The best paint finishes for kitchens and bathrooms

For most kitchens and bathrooms, the best paint is a good interior paint in satin or semi-gloss, or a washable matte made to be scrubbed, applied over clean, degreased, properly primed walls. Paints made for humid rooms help resist mildew, but ventilation and prep matter more than anything in the can.

Here’s what goes wrong in these two rooms, which finishes hold up, and the steps that keep paint on the wall. For the rest of the house, see our interior painting page.

Why are kitchens and bathrooms so hard on paint?

Four things work against paint in these rooms:

• Moisture. Steam from showers and stovetops condenses on cool surfaces. In a Michigan winter, when outside walls and ceilings under the attic run cold, a hot shower can leave water beaded across them.
• Grease. Cooking puts a fine film of grease in the air that settles on walls, ceilings and trim, heaviest near the range. Paint doesn’t bond well to it.
• Mildew. It grows where surfaces stay damp and soap residue or body oils feed it, showing up as gray or black specks in corners and above the shower.
• Cleaning. Splatter and fingerprints mean these walls get wiped far more often than a bedroom’s.

Which sheen is best for a kitchen or bathroom?

Satin and semi-gloss are the traditional choices. Generally, the higher the sheen, the tighter the paint film, so it sheds moisture and wipes clean more easily. The trade-off: shine shows roller marks, patches and every wave in an old plaster wall.

Many paint makers also offer matte paints formulated to be washed, some even scrubbed. They can work well in a well-ventilated bath or on kitchen walls away from the range, but durability varies by product. Check the label, and don’t assume an ordinary flat is one of them.

Sheen names aren’t standardized, so one brand’s satin may look like another’s eggshell. Our paint sheen guide compares them in detail, and our guide to cleaning painted walls covers what each finish can take.

Do you need a special paint for bathrooms?

It helps, especially in a bathroom that stays damp. We paint with Sherwin-Williams, which, like other major paint makers, offers interior paints formulated for humid rooms, often with additives that help the paint film resist mildew.

Read those claims carefully, because what a label promises varies from product to product. And no paint kills mildew already on the wall. It has to be cleaned off first, or it can grow back through the new coat.

Fresh paint also needs time before it faces steam. Paint can feel dry within hours yet stay soft underneath, so follow the label on when to shower; our article on dry time versus cure time explains why.

Does ventilation matter more than the paint?

Yes. Paint can resist moisture, but it can’t remove it. A bathroom that stays steamy long after every shower will eventually mildew or peel, whatever is on the walls.

• Run the exhaust fan during every shower and well after, at least until the mirror clears. A timer switch makes it automatic.
• Make sure the fan vents outdoors. A fan ducted into the attic just moves the moisture somewhere colder, where it can condense on roof framing in winter.
• Keep the grille and fan clean. A clogged fan moves far less air.
• Use the range hood when you cook. A hood ducted outside removes moisture and grease; a recirculating hood filters some grease but returns the moisture to the room.

Many older homes have bathrooms with a window and no fan, and few people open a window in January. Adding or upgrading a fan is a job for an electrician or contractor, and it will do more for the paint than any product on the shelf.

How should kitchen and bathroom walls be prepped?

Here, prep is mostly cleaning, because grease and soap, two enemies of adhesion, are on every wall. Our guide to why prep is the paint job covers the steps every room needs. These are the extras:

• Degrease kitchen walls with a TSP substitute or another cleaner sold for pre-paint washing, especially around the range and hood, then rinse with clean water. Paint over grease can bead up, cover unevenly or peel later.
• Wash off soap residue around the tub, shower and sink, rinse, and let the walls dry completely.
• Kill and remove mildew with a mildew remover or diluted household bleach, then rinse and dry. Wear gloves, ventilate, and never mix bleach with ammonia-based cleaners.
• Prime stains. Fix any leak first and let the area dry, then seal water, grease and smoke stains with a stain-blocking primer; check the label for what it blocks.
• Scrape and dull. Peeling paint over a tub comes off and gets feathered smooth, and glossy surfaces get scuff-sanded or deglossed so new paint can grip. In a home built before 1978, the old paint may contain lead, so read the EPA’s lead-safe work guidance before any scraping or sanding.

Cabinets are their own project

Painting kitchen cabinets is a specialized job: doors and drawers usually come off, every surface needs degreasing and sanding, and the finish has to stand up to hands and water. Plan it as a separate project, not an add-on to the walls.

What paint should go on a bathroom ceiling?

The ceiling takes more steam than any wall, because warm, moist air rises and condenses there first, and a ceiling under a cold winter attic gets it worst. That’s why mildew and peeling so often start in the corner above the shower.

Standard flat ceiling paint is made to hide flaws, not to shed water. In a full bathroom, many painters use the same humidity-rated paint on the ceiling as on the walls; some ceiling paints are made for humid rooms too, so check the label. Our guide to painting ceilings covers color, sheen and technique.

Which caulk goes around tubs and backsplashes?

Caulk keeps water out of the joints where a tub, shower or countertop meets the wall. Which kind to use depends on whether the joint will be painted.

• Paintable caulk, usually acrylic latex or siliconized acrylic, is for joints you’ll paint: trim to wall, or the top edge of a backsplash. Kitchen and bath versions with mildew-resistant additives are common.
• Kitchen and bath silicone stays flexible and handles standing water, so it’s the usual choice where a tub meets tile or a sink meets the counter. Paint won’t stick to pure silicone, so it stays unpainted.

The tube decides it: if it doesn’t say “paintable,” don’t plan to paint it. Cracked or mildew-stained caulk should be cut out, not covered, and old silicone residue cleaned off completely, since neither paint nor new caulk bonds to it. Let new caulk cure as the label directs before the shower runs.

What colors work well in kitchens and bathrooms?

Start with what’s hard to change: tile, counters, cabinets and fixtures. Choose paint to suit them, not the other way around. A few Sherwin-Williams colors that suit these rooms:

• Sea Salt SW 6204, a pale green-gray that can read soft blue or green depending on the light, is a classic for bathrooms.
• Agreeable Gray SW 7029, a light warm gray (greige), is a flexible backdrop for many tiles and counters.
• Pure White SW 7005, a soft, clean white with a touch of warmth, is less stark than Extra White SW 7006 in a white kitchen.
• Clary Sage SW 6178, a soft, muted sage, or Evergreen Fog SW 9130, a gray-green sage, brings quiet color to a kitchen.
• Naval SW 6244, a deep navy, can give a powder room, with no shower steam to manage, real presence.

Bathroom light is tricky: small windows, vanity bulbs and white tile all change how a color reads. Screens and paint chips mislead, so test real samples on your own walls, by day and at night. Our color studio can help you narrow the field.

Questions

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