Matte and flat are pretty much the same. I think the terms are used interchangeably depending on manufacturer.

mimimony Ben Moore definitely has a flat and also a matte. Matte is slightly glossier. By about 5 pct. I looked at the paint cans. The first can be bought Monday says Flat. I think he used that in the dining room. The second can he bought today says Matte. He used that in my family room and kitchen. That's not what I wanted. I have to talk to him in the morning

matte is not at all shiny. it's similar to flat or just below an eggshell.

I don't use Ben Moore so can't speak to your particular brand, but sounds like you are unhappy with it so talking with your painter is your best option.

Beth H - so do you think I am over reacting if he painted my ceiling in Matte? It does look a little shiny to me compared to my other rooms. According to what I read online, Flat is 0-5 pct gloss and Matte is 5-10 pct gloss

Does it actually look bad? I think it would look nice if it is applied correctly and your ceiling isn't too rough. If you keep it, just make sure you know what is used where in case of future touch-ups.

what was he supposed to paint it? anything written down? You assumed it was flat because the other was? you can't assume with workers. a little sheen is a lot easier to clean than a true flat, especially in a kitchen.

i have matte on my bedroom/bath walls and don't find them shiny at all. it does have a tad more reflection than a solid flat, but it's hardly noticeable and doesn't look bad.

ask the painter what he used on that part of the ceiling. if you don't like it, have him go over it w/the flat.

Matte has a velvet finish, not really shiny. I would be more upset about the cost as it only comes in their higher cost paint;)! Ceiling flat is usually the least expensive! I would just leave it be.

Fork, Beth H, & lynnartist

I think the confusion started bc he painted my bathrooms first. They had “drip marks” and I decided to use the Aura Bath and Spa and that only comes in Matte so walls and ceiling were both Matte

BUT 2nd room he painted was my dining room. That was yesterday. I looked at paint cans dated yesterday and the ceiling paint can is in a FLAT finish.

The ceiling paint cans that are dated today which were used in Kitchen and great room say MATTE finish. Not sure why he would have done a different finish from one day to the next?

It’s a complicated ceiling to repaint bc part is cathedral and part is where all my cabinets are - so lots of tape and plastic.

I’m just at the end of my rope after so many months of renovations and things not usually going as planned...

The issue is there’s a room right adjacent that the walls and ceiling will all be white (long story) and I want the ceiling FLAT in there and the walls MATTE. Will it be noticeable that the ceilings are different sheens? The only thing separating them is an archway

An archway is plenty separation! I missed that this was the kitchen--it's not weird to put a shinier paint everywhere in a kitchen, or at least it didn't used to be. I remember watching my mom wipe spaghetti sauce off of the shiny kitchen ceiling...

I was in a house this Thanksgiving that had it in the extreme: an open floorplan where the ceiling paint changed sheens over the kitchen. Now, THAT was kinda weird because it looked semi-gloss.

Is your painter perhaps older? Maybe this is an old school thing and he just assumed it should be thus?

not necessarily. all depends on the way the light hits it. you could always do that in the matte as well. or, have him redo your kitchen in the flat. But I think the separation is enough that using both won't look noticeable.

He should have clarified it w/you first. if you don't like it, have him redo it. next he'll know to ask the client what they want, and write it down.

(but I really don't think the matte looks bad. you're the one that has to look at it, so, whatever makes you happy)

Probably only to you! Once this is dry ( and do give it a week or two) the sheen you are seeing will lessen. When all is done and the room put back together you won’t notice it.

I sincerely doubt it will be noticeable. It sounds like the reason you noticed is that you looked at the paint cans. I can appreciate that renovations are long and stressful but it may be this is one of those things that needn't be. I'd stop worrying about it and sleep on it. No paint job is perfect and I've had the privilege of having some pretty awesome painters.

Life is a journey, as is a home renovation. I am a planner and I've found as I get older that I am much better off stressing a little less and not worrying quite so much. I thought everything in my new home was perfect, but over time, living in a home, I would notice little things here and there... and guess what, my home was lovely anyways. Perfection is unattainable and truly is the enemy of good.

It sounds like you have been very close to this renovation for five months and have been going over each and every detail regularly. Imagine if you just walked into your home after being in Europe for five months.... would you notice or would you think, wow!!! my house looks fabulous??

This is just my experience (not the Europe trip), for what it's worth :) I truly hope this issue resolves to your satisfaction and that you can find a small oasis among the stressors.

Thank you all for your responses. Sometimes it’s hard to step away from the issue. I’ve dealt with many during this renovation. Since the overwhelming response from you all is Matte is only slightly shinier than Flat, and chances are no one will notice it but me I think I’m probably going to leave it.

I also was confused about the difference between matte and flat. I always thought those terms were interchangeable and thought that matte actually meant flat. I had no clue that matte had a slight sheen which is VERY noticeable to my eyes. Personally, I like the flattest paint there is (on the ceiling AND the walls). Flat paint hides imperfections in the sheet rock and is very easy to touch up when necessary. As far as how noticeable it will be on your ceiling, it really depends on how the light hits it and your own sensitivity to it.

There were things that I fussed about during our build that now I really don’t notice, but paint sheen would not have been one of them. I think that no one can truly predict if the matte finish will fad into the background for you or bug you every day. If it bothers you, change it now while you have the chance and your painters are still working. If it was my home, no question, I would have them change it because I dislike any kind of sheen on my painted surfaces (except for trim). When I finally understood what my painters meant by matte, I told them I wanted the flattest paint they could find...even if they had to put ceiling paint on my walls in order to get a super flat finish. I actually had my painters redo all of my first floor ceilings (because of color, not sheen) and although I didn’t relish paying them extra, I’m glad I bit the bullet even though no one would have noticed it except for me.

If it's a good paint job I would just move on with life. I have BM matte & flat in my home. I understand your concern... move on.

The matte is more washable and is probably a better paint for your kitchen anyway. I know people use flat on kitchen ceilings now, but, years ago, no one would have ever had any flat or even matte paints in a kitchen or a bathroom. It was usually semi gloss for better washability. The matte will be fine. Just let it dry really good, and you wont notice it.

Did you ask your painter why? Maybe "old school". I agree with previous poster. It was common practice to paint kitchen ceiling in a glossy paint to make it more washable. My mom had a strip of kind of molding on ceiling between the kitchen and dining area. The ceiling in kitchen area was painted with more glossy paint, the strip was the division. The rest of home was flat. But bathrooms did have more glossy to, I guess to protect against all the moisture.

If you're in Home Depot sometime, pick up a Sheens card which contains a strip of the same color paint in six different sheens. You'll see that the "flat" and "matt" are barely distinguishable. Behr ceiling paint is flat.

BM Matte definitely has a sheen to it, so I totally understand your concern. Youve gotten good advice here, especially from mimimomy, and it sounds like you’re taking it. I was a little surprised and disappointed when I had a room done in Matte, not fully understanding the term. I’m happy with it now, and I learned something! The marketing terms are endlessly confusing, even for pros. Put it all in context and enjoy your house. I’m sure it’s lovely :-)

THERE IS NO SHINE TO MATTE and IMO get over it and I would much prefer that to flat cheap ceiling paint.

Patricia....writing it in all caps does not make it so. Matte paint DOES have a sheen (maybe it depends on the manufacturer, I don’t know). Even when buying spray paint in a can, the matte finish has a sheen, and oddly enough, when I went to choose a metal roof, there was a similar confusion....colors with the word “matte” had a sheen to them. To state, across the board, that matte paint does not have a sheen is simply incorrect.

Flat cheap ceiling paint looks the best on a ceiling. That's why we use it. The price is not relevant.

This write up is from Sherwin-Williams. On the one hand they are calling their “matte” finish flat, but in the same description they say it has an “angular shine”.

http://www.paintinfo.com/mpi/approved/sheen.shtml

If you think it looks bad, and you simply don't like it, have it changed. It's okay to do that!

If it looks fine and you just aren't sure if it'll work with the next room, tell the painted that he used the wrong paint and might have to come back and put a coat of flat on it later if it doesn't work with the next room.

But let him know now that there was a mistake and you will try to live with it before having it redone.

I have matte paint all through my house and in no way is there a sheen at all.

Is it back and blue or white and gold? Who knows?

Matte, flat, velvet, soft, leaden, are all just marketing words with no empirical meaning. If you want to describe the accurate differences between gloss levels, you don't use words to do that. You use numbers. Is is a 2% or 5% or 9% sheen?

Your painter chose the correct sheen for your ceiling.

“You say potato and I say potato”. matte/flat.

This is not a big deal. Not sure you understand finishes, but he had matte available and he used it. He did the right thing and saved you money.

Used matte on my ceiling

Matte =/= flat. And normally I prefer a dead flat on ceilings. However, in the kitchen and bathrooms I prefer something washable (which means it will have a tiny bit of sheen). It will stand up to steam better and you can wipe it down if there are, ahem... incidents. My husband is a home brewer. I've wiped overprimed beer off the ceiling more than once.

I think your painter did right by you.

Depends on the paint. Matte is NOT the same as flat depending on the paint brand. Most matte finishes that I’ve seen do have a slight sheen.

The paint that Matt has on his ceiling (which is matte) definitely has a sheen....it is not flat.

Mimimomy, Did the matte sheen for the ceiling turn out ok? My husband accidentally bought matte instead of flat for our ceilings, we can’t return it, so I was planning to just go with it.

I'd only use flat paint on a ceiling unless it was in perfect condition. With any other paint sheen, you'll see every flaw when light reflects off of it as you're viewing it from an angle. I used Behr Ultra Pure White Ceiling Flat Paint and even it can't hide the places where the ceiling drywall has been repaired.

Thank you! We will do flat.