I am a Latex Girl!
I have tried chalk paint and a few other specialty paints and while they are lots of fun to paint with,
I love the durability of Latex.
With latex you have a few more color choices and SHEEN choices.
Choosing the right SHEEN for your project is very important, it can determine the look of a piece.
If you are wanting a really shiny piece of furniture and you plan to paint it on and leave it I would go with a Semi-Gloss or Gloss. As it will give you a beautiful finish and it cleans up great. I don't seal my furniture with a top coat when I am painting with a Gloss.
If you are wanting to distress your piece of furniture I would not go with a Semi-Gloss or Gloss for a few reasons:
1-the glossier the paint the more it balls up with distressing
2-you will see all your sanding marks
3-when applying a glaze it does not sink into the paint as well
When I paint a piece to distress I go with Eggshell or flat. I like how they sand and when rubbing on a glaze it will slightly sink into the paint. I do however like my furniture to have a slight shine to it so I seal it with a Satin or Gloss Top Coat.
There are flat or Eggshell top coats as well if you don't want a shine at all!
For this Blue Desk I used an Eggshell Latex with a Gloss Top Coat for the added shine
(the top photo I used an Eggshell Latex Paint with a Satin Top Coat)
TTFn
Brooke
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Shabby chic Sandy says
I'm a flat girl (not literally) lol I don't like any kind of sheen--the flatter the better. I also don't like to use wax unless I have too. Flat makes things look old to me. My daughter loves gloss. Everybody is different!