Painting - Help - Yes & No Rules of Painting

I presently have kitchen walls of semi gloss and the rest of our home is painted in flat paint. I am struggling to keep the walls wiped down & clean, having children, with the flat paint, I end up repainting because it wont come clean. The semi gloss wipes down well. Is semi gloss throughout the home a no-no? I'm no expert...what is the difference between all the types of paint and how do you choose the right type for each room of the home? Help is much appreciated! Thanks!

i'm not sure i'd use semi-gloss everywhere, as it's pretty shiny, but you could go up to a satin and greatly improve the washability over flat. or....you could go to the new washable flats that are out now. i believe Sherwin Williams has one.

the only "real" no-no is using flat paint on woodwork - it's positively hideous. but if you like shiny paint on your walls, go for it.

My whole house (different colors and faux paint) is painted in semi gloss and I have painted many customers rooms in semigloss. As you have pointed out it cleans so much better. It does shine more and alot of people dont like that or feel it's not "normal". Flat gives a soft look and hides imperfections better. As Annette says satin might be a good compromise as it will clean better than flat (not as well as semigloss) but won't be as shiny as flat.

Benjamin Moore has a new product they call Matte that they claim is as washable as the eggshell finish. I just painted my whole house in egg shell and especially with the darker colors you can see quite a bit of sheen but it will last a lot longer. If I did it again I would probably go with the matte.

A lot of people here don't like BM because of the price but if you tell them you will be buying a lot they will probably give you a discount.

I've painted my last three apartments in semi-gloss. I have no children/pets/significant other - I just like it. With flat paint, I always felt the rooms had a "dingy" feeling. With semi-gloss, for some reason, the rooms always felt a bit cleaner...tidier..and definitely brighter.

I've always been given my cleaning deposit back, and each landlord has complimented me with regard to the way I "keep the place."

Good luck ~wd

I appreciate the quick feedback from everyone...thank you all! It seems that it's a matter of personal preference mostly then. I love the semigloss in the kitchen because it does seem fresh & clean, it is a little too shiny, but that's the room where little hands are all over the place! I like that idea of the new matte paint, I wonder if we have a BM here in CO. I'll have to check into that. Now all I've gotta do is pick a color and hope it works with the room...that's gonna be the really hard part! Thanks again. I'll letcha know how it works out.

I like B.M.'s Matte and Sherwins Cashmere. But clean well, and look real good. Apply even better.

My preference is satin instead of flat for walls except in the baths and kitchen. I use semi-gloss on those walls. It is indeed a personal choice.

A tip on colors - doing a room in a deep red or green is challenging. Its harder to make it look good in semi-gloss.