Quick Paint Question

[OrionGrad]

I want DS1's new bedroom to have bright white walls, and it will also have white baseboards/trim. Can we use the same paint for everything, or do the walls need to have a different sheen than the baseboards and trim?? Will it look too washed out if the walls are the exact same color as the baseboards?

[alotofyarn]

Is the trim currently painted with oil or latex? If oil, then you need to paint over it with oil, but I'd put latex on the walls. I think it would look better with a glossy finish on the trim and a less glossy finish on the walls (I like eggshell), but I don't think it's required.

[OrionGrad]

Right now the trim is a very shiny dark brown. (Almost like there's a clear gloss over the paint.) My plan was to use a liquid sandpaper/deglosser, then Kilz primer and latex paint. That should work, right?
I'm afraid the room might look washed out if it's all the same shade, but at the same time I think a bright white room would be cool.

[spotty_dog]

[MENTION=1242]diggitydot[/MENTION] told me that the Kilz BIN primer was the way to go if you didn't know if you had an oil-based stain or a latex-based acrylic that you need to paint over (or, especially if you knew for a fact you needed to bridge the gap between an oil-based and water-based layer.) It's a shellac that you have to clean up with denatured alcohol, but it's otherwise pretty easy to use. Most people like a slightly higher sheen on trim than on walls but I would guess satin on satin wouldn't be bad?

[SoonerTexan]

I wouldn't do something very high gloss on the walls. Maybe not flat in a little boy's room, but closer to flat than gloss would be better.

[OrionGrad]

I wouldn't do something very high gloss on the walls. Maybe not flat in a little boy's room, but closer to flat than gloss would be better.

So maybe the same color but a different sheen, or a totally different shade of white on the trim vs walls?

[SoonerTexan]

I think the same color in a different sheen would be fine. I'm just in the camp that high gloss paint on walls tends to look cheap. I prefer flat, but realize that isn't really practical in a little boy's room.

ETA: On that note Behr Ultra Flat actually has the tiniest bit of sheen and has held up well in my house without "shiny." The Sherwin Williams flat I have in our living spaces is a true flat and is not doing well

[OrionGrad]

Thanks!! Will check it out.

[diggitydot]

Satin on walls and semi-gloss on trim is pretty typical in bedrooms.

High gloss on walls will telegraph every single imperfection. It's also really noticeably different than most homes.