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Design options LIV-09 — Whole home

Paint system & sheen

Look at the options, then save the one you prefer to ELS Design Brief.

Purpose: Design options

Design intent — subject to feasibility and site measurement; any variation is agreed with you before work continues.

LIV-09

Paint system & sheen

Whole home

Shown on a bare wall rather than a styled feature wall, so the sheen is what you compare.

Paint system & sheen — Acrylic matte
Acrylic matte
Best for
Walls where a flat, non-reflective surface hides minor unevenness.
Watch out
The least scrubbable — marks in a circulation zone will show and touch-up flashes.
Relative cost
The reference point.
Consequential work
Best kept away from wet areas and high-touch surfaces.
Paint system & sheen — Washable eggshell
Washable eggshell
Best for
The pragmatic middle for family rooms — cleanable without a shine.
Watch out
Not fully scrubbable despite the name; check the manufacturer's actual claim.
Relative cost
Moderate.
Consequential work
Confirm the cleaning expectation with the client so the finish is not blamed later.
Paint system & sheen — Satin acrylic
Satin acrylic
Best for
A durable, wipeable general-purpose finish for busy rooms.
Watch out
The sheen shows wall unevenness that a matte finish would hide.
Relative cost
Moderate.
Consequential work
Substrate preparation matters more than with a matte finish.
Paint system & sheen — Semi-gloss enamel
Semi-gloss enamel
Best for
Trim, doors and anywhere that takes hands and cleaning.
Watch out
Unforgiving of surface defects and brush marks; the higher the sheen, the more it shows.
Relative cost
Higher.
Consequential work
Preparation standard must be agreed — this finish exposes it.
Paint system & sheen — Mineral limewash
Mineral limewash
Best for
A soft, breathable finish with visible depth and movement.
Watch out
It is a texture, not just a colour — application skill decides the result, and touch-up is difficult.
Relative cost
Higher, and the cost is in application.
Consequential work
Requires a competent applicator and a sample panel signed off before the room is done.
Cost lines are relative and typical for the illustrated specification. Relative cost names the direct cost drivers, consequential work names what else changes, and watch out names the checks required. Exceptions and site conditions can change any of them. A relative direction, not an amount. Nothing here is a price; the figure belongs to whoever supplies the item and is set after measurement.

Supply and installation confirmed with your specification.

Ask ELS about this for my room

Concept renders — a design render, not a photo. Shown as design options for one decision.

Outside walls

Exterior textured coatings

The comparison above is of interior sheen. On an outside wall the choice is a coating system: substrate, primer, texture and topcoat are judged together, and this record is the one place ELS writes that down.

The systems

Fine spray sand
A fine, even, granular texture applied by spray. It suits a large plain wall where a consistent finish matters more than a handmade look.
Shallow knockdown
A sprayed texture with its peaks lightly flattened by trowel. It suits a feature wall or an entrance, takes longer, and depends on the applicator, so a trial panel is approved first.
Epoxy
A hard protective coating made for abrasion and chemical resistance, not for architectural texture. On an outside wall it is for specialist protective use only, where the substrate and the exposure justify it. How it behaves in sunlight is for the manufacturer's complete system to confirm.

Before any coat

  1. The wall is sound, adequately cured cement render, clean and stable.
  2. Cracks and any water ingress are repaired first, including joints and window surrounds. A crack that is still moving needs suitable treatment before it is coated.
  3. A compatible primer, from the same manufacturer's system as the texture.

Follow the complete manufacturer's system: the order of layers differs between systems.

A decorative texture is not waterproofing, and a coating is not a repair for a leaking roof or a waterproofing layer. Water entry is dealt with before anything is coated.

ELS approval criteria

On every project the specification records these acceptance criteria. ELS checks them on site only on an ELS+ project. No product is named as approved here.

  • The substrate recorded before priming: render cured, cracks and water ingress repaired, surface clean.
  • One named manufacturer system for primer, texture and topcoat, written on the specification.
  • A trial panel of the chosen texture, viewed after rain and in direct afternoon sun, approved before the whole wall.
  • No application on a wet wall or in rain, and each coat left to cure as that system's data sheet states.
  • The finished wall checked for even texture, missed patches, and the treatment around windows and building joints.
  • The system and colour recorded for later touch-up.

An outside coating usually fails from moisture trapped behind it, rain on a coat that has not cured, algae in deep texture, or cracks at windows and building joints.

A specialist trade applies and quotes the coating. ELS specifies the system and writes down the criteria above; it does not apply the coating and gives no price here.

More design options for this room

Whole home — 4 more

LIV-08Floor finishLIV-02Air-conditioningWHL-01Retain / repair / replaceLIV-10Visible acoustic treatment
The Living Room decisionsAll design options What to settle nextFull Room Scope Builder