eggshell is a nice finish and is cleanable

All of my walls are eggshell. They are not glossy, it's just not as dull a finish as flat and as Rockin' Fine Finish said above, they have the benefit of being cleanable.

I guess my concern is that an eggshell finish will not be as warm or elegant as flat. Although I described it as a "great room" it's a city condo and the living room part is fairly formal and traditional.

Great idea. Thank you!

My personal preference is a flat or matte finish. Walls are a backdrop for the room, and I prefer not to call attention to them by finishing with a paint with little or no sheen.

Paints have improved and recent high quality flat and matte finishes are easier to clean.

You shouldn't be pushing things up against the walls :)

Don't go with flat paint as it's very hard to wash, and if you have dogs, you know you need to wash areas of the wall from time to time.

Get a good quality washable flat paint. I got my white walls on a Sherwin-Williams washable flat. Some builder left shoe marks all over, but with a piece of cloth and water, the marks were gone. Wall is perfect again.

I would use eggshell for the above reasons. I think flat can look kind of chalky. I like the very subtle sheen in casual or formal settings.

To "ppf": I know I shouldn't be pushing things up against the walls, but the cleaning people, the grocery delivery guy, the cat and my adult children don't. :-)

Flat paint hides any textural imperfection in the wall that would be more evident in a bright, sunny room. Individual marks can be removed with gentle scrubbing with comet. I would not try to wash an entire flat paint wall, however. Also, a flat painted wall is much easier to touch up without requiring you to reprint the whole wall. I think flat walls look better.

If it's not a super sunny room, eggshell paint might be a goo alternative if you like the look of it and feel the need for washable walls.

I've just hired a painter and asked the same question of him. He says "flat" and "matte" are two different things. Is that right?

Yes, they are. It might be a good idea to visit your painter's favorite paint store and get a lesson in the various kinds of paint.

I typically use SW Cashmere flat. It does come in various finishes, however, so stop and get some samples. Maybe low lustre will work for you.

the sheens go flat matte eggshell satin semi gloss and then gloss some companies will mess with this order which I hate that they do . the sheens will have sheen percentages that's how they developed the sheen chart

That is so helpful. Thank you!

there's a big difference during the day. The eggshell is nice and has no real visible sheen, it just reflects light more, which lightens the room. The flat has been very hard to clean. The visible living room wall is painted grey, the side walls of the dining room are beige eggshell which I accidently touched up with flat beige, instead of eggshell. The flat reflects no light at all, and appears grey during the day at an angle. The eggshell does not have an visible sheen to it compared with the flat.

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