if you look for the newer ceramic bead technology, the paint will be durable for wiping as needed, no matter eggshell/semigloss or gloss/ You would not pick matte or flat. I have used the Clark Kensington version and was and have been impressed with application, appearance, wearability, etc. Look for the technology. Paint gets a lot of research and the newer, the better.

I agree - not flat or matte, but eggshell would be fine unless you have nightly food fights. New, high tech paints really perform well.

We just did kitchen in BM Aura eggshell and I'm pleased with the look. I have used this in the past in another house and was able to wash when needed with no problem.

I used a BM white eggsgell above a 2" backsplash. I wagered that tomato paste would not stain. After 20 minutes, no stain.

I don't understand this. I have flat paint in my kitchen, just like the rest of the house. I have a tile backsplash, so no worry there.

Unless you have an unsupervised toddler (or food fights with your mate), why would you have to worry about washing the walls? My walls have had that paint for over 10 years and not a mark on them. Flat is fine for kitchens.

Now, dining rooms--my parents were once at friends' house for a nice dinner, lamb. At the end of the dinner there was a bottle of champagne. Cork flew out, champagne sprayed all over, husband grabbed the sponge to clean it up and spread lamb fat all over the dining room wall. That's where you need semigloss, not in the kitchen. ;-)

We painted the wall behind the sink run a flat wipeable charcoal color to see if we would like the look of a matte charcoal tile. Well, turns out, we like the look of the uninterrupted painted wall much better than any tile with grout and left the paint.

It's been easy to clean, even behind the sink. A quick wipe with a damp rag is all it takes to clean off any splatters, leaving no smears. After one year of using the kitchen the wall still looks as if painted yesterday.

Not sure what color you're planning to paint. Personally, I find that darker paint colors look cheap due to the shine to them, while flat paint hides any irregularities in walls and ends up looking deep and rich. Repainting is also easier on flat paint, as the new paint will adhere better.

Thanks! Do you have a preference for brand?

I prefer at least satin on kitchens and bathrooms, since it is very easy to clean, and looks beautiful.

Mary, sorry, I don't remember what brand I bought. Might have been a brand available at HD or Lowe's, as I expected to eventually tile over it :-)

I find Latex flat paints much, much better than in the past, while glossy latex paints have become worse. I tried various BM and SW glossy latex on our window trim, neither looks anywhere near as glossy as windows painted with the same brands just a couple of years earlier. The new glossy looks now just satin at best. I think it's due to all manufacturers now adding cheap primer into it and primer is inherently flat.

I am currently in the process of repainting (in the same colour) over our flat painted walls in the whole house. I started with the kitchen and hallways b/c they were the worst. It's not just stains (and I was told the paint was scrubbable and we paid a lot for it - BM), it always looks dusty and kind of grey. The places I've repainted in eggshell have a cleaner warmer look to them overall. And, most importantly, I can wipe off stains and grime.

Full disclosure, our walls are white.

Flat for walls.

@Tatts... You must not have kids, dogs, or guests...ever.

BM does have a nice washable matte finish, but it is eggshell really. I had it in my last house, but decided for our current house we would go eggshell throughout the entire house & am very pleased with it.

This post is timely because we're going to repaint our kitchen and family room within the next few weeks and I'm debating what kind of paint to use.

We last painted these rooms in 2006 (yeah, I know) and we used SW Whole Wheat in flat because that's what the painters recommended. We had a lot of patch work to be done and we were painting over watered down builder's beige. I don't remember what line of paint we used, but it was when the low VOC paints first came out. This paint was terrible. I couldn't clean it at all. My kids were young and there were hand and finger prints on one wall in particular where you would turn from the kitchen to the front hall. It was also very icky around the light switch.

We recently finished our basement and went with eggshell because I wanted a bit of sheen on the walls and I'm happy with the choice. But it doesn't get the same traffic as the kitchen so I'm afraid of how it would hold up over the long term, especially because we want to use low/no VOC paint again. We used eggshell in our foyer a couple of years ago and I'm not thrilled with how it's held up.

Interesting to read the responses.

Is it called Benjamin Moore Eggshell, the one you like?

Eggshell is a sheen up from flat. Depending on brand, the next she is satin of semi-gloss. Enamel is good for trim. An oil-based paint is better for trim but few people want to work with oil. I think it's worth the difference.