All decorators want to get the perfect finish, if you want a matt finish there are many out there, as for a paint that is both hard wearing and easily cleaned, flat matt has the least sheen (despite what you may believe, matt can have a light sheen, and likewise not many “vinyl” matt’s are totally washable and will only withstand light wiping), budget brands are available for those who want vinyl matt on a tight budget, so ensure your paint choice suits your budget and your circumstances.

Silk paint is shiny, mid sheen and eggshell paint are halfway between matt and silk sheen wise, and there are also specialist paints like light and space paint, and paint that claims to have less odour, and the list goes on. With regards to woodwork the usual choices are gloss (the shiniest), satinwood (mid-sheen), and eggshell (least sheen).

All decorators must ensure they have sufficient paint, for an average to large room of 5-7×4-6m x 2.4-3.0m high based on 2 coats on all surfaces being enough to cover,  we recommend 5l for the walls 5l for the ceiling  and  litre of undercoat and 1 litre of gloss for the woodwork, or 2.5 litres of satinwood or eggshell if that is your preference as there is no undercoat with Satinwood and Eggshell, they are self undercoating so you use 2 coats (or more) of the finish rather than using an undercoat. 

Our Exeter based decorators should mention that this all depends on the porosity of the surfaces which varies greatly depending on the type of plaster, and structure of walls, and some paint will take more than 2 coats to cover depending on the competence of the person applying the paint and also the contrast of the new paint compared to the colour it is going on to.