Top 5 Best Paints For Closets (2023 Review)

One of the best ways to add a professional, finishing touch to a room is by painting the closets.

This often-ignored space has the potential to completely brighten up your room or act as an accent to your current decor.

So, if you're wondering which paint you should use to paint your closet walls, you've come to the right place!

Want the quick version? No problem. Here is an overview of our guide for choosing the best paint for your closets!

Top 5 Best Paints for Closets

What Are Paints For Closets?

In short, paint for closets can be whichever paint you decide looks best in your home.

However, there are plenty of different ways to choose paints that will make your closet look amazing, more spacious, and even eye-catching.

Whether you have a walk-in-closet or a smaller closet space, you can use a pop of color, different finishes (flat, matte, high-gloss, etc.) and get a beautiful result that ties in with the rest of the room.

So, when deciding on paint for your closet DIY project, consider what kind of effect you want to achieve.

Do you want the closet to make the room feel lighter? More open? Vibrant?

Then chances are you'll want to choose a neutral color in a flat or glossy paint to create that openness.

But what if you have an open shelving closet and you want to use color to make it pop?

Then you'll want to look for something in a vibrant color palette to draw attention to the closet.

No matter what closet design you're working with, choosing the right paint for your desired effect is very important.

What Are The Different Types Of Paint For Closets?

So now that you're ready to choose a specific paint for your closet, let's go over some of the main types of paint that you can choose from.

Flat Paint

This paint reflects some light, but not as much as a semi-gloss or high-gloss paint. However, it will still make your closet feel more light and airy without the extra shine of the higher gloss paints. These paint colors can either be white or neutral, but choosing the right shade can make all the difference for your closet DIY. If your closet tends to be a bit dark or doesn't get a lot of natural light, choosing a shade of white in a flat paint can really make it feel more open!

Semi-Gloss Paints

Homeowners love this type of paint for its capacity to reflect light.

If your closet tends to be a bit dark or doesn't get a lot of natural light, choosing a shade of white in semi-gloss paint can really make it feel more open! 

Semi-gloss paints are also good at masking scuff marks and stains so if your closet walls are a bit worse for wear this is an excellent choice.

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Satin Finish Paint

Satin finish paints are excellent for places that get a lot of traffic or are more visible like your bedroom closet and kitchen pantry. This is a grade that mixes qualities of semi-gloss paints and flat paints.

Satin finish paints last long and are resistant to scuffs. Satin finish paints are also remarkably easy to clean, which is why they're great for the bathroom linen closet and the kitchen!

High-Gloss Paints

If you love bright, shiny places, high-gloss is the paint finish for you. While a semi-gloss will give you some light-reflecting qualities, high-gloss takes the cake when it comes to brightening up a closet. 

High-gloss paints have a very bright appearance and while they're not only amazing for white and neutral colors, they can really make an accent wall pop a lot more than a satin or flat finish. Plus, high-gloss paints tend to last pretty long as well!

Choosing The Best Paint For Closets?

Just like we talked about in our How to Paint a Wall Like a Pro article, planning is what separates an amateur finish from a professional one.

So before you dive into painting your closet, let's go over a few key considerations that will help you choose the right paint for your project!

How visible will the paint be?

Most people think they should just paint their closet walls with the same color they used on the rest of the room. Makes sense, right?

But, if you want your room to look and feel more professional, remember that the paint color you choose can make a world of difference.

That's because the way our eyes perceive color and light in a room can completely change our perspective of how big that room actually is.

For instance, let's say you have a small walk-in closet with no windows in a fairly small bedroom. You just decided to paint this room a light bluish-gray color, and you thought you'd do the same to the closet.

But, what most interior designers will tell you is, if you paint the closet walls white instead, it's going to make the whole closet feel much bigger. Plus, the contrast between the white and gray is going to make the bedroom feel more dimensional too.

This is the difference a paint choice can make, especially in a more visible closet like a walk-in or an open shelving closet.

So, before you decide to just paint your closet space the same color as everything else, think about how visible the paint will be on a day-to-day basis.

Then choose colors that can blend into the room and enhance your overall experience of it.

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What are you using the closet for?

The purpose of your closet goes a long way in determining the paint you choose. In your home, you probably have bedroom closets, linen closets, kitchen closets, laundry closets, and storage closets.   

Each closet has a different function, and some are more used than others. Some get more light than others, and some have more space than others.

But each closet is going to require different types of paint to make it the best it can be.

For instance, in a frequently-used storage closet, it's best to go for lighter, glossier paints in shades of white.

This will make it much easier for you to find what you're looking for when you open up that closet. Especially if it doesn't get a lot of light.

However, in a more open closet that is highly visible, you could pick an accent color that really draws attention from the rest of the room and enhances the other wall colors.

Whichever paint you decide to use for your closets, take the time to make sure it's going to enhance both the functionality as well as the aesthetic appeal of your closet when it's done.

Best Paint For Closets Reviewed

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