What is the best type of paint to use on my living room walls? Do I use latex or enamel? What is the difference? And should I use flat or semi gloss?
By Cricket from Parkton, NC
Most people choose flat, but if I was painting I would check and see what types of finishes are available in paint. I would stick with latex.
Always use semi gloss even on the ceilings! This is because the "light" reflects making it look so much brighter and you can always wash them easily! Enamel is extremely messy and smelly; difficult to work with; stick with semi gloss for all things, including ceilings! you will be amazed at what a difference it makes!
I would not use semigloss on the ceiling, as it will show any cracks and you want the attention to be on the walls. Semigloss is usually used in bathrooms. For a living room I would go one sheen down and use a pearl or eggshell--easy to wash, but has more depth than flat.
Thank you Allison. I will go with the egg shell on the walls. My ceilings don't need it right now but when they do they certaiinly won't be done in semi gloss!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Our living room has different sized and shaped walls. I would like to paint one wall a different color but am not sure if this will work. Is this only good for square shaped rooms?
I think it can look great with an odd shaped room, just pick the one wall you'd like to stand out!
I don't think the size of the individual walls would matter. My granddaughter painted one of her walls dark purple with the other three walls white - she used the wall opposite the outside windows for the dark color.
I have a room that has an over hanging loft with those walls being standard height
I also have a wall that is 28 feet tall-A frame in the same room...
I'm moving into a small home. The living room has 1 wall with all windows. I've painted that wall and the opposite wall light willow green and want to paint the adjacent wall a cream or beige. (Those 2 walls have the cathedral ceiling, also.) The carpet is a light beige.
By Diane
I agree; paint only one wall beige.
I want to paint my living room two different colors, and am not sure if I should go 2 and 2 or 1 and 3. You enter the room via french doors, on that same wall is one window, that is the south side. The west side has one window, north side has two windows, and the east side, which is the front of the house, has one larger window with vertical blinds. Thanks for any ideas in advance!
By RBDART
Have you considered having the ceiling match one of the walls? I would suggest the ceiling and wall opposite the French doors. This would make the room appear larger as would having the window coverings match the wall.
