"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." To make the complex simple, we asked Jessica Barr at Behr Paints to break it all down for us. Chances are ...

Paint sheens were created to handle different uses and durability needs. A high-traffic area like a hallway needs a coating that can withstand handprints and people brushing up against it while a ...

Low sheen finishes hide imperfections but are hard to clean. Use them in low-traffic areas. Glossy sheens are easy to clean but highlight imperfections. Use them for high-traffic areas and trim. When ...

When your mom was painting a space, the rules were straightforward: flats on the ceiling, eggshell on the walls and gloss on cabinetry, windowsills and trim. Today those rules are more like ...

WHY MUST WE always be subject to the laws of good taste? Need we really wear silk shoes to a black-tie affair when tall, heeled boots feel so much more empowering? Must Lady Mary of Downton Abbey ride ...

Here’s a foolproof, can’t-go-wrong formula: Flat or eggshell finish for walls and semi-gloss for baseboards, window and door casings, doors and moulding. The reasoning? Flat paint doesn’t reflect ...

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Though the term is used interchangeably with oil-based paints for most practical purposes, alkyd paints are actually not oil-based but alkyd resins mixed in some sort of thinner. When most people ...

EVEN AT their fanciest, natural wicker or rattan furniture pieces still read casual. In the conservatories of Victorian estates and on the Adirondack porches of robber-baron “camps,” the reedy weaves ...