Kitchen Cabinet Painting In Omaha, NE: Which Paint Sheen Should I Use?
When it comes to kitchen cabinet painting in Omaha, NE, most homeowners focus primarily in color when choosing the paint. Indeed, color is what dresses your cabinets and defines their beauty when you paint them. However, there is one equally important element that they often ignore; paint sheen.
The sheen is the shininess that your cabinets give off when they reflect light. Paint sheen can also slightly alter the paint color by how much light it absorbs or reflects. Here is a quick look at the main types of kitchen cabinet paint sheens and how they affect the end results;
Kitchen Cabinet Paint Sheens
Flat/Matte Paint
If you have something to hide rather than reflect it, a flat sheen would be your perfect choice. It reflects nearly no light and shows no shininess on the surface. However, it’s the least durable choice and doesn’t usually stand up well against scrubbing. While most paints tend to clean up pretty quickly with water and soap, when it comes to kitchen cabinet painting, a flat finish is a no-go zone. Flat paints are best reserved for the ceilings and walls in low-traffic areas.
Satin Paint Sheen
Satin sheen is one step above the flat sheen. It offers the lowest light reflection and might be the best option if you prefer a soft glow in your cabinets. The satin sheen is best at hiding surface imperfections and dirt but might be as durable as the higher sheen options.
Semi-Gloss Paint Sheen
Semi-Gloss Paint Sheen is a step above satin sheen in terms of light reflection. It’s one of the most popular sheens used on kitchen cabinets as well as woodwork across different areas. A semi-gloss sheen will provide a subtle shine to your cabinets, but it won’t be too glaring and overbearing.
Semi-gloss paint tends to be more durable in high traffic areas compared to both satin and flat sheens. It’s also easy to maintain, and therefore you will need to do less frequent wiping of your cabinets. This sheen reflects and shows a little more dirt and surface imperfections compared to satin, but it’s generally an excellent choice for most kitchen cabinet painting projects.
Gloss Paint Sheen
Gloss paint provides the highest light reflection when used on the kitchen cabinets. They are a step above semi-gloss paint and are much easier to clean and maintain compared to semi-gloss and satin paints. Cabinets painted in gloss paint will stand against regular cleaning and scrubbing without easily wearing off.
While this high sheen paint is easy to clean, it also tends to reflect and show more dirt and surface imperfection. This sheen is, therefore, best used if there is no surface damage on your cabinets. Gloss sheen might also be a little too reflective and should be used selectively.
The Bottom Line
The best sheen is really all about what you prefer, but if you want super easy cleaning, choose gloss sheen. If you want easy to clean paint, but have surface imperfections choose satin sheen. And if your cabinets are in good shape and you want a nice sheen that is not too reflective choose semi-gloss.
Still not sure which sheen is best for your particular project? Consult a painting contractor. If you any professional assistance updating your kitchen cabinets in Omaha, NE, our team at Brush & Roll Painting can help. To get started, book a FREE estimate below or call us today on 402-932-9764 for more details.