The Best Types of Paint for Bathroom to Use in 2024

So now that you’ve found the perfect color for your bathroom, which finish or sheen is right for you? Paint finishes are not only critical for creating the right atmosphere in your bathroom, but they can drastically affect the life of your bathroom and the paint itself. So let us look at bathroom paints to see the right fit for you. 

Primers

A primer is an undercoat or preparatory coating that is applied before painting. Priming helps ensure better paint adhesion to the surface, increasing paint durability and providing additional protection for the material underneath. Here are the reasons you should apply a primer:

• Switching to a higher sheen from a lower sheen finish
• Switching from a dark color to a lighter color
• If your walls have been repaired or patched
• If you’re painting a humid area 

High-gloss

High gloss provides the most rigid, most durable, and stain-resistant of all the finishes. It is the easiest to clean and is generally used on doors and cabinets that see heavy dirt and oil. Due to the brightness of the finish, it is recommended that high gloss be used in heavy traffic areas such as entryways, halls, stairs, and floors or the bathroom, as it can help seal wood and dry to resist moisture penetration.

The most significant drawback to high-gloss is that it will reveal all imperfections on its surface, making it a finish that should be used sparingly or on features such as ceilings, accents, and cabinetry. 

Semi Gloss

Semi-gloss provides a shiny, sleek appearance. This finish offers high resistance to moisture and works well in high humidity areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and high traffic spaces like hallways, playrooms, and utility rooms. 

Semi Gloss vs Satin 

Semi-gloss and satin provide a beautiful sheen to any paint project without being too shiny or too matte. But there are some notable differences between these two paints. First, semi-gloss offers more sheen and is more reflective than satin paint.

This will make semi-gloss finished walls appear darker than the initial color. Semi-gloss is more durable, resistant to moisture, and easier to clean. Satin is better for covering up previous imperfections such as scratches and divots. Lastly, Semi-gloss is ideal for amplifying features such as ceilings, walls, and cabinetry. 

Satin finish

Satin provides a pearl-like sheen that is more reflective than matte colors. It is resistant to moisture, more durable than eggshell or matt paints, and is easy to clean. It has a richer color than gloss paints and can hide flaws better than semi-gloss or high gloss. That being said, satin has a few drawbacks, namely that it cannot hide imperfections better than matte finishes, and it will require additional prep work to create a smooth surface.

Touch-ups are also easy to spot, and satin can lose much of its shine with excessive cleaning. Satin is an ideal material for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, or high moisture rooms. Its durability is well-suited for children’s playrooms, bedrooms, and brand-new homes with smooth, flawless walls.  

Flat and Matte 

Flat and matte paint finishes provide non-reflective paint finishes ideal for low-traffic areas. This finish is ideal for covering imperfections on surface applications and touching up or remodeling work. The drawback is that it will hold dirt and can be difficult to clean. In addition to low-traffic areas, matte finishes can be applied to ceilings and living rooms.

Eggshell 

An eggshell finish provides a low-luster sheen that appears velvety and soft, similar to an eggshell. On the color spectrum, eggshell sits in the middle, making it ideal for family rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and entry walls. Eggshell is also more durable than flat and matte finishes, but it can be difficult to touch up when compared to higher gloss finishes. 

Painting Parts of the bathrooms 

Here are a few considerations for painting specific aspects of your bathroom:

Ceilings

• Ensure your ceiling is clean of all fixtures and lights
• Scrape off any flaking paint with scraper or putty knife.
• Use a hand sander to patch holes
• Re-sand to ensure a nice clean surface
• Apply primer 
• Use either semi-gloss, satin, flat or matte 

Walls

• Clean your walls and sand it down to ensure an even surface
• Scrape off any flaking paint with a scrape or putty knife
• Apply primer
• Use either semi-gloss, satin, flat or matte

Cabinets

• Remove your cabinets
• Thorough clean the outside surfaces of all cabinet boxes and doors
• Patch and sand down the surfaces
• Apply primer
• Sand the primer to ensure even cohesion
• Apply first coat of paint
• Apply second coat
• Reassemble cabinet.
• Semi-gloss finish is recommended. 

Doors

• Clean the door with a degreasing cleaner
• Fill holes and repair imperfections with a filler or spackle
• Sand the door for smoother surface
• Apply primer
• Use semi-gloss, eggshell, matte to match your bathroom

Tile

• Clean tiles thoroughly using a universal cleaner or a soap solution
• Check grouting 
• Ensure you re-grout if necessary
• Sand down to create even surface for the paint
• Remove dust
• Apply primer
• Semi-gloss is recommended

Bathroom Vanity

• Remove vanity
• Clean all drawers, doors and cabinets with degreasing cleaner
• Thoroughly rinse and dry all areas
• Patch and sand the vanity
• Check for any damage and repair them
• Clean up any dust
• Prime Vanity
• Use semi-gloss to high gloss paint to repeal moisture

Factors to consider when painting your bathroom

When painting your bathroom, there are a few aspects to consider:

Moisture and humidity

A bathroom is an area of your home with high humidity and high moisture content. If the ventilation is poor and you have no fans, it is important that you apply a primer to ensure paint adherence. Also, you need to choose paint that can withstand high moisture and humidity, such as high gloss.

Dark vs Light Colors

Darker colors will bring out the dimensions of your bathroom, whereas light colors can help to make your space appear much larger. Light colors are ideal for small bathrooms and work well to create more reflective surfaces. Darker colors are better for larger spaces and are best used if they can compliment your bathroom’s aesthetic.

Budget for Painting

Before you begin, be sure to budget your painting. Bathroom painting can become quite expensive, so it’s important to calculate costs and make a reasonable budget for your project.  

Paint brands to consider

These are popular paint brands to consider as they offer an extensive selection and are easy to purchase/obtain:

• Sherwin william paint 
• Benjamin Moore
• BEHR
• Kelly Moore
• Kilz
• Valspar

Popular Bathroom paint colors to consider

To help you get started, here is a list of the most popular paint choices in 2024:

• Dove Wing 
• Sea Salt
• Cascades
• Valspar Blue
• In the Shadows
• Extra White
• Grey Cashmere
• Cameo White
• Guacamole
• Aleutian
• Naval
• Evergreen
• Borrowed Light

With so many paint options on the market, you can easily find the right fit for your home. So experiment with different finishes and color combinations to find the best combination for your bathroom.