 
• More recently we launched Tikkurila. These guys have been making waves in the painting and decorating industry over the past couple of years due to the fabulous technology in their specialist paints in addition to the range of sizing available in all product finishes. These paired with our other fantastic brands means that we really do have a full line up for any project you have in mind of any size!

Lounge/Sitting Room

colour match NTB47

So starting with the lounge and @jodievictoria 's beautiful home we would call this a low traffic room (so if yours isn't follow instructions further down the page!) therefore you don't need a paint product that needs to stand up to heavy cleaning. 

Your options here are Vinyl Matt (Covaplus Matt in Johnstone's), Soft Sheen/Silk or Optiva Colour, lets talk through the key benefits of each. 

Matt Finishes:

• A modern flat matt finish 
• Useful for hiding imperfections on your walls 

Soft Sheen/Silk Finishes:

• Light reflecting properties which can help to brighten darker rooms
• A washable paint finish

Kitchen

colour match NTB295

Next to the kitchen and the lovely @newcountryhome 's gorgeous pink room. Your kitchen is so important as it not only tends to be the heart of your home (and many feet make many marks!) but also as you're cooking and cleaning in here need to scrub the walls quite regularly!

Your best options here are the Hardwearing Matt, Hardwearing Acrylic Eggshell, Acrylic Durable Matt and the Optiva 5 finishes. 

Scrubbable Matt Finishes/Optiva 5

• a modern flat matt finish
• Class 1 scrub rating (basically meaning you can really scrub at the walls to clean stains!)
• Stain resisting (the paint film stops the stain from soaking in making it possible to scrub it away from the surface) 

Acrylic Eggshell Finish/Optiva 20

• the scrubbable and stain resisting properties of the Matts above
• a light sheen for reflecting light
• Acrylic Eggshell is also suitable for woodwork!

Hallway/Staircase

NTB274 (top) and NTB2005 (bottom)

Another key room in the house is your hallway and staircase. Likely to be the highest traffic area and usually best decorated in lighter colours to keep it airy...but they show the marks the most! The gorgeous @redrowludlow has created a welcoming design using colour match NTB274 on the top and NTB2005 on the bottom. 

Your best options here are anything scrubbable! I can't tell you how many times a week I take a kitchen scourer to my hallway after Cooper has shaken off his muddy fur. 

Scrubbable Matt Finishes/Optiva 5

• a modern flat matt finish
• Class 1 scrub rating 
• Stain resisting 

Acrylic Eggshell Finish/Optiva 20

• the scrubbable and stain resisting properties of the Matts above
• a light sheen for reflecting light
• Acrylic Eggshell is also suitable for woodwork!

Need more options? View our full range of Scrubbable Colour Match Paints

Bathroom/En-Suite

LG - Sage Green

So possibly one of the most asked about paint finishes. As our paints are trade quality paints they haven't simplified the names to include indicators such as 'Bathroom Paint' so here is the detail you need! @ournortheasthome has decorated hers in a colour called Sage Green which we colour match from LG. 

Your best options here are specialist paint finishes such as the Perma White (a mould resistant paint) or your scrubbable finishes. 

Perma White

• a mould resistant paint (perfect for high humidity and moisture areas like a bathroom!) 
• designed to resist cracking, peeling and blistering
• also suitable for woodwork
• available in Matt or Satin finish

Scrubbable Matts (including Optiva 5)

• a scrubbable paint finish that can withstand moisture
• easy to clean
• modern flat finish

Bedroom

So the final room in this blog was for bedrooms! Similarly to your lounge it tends to be a low traffic area where your walls don't mark too regularly so you don't usually need the protection of a scrubbable paint. @bellway_by_the_beach have selected some beautiful shades, NTB30 for the bottom colour and NTB274 on the top! 

Your options here are Vinyl Matt (Covaplus Matt in Johnstone's), Soft Sheen/Silk or Optiva Colour, lets talk through the key benefits of each. 

Matt Finishes:

• A modern flat matt finish 
• Useful for hiding imperfections on your walls 

Soft Sheen/Silk Finishes:

• Light reflecting properties which can help to brighten darker rooms
• A washable paint finish

Ok so that was just a whistle stop tour so as not to bog you guys down with too much reading (you know me for wittering on about paint!) but hopefully its been useful?

Please don't feel like you can't reach out to us for any other questions or reassurance on your paint as we're always happy to help and sometimes its worth talking through even more of your requirements just to ensure we get the exact product for the job!

There are a couple of paint finishes I didn't mention in this round up either, we were short on space and I didn't want to over complicate things so I'll do a bit of a spotlight on those in upcoming blogs! Next up we'll be doing a similar post on woodwork!