Painting a kid’s room is an exciting and fun home project that allows you to bring your child’s personality to life. However, with the high potential for wear and tear (think… crayon drawings, racecar marks, sticky fingerprints, and dings from toys), it’s important to make sure the space is durable and easy to maintain. Therefore, choosing the right paint is essential. In this blog post, we’re breaking down the best paint for a kid’s room, from the sheen and texture to the paint products we recommend for the most long-lasting results.
In This Post
What is the Best Paint for Kids Room?
If you have kids, it’s definitely a challenge to keep the walls looking spotless and the paint job in tip-top shape. From bumps and scratches to sticky marks and chips, walls can really take a beating in kids’ rooms.
When choosing a paint, the best choice is a high-quality product that is extremely durable, washable, and can be touched up as necessary. This will allow you to wipe down walls from dirty hands, spills, splatters, etc.
You also want to opt for a water-based paint, as those are easier to clean with soap and water. Keep in mind that neutral colors can help disguise marks and scratches. You can also get creative with your kids’ walls by painting patterns on them or choosing a fun textured paint, which can deter the eye from imperfections. If your kids are old enough, let them help pick the color or pattern!
Choosing products with low VOCs or zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds) is also important, as they are less harsh and a healthier paint choice for kids’ rooms.
Best Paint Products for Kids Room
When choosing the best paint for kids’ rooms, we recommend paints with great washability that have very dense films. This allows contaminants to stay on the surface instead of working their way into the pores of the paint and getting stuck, making them hard to clean.
You also want to look for paints with a very high burnish resistance. Paint burnishing occurs when a painted area shows an increased level of gloss or paint sheen due to the paint film becoming dull. Paints with high burnish resistance help you clean the surface without the paint film being smoothed out and polished, leaving behind marks from where you cleaned.
Our top-rated paint product recommendations for kids’ rooms include:
- Sherwin-Williams Duration Home
- Sherwin-Williams Emerald
- Benjamin Moore Regal Select
- Benjamin Moore Aura
What’s the Best Paint Sheen for Kids Rooms?
The last thing you want to look at closely before choosing a paint for your child’s room is the sheen. This plays a significant role in both the appearance of the paint and the maintenance.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the five most common paint sheens and their pros and cons for kids’ rooms:
- Flat & Matte – Low sheen, excellent for hiding imperfections but less washable.
- Eggshell – Slight sheen, more washable than flat, and hides minor surface imperfections.
- Satin – Medium sheen, durable, and easy to clean.
- Semi-Gloss – Higher sheen, very durable, and holds up well to wear and tear.
- High-Gloss – Extremely high sheen, highly resistant to dirt, stains, and moisture but can highlight wall imperfections.
While there is no one best sheen choice for kids’ walls, there are some trade-offs with each option to consider.
Flats will be harder to wipe down and clean, but very easy to touch up if you are like our family and need to patch and touch up the walls every 6 months or so from rowdy boys.
If you increase the sheen to a matte, eggshell, or satin, you will get increasing amounts of shine, making it easier to clean. However, the ability to do touch-ups that blend well and disappear into the wall will diminish.
Most of our customers decide that a matte, eggshell, or satin sheen is best for their kids’ rooms.
However, we prefer the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Interior Flat in our home. This is a premium washable flat paint that provides a smooth, very low sheen finish that we are able to touch-up well when cars, balls, or other objects get thrown into or bang against the walls.
Choosing Paint for Your Kids Room
While there is no one right answer for the best paint for a kid’s room, just keep in mind the durability, washability, sheen, and potential need to touch-up the walls when making your decision.
Always opt for a high-quality paint, whether you’re choosing a fun color, a neutral palette, or a textured paint for your child’s room.
If you’re looking for help to bring your child’s bedroom paint job to life, we’d love to help you with our professional painting services. We’ll help you choose the best (healthiest) products and apply them using our proven techniques to help you achieve a stylish, long-lasting finish that your child can enjoy for years to come.
Visit our contact page to book your free paint estimate today!
