Karen in Wilmette called us last March about her living room. She'd painted it herself over the holidays—semi-gloss throughout, walls and all—because someone at the hardware store told her it was "easier to clean."
It was easier to clean. It also turned her living room into a funhouse mirror. Every wall imperfection, every old drywall seam, every slight bump from decades of plaster patches glowed under the raking afternoon light. Her 1940s colonial had character. Semi-gloss made sure everyone noticed.
She ended up paying us to repaint the entire room in the finish she should have used from the start. An expensive lesson in something most homeowners get wrong: paint finishes aren't just about looks. They're about matching the sheen to the room, the surface, and—in Chicago—the climate.
The Finish Spectrum: What You're Actually Choosing
Paint finishes run from flat to high gloss, and each one reflects light differently. More sheen means more light reflection, more durability, and more visible imperfections. Less sheen means better at concealing imperfections but less washable.
Here's the lineup, from least to most reflective:
Flat/Matte — Zero shine. Absorbs light. Hides everything. Fragile.
Eggshell — Barely perceptible sheen. Slightly more washable than matte. The suburban compromise.
Satin — Soft luster, like a pearl. Good balance of durability and looks. The workhorse.
Semi-gloss — Noticeable shine. Highly durable and moisture-resistant. Shows every flaw.
High gloss — Mirror-like reflectivity. Extremely durable. Extremely unforgiving.
Most homeowners only need to care about three: matte, satin, and semi-gloss. Everything else is a variation.
Matte Paint: The Hider
Matte finish is your best friend if you live in an older North Shore home with plaster walls that have been patched, skim-coated, and lived-in for eighty years. Nothing conceals imperfections like a flat finish. Bumps, hairline cracks, uneven textures—matte paint absorbs the light that would otherwise highlight every flaw.
I painted a 1920s Kenilworth home last fall where the plaster walls had visible trowel marks and three generations of patch jobs. The homeowner wanted to keep the plaster character without showcasing every repair. Two coats of Benjamin Moore Regal Select in matte, and those walls looked like they'd been freshly skim-coated. The finish did half the work that would have cost thousands in actual skim coating.
Where matte works best:
- Ceilings (always)
- Living rooms and dining rooms with low traffic
- Bedrooms
- Any room where walls have surface imperfections you'd rather hide
The matte trade-off: It scuffs. It marks. Scrubbing a matte wall is like washing a chalkboard—you'll take the paint off before you get the stain out. In a hallway where kids drag backpacks along the wall? Matte is a repainting sentence.
Matte and Chicago Winter Light
Here's something specific to our market. Chicago's winter light is already flat and gray. Natural light from November through March barely casts shadows. Matte finish in a north-facing room during a Chicago winter can feel like painting inside a cloud—calming if that's what you want, depressing if it isn't.
If your room faces north and you're considering matte, bump up the paint color a shade lighter than you think you need. Or consider eggshell, which adds just enough reflection to bring some life back into the space without showing imperfections. South-facing rooms with good light handle matte beautifully year-round.
Satin: The All-Rounder
If I had to pick one finish for an entire house, it would be satin. Not glamorous. Not exciting. But satin handles almost every situation competently.
Satin gives you enough sheen to wipe down walls without damaging the surface, but not so much that it turns your walls into a highlight reel of flaws. It's the finish equivalent of a reliable sedan—nobody's photographing it, but it gets you where you need to go.
Satin is ideal for high-traffic areas:
- Hallways where walls take daily abuse
- Family rooms where things get thrown, spilled, and smeared
- Kids' rooms (absolutely non-negotiable if they're under twelve)
- Mudrooms and entryways
- Stairwells
Most of our interior painting projects in the suburbs use satin for main living areas. It's the default for a reason.
Satin for Kitchens?
Here's where opinions differ. Some painters recommend semi-gloss for kitchens because of moisture and grease. I lean toward satin for kitchen walls and semi-gloss for the trim and areas directly behind the stove.
Why? Kitchen walls collect cooking grease differently than bathroom walls collect moisture. A satin finish cleans up grease splatter with a damp cloth. Semi-gloss on kitchen walls amplifies every undulation in the drywall—and trust me, most kitchen walls have been patched around outlets, plumbing, and cabinet hardware more times than the homeowner realizes.
Save semi-gloss for the surfaces that need its moisture resistance. Your kitchen walls probably don't.
Semi-Gloss: The Protector
Semi-gloss paint exists for rooms where moisture is a real, daily threat. Think about surfaces that regularly get wet and need easy maintenance.
Semi-gloss belongs on:
- Bathroom walls (all of them, not just near the shower)
- All trim, baseboards, and door frames throughout the house
- Doors themselves
- Window casings
- Cabinets and built-in shelving
- Laundry rooms
In Chicago specifically, semi-gloss in bathrooms isn't just a nice-to-have—it's structural defense. Our summer humidity regularly pushes 80-90%, and bathrooms stack shower steam on top of already-humid ambient air. Semi-gloss creates a moisture-resistant barrier that flat and satin finishes simply can't match. I've seen matte bathroom paint start peeling in under a year in Chicago homes. Semi-gloss in the same bathroom lasts a decade.
Semi-Gloss for Trim: The Universal Rule
Regardless of what finish you use on your walls, your trim should be semi-gloss. Every single time.
Trim takes physical abuse—shoes kick baseboards, hands grab door frames, vacuum cleaners bump into casings. Semi-gloss holds up to cleaning, resists scuffing, and provides a visual contrast against the flatter wall finish that makes the whole room look more polished.
Benjamin Moore Advance is our go-to for trim and doors. It's a waterborne alkyd that levels beautifully—meaning fewer brush marks and roller marks than standard latex—while providing the durability of an oil-based paint. For cabinet painting projects, Advance or Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane are the only products we'll use. Anything less shows brush strokes within a year.
High Gloss: The Statement
High gloss paint is the sports car of finishes. Dramatic, beautiful, and completely unforgiving. Every speck of dust, every surface preparation shortcoming, every roller mark shows up magnified.
Fine Paints of Europe makes the finest high gloss paint on the market—their Full Gloss line produces a finish so reflective you can check your reflection in it. We've used it on front doors, built-in bookcases, and accent furniture pieces in Lake Forest and Hinsdale homes where clients wanted that lacquered, furniture-grade look.
But here's the catch: high gloss paint demands near-perfect surface preparation. Walls need to be sanded smooth, primed perfectly, and often skim-coated before the first coat goes on. A high gloss door that wasn't properly sanded between coats? You'll see every brush stroke and roller mark from across the room.
High gloss is for homeowners who understand that the finish demands an investment in prep to look right. On the right surface with the right prep, nothing else compares.
Combining Finishes: The Pro Move
The secret to a room that looks professionally painted isn't using one finish everywhere. It's combining finishes strategically.
The classic combination that works in virtually every Chicago home:
- Ceilings: Flat/matte (always white or near-white, one shade lighter than walls)
- Walls: Satin for high-traffic rooms, eggshell or matte for formal rooms
- Trim, baseboards, doors: Semi-gloss in white or a complementary color
- Accent features: High gloss for a pop of drama (a front door, a built-in, a mantel)
This layering creates visual depth. The matte ceiling recedes, the satin walls anchor the room, and the semi-gloss trim defines the architecture. It's subtle but it's the difference between "nice paint job" and "this room feels right."
How Chicago Humidity Affects Your Finish Choice
Our climate adds a layer of complexity that painters in Phoenix or Denver don't deal with.
Summer humidity and sheen durability: High humidity accelerates paint breakdown, especially on flat and matte finishes. Moisture vapor passes through matte paint more easily, which can cause adhesion issues over time. In consistently humid rooms (bathrooms, kitchens, basements), go one sheen level higher than you would in a dry climate.
Winter dryness and static: Chicago winters are brutally dry indoors. Low humidity makes matte walls more prone to showing scuff marks, as there's no ambient moisture to help the paint surface stay flexible. Satin handles the seasonal humidity swing better than flat.
Condensation on sheeny surfaces: Semi-gloss and gloss finishes in poorly ventilated bathrooms can show condensation patterns—water beading and running down the walls. This isn't a paint failure; it's a ventilation problem. If your bathroom fan isn't pulling enough CFM, even the best semi-gloss will have moisture running down it. Fix the fan before blaming the paint.
Surface Preparation: The Foundation
No finish saves you from bad prep. Every sheen level requires clean, smooth, properly primed surfaces to perform correctly.
Matte is the most forgiving of prep shortcuts, but "forgiving" isn't "immune." Semi-gloss and high gloss are ruthlessly honest—they'll advertise every skipped step.
At minimum, every surface needs:
- Cleaning (dust, grease, and soap residue)
- Patching (fill nail holes, repair dents)
- Sanding (smooth patches, degloss old semi-gloss surfaces)
- Priming (bare patches, stains, color changes)
If your walls need significant patching or drywall repair, handle that before even thinking about which finish to use. The sheen conversation starts after the surface is ready.
Making the Call
Still overthinking it? Here's the cheat sheet for choosing the perfect finish:
Go matte if: You want to hide wall imperfections, the room is low-traffic, and you won't need to scrub the walls.
Go satin if: The room gets regular use, you have kids or pets, and you want easy cleaning without highlighting every wall flaw.
Go semi-gloss if: Moisture is present (bathroom, kitchen backsplash area), you're painting trim or doors, or the surface needs to withstand regular cleaning.
Go high gloss if: You want a dramatic accent, your surfaces are perfectly prepped, and you're okay with the maintenance.
And remember—you're not locked into one choice per room. The best paint jobs in any interior painting project combine finishes to let each surface perform at its best.
Not sure which finish combination works for your specific rooms? A color consultation covers more than just color—we'll walk through finishes, products, and the quirks of your home's specific lighting and surface conditions.
When you're ready to stop guessing, get in touch for a free estimate. We'll tell you exactly what finish goes where and why—before a single can gets opened.