Which wall paint suits which room: matte, silk or semi-gloss

What actually separates matte, silk and semi-gloss paint

The difference is how much light the dried surface reflects, and that comes from the ratio of binder to pigment in the paint. Matte paint has the least binder relative to pigment, so it dries flat and absorbs light rather than bouncing it. Semi-gloss has more binder, forming a harder, smoother film that reflects light and feels slightly plastic to the touch.

Silk sits between the two. It has a soft sheen, is noticeably easier to wipe down than matte, and does not have the almost-shiny look of semi-gloss. Most manufacturers also sell an eggshell or satin step between silk and semi-gloss, which behaves much like silk with a touch more sheen.

The binder content also affects durability. A harder film resists scuffs and repeated washing better, which is why semi-gloss survives in a hallway where a pushchair or a school bag brushes the wall daily, while matte would start to burnish and mark in the same spot within a year.

Which finish belongs in which room

Bedrooms and living rooms are usually painted matte or silk. These rooms see less physical contact and less moisture, so the priority is a calm, even surface rather than washability. Matte suits a room where you want the walls to recede; silk gives a little more life to the colour without looking glossy.

Kitchens, bathrooms and hallways call for silk or semi-gloss. Steam, condensation and grease need a surface you can wipe with a damp cloth without the paint dulling or lifting. In a bathroom without an extractor fan doing much work, a lower-sheen finish will show water marks and eventually mould at the ceiling line faster than a washable one.

Children's rooms are worth treating like a hallway rather than a bedroom, since crayon and handprints are more predictable there than in an adult's room. A washable silk finish saves you repainting a single wall every year.

• Bedroom, living room: matte or silk, low traffic and no moisture
• Kitchen: silk or semi-gloss, resists grease and steam near the hob
• Bathroom: silk or semi-gloss, always with working ventilation
• Hallway, stairwell: semi-gloss where bags and hands touch the wall
• Child's room: washable silk rather than plain matte
• Ceilings: matte almost everywhere, sheen only draws attention to unevenness overhead

How sheen changes the look of older plaster

Tallinn has a lot of plaster that has been patched, skimmed and repainted over decades, in 1930s wooden houses and in Soviet-era panel flats alike. Light raking across a glossy surface shows every dip, trowel mark and old crack line that flat matte paint would simply absorb. This is the main reason decorators default to matte on ceilings and older walls rather than any preference for the look.

If a wall has been recently skimmed and sanded properly, silk or even semi-gloss can look fine, because there is nothing for the sheen to expose. The judgement call is whether the plaster underneath is flat enough to survive scrutiny, not whether you like a slight shine.

Where a wall needs to be both durable and forgiving, such as a kitchen with visible old repairs, wallpaper is sometimes the more practical answer than paint, since a textured paper hides surface irregularity in a way no paint finish can. We also do wallpapering, from 10 € per job, for exactly that situation.

What is marketing on the tin, and what genuinely matters

Labels promising "one coat coverage", "stays white for years" or a named designer colour collection describe marketing, not chemistry. Coverage depends on the colour change you are making and the condition of the wall underneath, not the tin. A dark wall going pale will need two coats regardless of what the label says.

Wipeable and scrubbable claims are worth reading more carefully, since they usually refer to a specific test method the manufacturer chose, and "wipeable" is a lower bar than "scrubbable". If washability is the reason you are paying more for a tin, silk or semi-gloss from a mid-range range will usually outperform a matte paint marketed as wipeable.

What genuinely matters is the sheen level, the opacity or hiding power stated on the tin, and whether the paint is suited to the surface, that is a wall paint rather than a wood or metal formulation. Colour name and brand story do not affect how the wall performs.

Choosing the paint yourself or leaving it to whoever does the work

Picking the finish yourself is entirely reasonable once you know the room's exposure to moisture and contact, and it lets you control cost, since paint bought separately avoids any handling fee. What is harder to judge without experience is how a particular wall's condition will read under a given sheen, and that is where a second opinion before buying saves a repaint.

If you would rather not stand in the shop weighing tins, we can recommend a finish for each room based on a description or photos, then handle the painting itself. Painting and decorating work starts from 12 € per job, priced once we know the rooms and the state of the walls.

Either way is fine. The only mistake worth avoiding is buying five litres of semi-gloss for a bedroom because it was on offer, then wondering why the wall looks patchy under the evening lamp.