Which Paint Is Better For Interior Walls

The All-time Paints for Interior Walls to Give Any Room a Makeover

The Sherwin-Williams Cashmere Interior Latex Paint is our top pick

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Updated on 04/08/22

Nosotros independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a committee.

The Bandbox / Chloe Jeong

Painting your walls does non need to be a major undertaking, cheers to the diversity of modern products that eliminate the need for priming and offer a faster drying fourth dimension than traditional paints.

We researched the best paints for interior walls, evaluating ease of application, finish, color pick, formulation, and value. Our best overall pick, the Sherwin-Williams Cashmere, is a paint/primer combo that applies evenly, is easy to make clean, and looks and feels silky.

Here are the best interior wall paints.

Courtesy of Sherwin-Williams

Who else recommends it? Wirecutter also picked Sherwin-Williams Cashmere.

Our top choice is Sherwin-Williams Cashmere. This acrylic latex paint/primer philharmonic stands out for its buttery smoothen application. It automatically levels out into an even layer. In other words, you won't accept to worry virtually permanent roller marks or brush strokes.

When your walls dry, you lot'll be left with an ultra-silky, rich finish that looks great from every angle. This wall paint offers exceptional coverage, effortlessly hiding whatever colors or marks underneath. Information technology comes in 5 dissimilar sheens, and you tin can upload your own color to create a custom hue.

Courtesy of The Dwelling house Depot

If you're on a tight budget, Glidden Essentials Interior Pigment is a high-quality selection with an affordable price tag. When y'all want to refresh your living room, entryway, bedchamber, or home office, this paint provides first-class coverage and an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-clean cease.

Glidden Essentials can be tinted into upwards of 1,100 colors, and you tin choose from flat/matte, eggshell, or semi-gloss. We as well appreciate that this is a low-VOC (volatile organic chemical compound) latex paint with minimal odour. Plus, Gliddon backs information technology with a 15-yr warranty.

Courtesy of Amazon

Your next paint project is nearly to get more than colorful! The Spruce All-time Dwelling house Interior Paint & Primer in I is a premium acrylic pigment that's perfect for interior walls. After listening to reader feedback and experimenting with unlike formulas, we studied the about pressing concerns (odor, formula, application, and color). We developed a pigment product that nosotros honey and remember you volition too!

Produced by KILZ, you can cull from matte, semi-gloss, and eggshell finishes. While all three are stain-resistant and long-lasting, our matte formula has the lowest level of sheen (0 to four units at 85 F) and is perfect for ceilings, bedrooms, and other rooms that don't see equally much foot traffic. The eggshell or semi-gloss paint has a slight sheen (17 to 22 units at 85 F) that'due south decorative and easy to clean.

We've invested considerable time testing this paint. We are impressed with the thick coverage and depth of color. Nosotros found that one coat will do when yous expect to demand two. Since nosotros know that picking a colour tin can feel daunting, we narrowed downwardly our colors to 32 curated shades that are elegant and versatile. You can't go wrong with whatever color you choice. Low odor was also important to us; our product is low VOC and low odor. You can apply this paint with a nylon or polyester brush, a roller, or an airless paint sprayer. It is available exclusively on Amazon.

Courtesy of Backdrop

If you're in the market for luxury wall paint, you might desire to splurge on a can of Backdrop Standard Finish. This premium, water-based paint is formulated with acrylic resin, which makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to apply. This self-priming, depression-VOC formula goes on smoothly and dries quickly with minimal odors.

Properties Standard Finish delivers a rich paint with a perfect low-sheen, semi-matte finish. Choose from tons of stunning colors with irresistible names, like Rose Quartz, Skywalker, and Drive-Thru Safari. There's a mix of bold colors that are perfect for accent walls or large design moments and more neutral shades that will piece of work in whatsoever home.

The Spruce / Deanna McCormack

What Our Testers Say

"No need for a primer! The paint had great coverage. It was thick, spread well, and dried fast. I did ii coats over an existing nighttime greyness, and information technology was perfect." — Deanna McCormack, Product Tester

Courtesy of Clare

If you prefer low-VOC products, y'all'll appreciate the VOC-free formula of Clare Wall Pigment. This Greenguard Gold-Certified paint emits zero volatile organic compounds. Plus, it has an ultra-low scent, then you can breathe easy non only while you employ it only for long after.

While this 100 per centum acrylic pigment is a scrap spendier than most other brands, you'll get what you pay for. Information technology offers impressive coverage and a remarkably polish, durable finish that resists dirt, mold, and mildew. Get super convenient peel-and-stick colour swatches before you purchase a full can.

Courtesy of Walmart

Your all-time bet for chalk pigment is Rust-Oleum Chalked. The ultra-matte formula creates a charming, semi-distressed expect that's platonic for rustic and vintage-inspired interior pattern schemes.

Besides painting your walls, you lot can apply Rust-Oleum Chalked to transform wood furniture, metal fixtures, and ceramic items around your home. This depression-odour latex paint is like shooting fish in a barrel to use, effortlessly adhering to most surfaces, and is dry to the touch in xxx minutes.

Courtesy of Lowe's

If y'all similar a matte terminate, nosotros recommend Valspar Signature Flat. The tintable interior formula is a paint and primer in one. Different other matte paints, it has special "scuff shield applied science" that protects confronting scuffs and stains. Information technology's too resistant to fading, scratching, and scrub marks.

Valspar Signature Apartment goes on smooth and effortlessly conceals whatsoever existing paint, marks, or imperfections on your walls. As a Greenguard Gold-certified product, this is a low-VOC pigment.

Courtesy of Lowe's

For an extra sleeky finish, Valspar Ultra High Gloss is the manner to become. Similar its flat counterpart, this paint/primer formula resists stains, scrub marks, scuffs, and general habiliment and tear. Information technology has a washable finish, meaning about marks and stains will wash away with lather and water.

This acrylic paint is suitable for indoor and outdoor utilise. No thing where you employ information technology, yous tin can count on this burnish-resistant finish to retain its sleeky appearance.

Courtesy of The Dwelling Depot

If yous're looking for the perfect stark white colour, bank check out Behr Premium Plus Enamel Ultra Pure White. This combined acrylic paint and primer come up in five sheens, including apartment, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss.

The low-odor formula glides on easily and covers your existing wall color—even dark shades. It resists mildew and is platonic for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, basements, and other moisture-prone spaces.

Courtesy of Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore Waterborne is the best interior paint for ceilings. The ultra-matte sheen hides whatever imperfections on your ceiling, leaving a virtually flawless finished appearance. Information technology's piece of cake to use and resists gravitational dripping and splattering. This low-odor ceiling paint emits zero VOCs, giving you peace of mind about the air you breathe in your abode.

Final Verdict

The all-time paint for interior walls is Sherwin-Williams Cashmere Interior Acrylic Latex (view at Sherwin-Williams). You lot tin't shell the buttery shine application and rich, low-stipple cease. However, if you're having a hard time choosing a color, you can't go wrong with The Spruce Best Home past KILZ Interior Paint & Primer (view at Amazon). The 32 shades are curated, providing foolproof versatility and an elegant appearance.

Color

The colour you choice is likely your biggest consideration when selecting interior paint. Fifty-fifty if yous already know what color interior paint you desire, there are many shade choices. Well-nigh major paint manufacturers offer an extensive option of colour chips. Use them to narrow down your options, then consider purchasing a pint-sized pigment tester to try out the color at home if you're however torn.

If you tin can't find an exact lucifer in the color swatches, typically, you can have a custom color mixed at your local paint store. Bring in a sample of the shade you're imagining—it can be annihilation, even a pillow or a favorite sweater—and a colour lawmaking automobile called a spectrophotometer scans and deciphers the colour. The machines aren't perfect, so visually check the colour to encounter if it's on target with what y'all were imagining. The paint mixer should be able to tweak it further, if necessary.

Another option is a small device, the Colour Muse (view on Amazon), which can browse a wall, counter, or other object and find you lot the closest colour friction match among height paint brands. The device reads the RGB (ruddy, greenish, blue) values of the color and identifies paint choices that match. If no matching shade is establish, the device provides you lot with the RGB code to create a custom paint shade. Paint color options are limitless. The bigger task is selecting your top choice for your infinite, style, and effects.

Finish

Yous have three bones end categories to choose from, and sometimes paint is categorized past these stop types. Select from a flat finish, low-luster, or sleeky finish.

Flat paint is exactly as information technology sounds—the resulting terminate doesn't reflect much calorie-free. Information technology's also chosen a matte cease. This type of interior paint is good for surfaces that won't come across much activity, similar ceilings. It'due south ordinarily the least expensive blazon of interior pigment, and information technology can exist difficult to keep clean and await fresh. Only use flat pigment if you're on a tight budget and using it on an out-of-the-way location in your business firm. On the plus side, matte paint will hide imperfections ameliorate than shinier finishes.

The next blazon of finish is low-luster, which only offers a slight reflection of light. Low-luster paints include both eggshell and satin finishes. Of the two, the eggshell is slightly more matte. This type of paint is prevalent since it's versatile and offers increased durability and cleaning ability compared to apartment paint. You'll likely desire to utilize interior paint with a satin or eggshell end in the majority of areas within your home, such as living room and bedroom walls, hallways, bathrooms, and more than; all are skillful places to use a low-luster finish.

Finally, paints with a glossy finish offer a high corporeality of sheen or low-cal reflection and a harder finish than flat paints. This category includes semi-gloss paints that are slightly more matte than their glossy counterparts. Glossy paint is used for windowsills or handrails, while semi-gloss paints are popular in higher humidity areas, like kitchens or bathrooms. Glossy paints expect cute but magnify any imperfections in the surface they're painted on, so take this into business relationship when selecting your paint finish.

The cease you lot choose will depend on where you lot are painting and how resilient you want the finish. Aesthetics also play a role; high gloss finishes add together drama, while a more matte appearance might play into calmer surroundings.

VOC

Volatile organic compounds are commonly referred to as VOCs, and it'south of import to know if your paint has them. If the thought of a freshly painted room makes your nose wrinkle, it's considering you've smelled VOCs before.

To go along the chemical science lesson brief, VOCs are compounds that are emitted from some solids or liquids. Many latex-based paints are considered low VOC formulas. These are a meliorate option for interior painting since they will minimize the exposure you have to VOCs during painting and afterward.

Oil-based paints have a college concentration of VOCs, and so practice the paint thinners needed to clean the brushes and rollers you utilise to apply the paint. If you opt for oil-based pigment or pigment that isn't depression VOC, take actress precautions to ventilate the area.

Additives

Some interior paints have additives to enhance the awarding or finish of the paint. Consider what you lot're trying to achieve with your painting project to decide which—if any—additives are necessary for your purposes.

Enamel is one of the most mutual additives you'll find in interior pigment. The add-on of enamel to the paint formula reduces the paint'due south porosity and results in a harder, more than durable cease. This could be important for high-traffic areas where clay might infiltrate the paint or if the cease is subjected to lots of touching and bumping.

Acrylic is often added to oil-based paint to prevent yellowing. This is a common downfall of oil-based interior pigment. By adding acrylic, the paint stays true to its original hue longer. You'll also see acrylic added to latex paints to improve their durability and cease.

FAQ

• How practice you pigment a wall?

  First, tape the trim then you don't accidentally paint over it. Apply primer to your wall to ensure the paint sticks and then carefully apply the pigment. Paint at least two coats for a solid wash and always allow the pigment to fully dry between coats.

• How tin can yous match new paint to the paint colour already on the wall?

  Consider eyeballing it if yous don't need an verbal match. If it does demand to exist exact, you can have a photo on your phone and use a paint matching app to become the right lucifer or match the color to a piece of fabric or spool of thread.

• How long does wall pigment take to dry out?

  Most interior wall pigment will dry out in about i hour, but it all depends on the type of pigment you use. Bank check the instructions on your product to learn more near how long it takes to dry completely.

Theresa Holland researched and wrote this roundup. As a professional author and homeowner with a DIY spirit, she has substantial experience testing and reviewing home improvement products. In addition to The Spruce, she also writes for MyDomaine.

Additional reporting and enquiry was done past Lauren Murphy, an experienced writer and editor who specializes in DIYs, home upgrades, and other home-related topics.

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our manufactures. Read our editorial procedure to acquire more about how nosotros fact-cheque and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. The All-time Interior Pigment. Wirecutter. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-interior-paint/

2. What Are Volatile Organic Compounds? United States Environmental Protection Bureau

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Source: https://www.thespruce.com/best-paints-for-interior-walls-4151287

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