Finishes — 4 min read
Choosing the Right Sheen
Sheen is a maintenance decision disguised as an aesthetic one. Reflectivity is the same thing as visibility.
What sheen actually is
Sheen measures how much light a finish reflects. Flatting agents in the coating scatter light instead of bouncing it back, which is what produces a matte look.
Sheen has almost nothing to do with durability. A matte and a semi-gloss from the same product line have the same protective performance — they just show wear differently.
The four levels
Matte, roughly 10–25 percent reflectivity. Reads most natural, hides scratches, dust, and paw prints best. The current default and a genuinely good default.
Satin, around 30–40 percent. A soft warm glow, still forgiving. The safe choice if matte feels too flat to you.
Semi-gloss, around 55 percent. Formal and bright, appropriate to historic and traditional homes. Shows everything.
Gloss, 70 percent and up. Beautiful in photographs, exhausting in a house. We rarely recommend it.
Choosing for your room
Dark stains and low sheen pair well — dark floors already show dust, so do not add reflection. Very dark plus glossy is the hardest combination to live with.
In a dim room, a slightly higher sheen bounces light usefully. In a room with big south-facing windows, low sheen prevents glare and keeps raking light from exposing every imperfection.
Look at samples at night with the lamps on. Overhead artificial light is where sheen differences are most obvious and where you will see your floor most often.