[mlleoiseau]

or whatever it's called.<br><br>
We just bought a house, closing on the 22nd. We'd like to paint some of the rooms before the furniture gets delivered.<br><br>
What type of finish is best? Flat, eggshell, satin enamel, semi gloss, gloss? At the last place we lived before moving in with my parents, we painted one room with the kilz stuff that was flat, and it looked awful any time we tried to clean marks off the wall. We have no pets and just one child--4 yr old dd. We will likely have lots of visits from unruly nieces and nephews, though. What's the easiest to clean and what looks the best?<br><br>
Tia!

 

[doctormom]

We have eggshell on the walls (not too shiny, but fingerprints and scuff marks wipe off) and semi-gloss on the trim. Would definitely do it again.<br><br>
Using high-quality paint to start with makes a BIG difference in the ability to wipe off walls without removing the paint, too.

 

[mlleoiseau]

Thanks, Cindy! Eggshell and semi gloss sounds good. As far as paint quality, we were probably going to go with Behr or Glidden. Are those good enough quality?

 

[normajean]

I hate Kilz paint. It's so thick & goupy that its hard to get smooth. And their 1 coat promise hasn't held up for me.<br><br>
Behr is what is on our walls now came with the house, and I know some people love it...but we have their semi-gloss enamel on our walls and if I wipe off fingerprints, the paint comes off on the rag. When we built our closets and matched the paint with the old, it did go on really nice and I liked the texture, but it took 3 very thorough coats to get the coverage I'm used to getting with 2 coats.<br><br>
My FIL used to paint professionally, and he has said he likes the Walmart brand paint (colorplace?) the best of anything he's tried. That is what we always used in our old house, but we couldn't afford to even experiment with other bands back then. I'm not sure what we are going to use when we paint this summer. (Subbing to this thread!)<br><br>
I usually do semi-gloss on the walls and high gloss on the trim. Generally you want your trim one step glossier than your walls. How glossy to go depends on your personal preference, but usually walls that get more fingerprints (kitchen, bathroom, kids bedrooms, stairways) you should use a glossier paint just so its longer lasting & easier to clean.<br><br>
Livingrooms or formal rooms where kids are less likely to touch walls you can go flatter. I personally would never go flatter than eggshell, except on ceilings. I always use flat paint on the ceiling.<br><br>
If you are using colors, a tip I learned that really helps is to have your primer tinted to match your paint. Your paint will cover a lot better than if you prime with white primer.

 

[mlleoiseau]

Kilz did cover with one coat for us. We painted light pink over bright red and it totally covered it. However, it looked awful when trying to clean off scuff marks.<br><br>
Are you supposed to use primer? We've only ever painted one room in our lives, so no real experience. The painting tips brochure from Behr says that only unpainted surfaces need to be primed first.<br><br>
Maybe I should start a how to paint thread.<br><br>
Maybe we should go semi gloss. More than likely, all the rooms in the house will be touched by kids. No formal areas for us. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngtongue.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Stick Out Tongue">

 

[normajean]

It depends on what you are painting (what color it is before, and what color you are painting it) whether you need primer. For instance, if you are going really dark over a light color, a tinted primer will help it cover in fewer coats. If you are painting light over a dark wall, the dark color can show through and muddy your lighter color, so priming needs to be done then too. If you are going from white walls to a lighter color, I wouldn't prime first.<br><br>
If you have 2 different colored walls that you want to have be the same color, priming beforehand will help ensure the end color looks the same on both walls too.

 

[mlleoiseau]

Thanks, Jean! That makes sense. All the walls in the house are white, and we're using light colors so we shouldn't need to prime.

 

[jrpbrown1]

Our house is exclusively painted with Behr paint. We have semigloss in the kitchen and bathroom (Kilz primer here too) and flat enamel in the rest of the house. It is between flat and eggshell and has very little sheen and is easy to clean. I highly recommend it. Good luck with your painting project!

 

[artemis33]

I like eggshell or satin because has a little sheen and cleans easily. Semi gloss trim.<br><br>
If you live in an older house - esp with plaster walls - you might want to avoid semi gloss on the walls. It really highlights any imperfections in the walls. When we first moved here I did my dining room in semi gloss - I love how it reflects light - but it looked terrible on the old plaster walls and we ended up repainting it with a satin finish.

 

[jrpbrown1]

I just got an email from The Home Depot with a downloadable rebate form for $5 off 1 gallon cans or $20 off 5 gallon cans. I'd be happy to send it to anyone who PMs me their email address. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[mlleoiseau]

We ended up going with eggshell. We found this new paint at Home Depot made by Glidden--the FreshAire Choice. It boasts no voc's and no odor. It really doesn't smell. Amazing! We painted dd's room Pink Reef, our room Still Moment and the living room Slender Reed. It looks nice. Later on we'll paint the kitchen/dining room Ray of Hope.<br><br>
Thanks for all the input!

 

[ladyinred]

Are there any other vos free paints out there that people know of? Thinking of repainting my office/spare room soon and don't want to spend too much but would like to use voc good quality paint. I've heard Glidden can be expensive.

 

[lovemyfamily6]

I know you already painted, but just wanted to jump in and say that my friend painted their main level with semi-gloss. The marks on the wall come off so well! They're finishing the basement and using eggshell or satin because it won't be as heavily used by the kids.<br><br>
Ladyinred, I think lots of brands have low or no VOC paint. My friend used Behr. We're going to try either Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. This thread is making me really want to get started with painting!