My question also applies to the garage doors.

Thanks for your reply. The siding is brand new (home under construction). In past homes we have kept up with maintenance/pressure washing (we have our own power washer). There will be mulch beds and brick foundation will get most of the splatter on the front of home. Location is in Wilmington NC (east coast) with hot beach summers. I wasn’t sure if siding and trim should have same finish or typical semi-gloss on trim and garage doors only.

Should be meeting with painter in soon. Finally got pic attachment to work.

for me, it's the same sheen on everything, but I do think it's a personal choice.

congratulations on the new build. I love SW Alabaster!

Use semi gloss on the trim. It will become less shiny in time anyway.

These are all going to come in at different price points, but you want satin sheen for cleaning purposes.

CR's top-performing exterior paint is Behr Marquis Exterior. As the wood is in good condition, satin provides a nice pearl finish. The paint is expensive so you could save some money by painting one coat with the recommended Behr 436 primer and finish with the Marquis top coat.

Behr #PPU10-14 Ivory Palace is extremely similar to the SW Alabaster paint color.

^^ agree with @wdccruise especially about using a primer first. The garage side facing the street appears to have black residue in some places and you surely don't want that bleeding through down the road.

Satin sheen on all areas (siding, garage doors, trim)? Painter uses Sherwin Williams products and applies a primer. Note the black in pic is overspray of primer applied to cut ends. Thanks everyone for your replies.

we have our own power washer

Semi gloss.

I always specify satin, upper tier exterior paint, especially for medium to darker colors. e.g. I've seen grown men cry over dark navy siding in semi gloss. The sun can never knock that back fast enough, and sometimes never enough.

The power washer, Sherwin, and Alabaster change things.

Top tier exterior Sherwin pricing can be shocking. Most people choose mid tier because of it.

Pick your paint and invest in a quart of Alabaster semi so you can make an informed decision.

Why that color for that house at all. If you must have a garage front and centr at least give it some style with much bigger window or something and for sure a more interestly color than blah As for sheen satin and not SW any color.

Yeah, it will be blah. I don't have any suggestions but these Behr examples at least show some variation in paint colors and are more interesting.

Neutral Simple Craftsman

Cool Simple Craftsman

Maybe blah to some but certainly not us. After 35 years in our prior house which we thought would be our last, the opportunity came up to build another in our retirement. This will be our last home and we have always wanted board and batten painted white (Alabaster is my favorite). Will have front porch posts and gable brackets stained to match our front door. Also adding some character with Bahamas style shutters. There is no need to insult homeowners whom you know nothing about.

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments regarding paint sheen. I was able to talk with our painter and he recommends satin. He directed us to another home he recently painted Alabaster with satin sheen , so we were able to look at that home this morning.

wrcd: "There is no need to insult homeowners whom you know nothing about."

If you consider comments you don't like to be insults, don't post to Houzz.

Really do not want to cause a back and forth here. I posted a question on paint sheens for which I received other replies. Perhaps you shouldn’t post replies to questions not asked? I have always valued input from Houzz and usually receive helpful and tactful replies.

I am happy for you if you love this color do it but I will say often if you don't want the answer do not ask the question even really good friends often get off the topic. BTW I have never power washed siding a good hose down with agentle spray is all you need ever .. Last of my rude comments

Patricia, I didn’t ask that question. I asked about sheen for a white paint (Alabaster). Honestly, I don’t care if anyone likes or dislikes white on my home. But a little tactfulness can go a long way. But ultimately it is up to the person posting to decide how they want to present their opinions.

We don’t do heavy power washing. For rinsing home down on occasion we use our pressure washer with a very fine and light spray nozzle. Much easier to reach up high versus using a hose, but no more pressure versus a hose. Lower pressure electric power washers are great for that.

My last comment as well.

• Board: (Eggshell)
• Batten & Trim: Satin or Semi-Gloss

The batten and trim...go semi-gloss. It may be a bit too shiny when applied, but outdoor sheen is calmed down quickly by the weather. So, go with it because in a few years you will still be able to see a difference in sheen.

You know what you want, and you are spot on. It really is no different from doing a color wash in the interior. One color, but different sheen so the batten shows more than the siding. The paint sheen creates depth by reflecting light differently, and that exactly is what I think you want.

The one issue with windows and board and batten is you want the trim pieces (headers, sills, jambs) installed first, with the vertical battens butted against or around them.

I can't tell from your photo if this was done.

Paint the boards and battens a different sheen? Any painter would charge a LOT more to do that, and it's totally unnecessary.

Diana, agree, it would add a significant amount to the painter’s cost.

Not a pro but I prefer matte for exterior - this is a great book by Susan Hershman

In my neighborhood 2 families painted their homes navy last summer - the matte one looks really classic with a charcoal roof and chunky white trim and windows. The other one has an off putting sheen that seems to cheapen the look of the home (totally just my opinion)

Def have to be careful with sheen exterior. Darker colors wear it differently than lighter. And the gloss levels are not consistent even within the same brand's tiers (different grades) which makes it more complicated.

Quarts are around $20 each, it's the only way to get a true read on the color/gloss combo.