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Which paint for each room: living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and ceiling

Matt or satin, EN 13300 scrub classes, legal VOC limits and what anti-mould paints do and do not do, room by room, based on manufacturers' data sheets.

Topic
Paints
Reading
7 min
Reviewed
03/11/2026

The right paint depends on what the wall has to put up with: hands, steam, grease, cleaning. Three facts on the tin or the technical data sheet help you choose: the sheen, the wet scrub resistance and the VOC content (volatile organic compounds). This guide explains each one, applies them to the living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and ceiling, and says what an anti-mould paint can and cannot do.

Updated on 3 November 2026. General information, not a substitute for an assessment by a professional.

The essentials

  • The data sheets we read classify interior paints under the EN 13300 standard: sheen, wet scrub resistance (classes 1 to 5, class 1 being the toughest) and hiding power.
  • The law caps VOCs. Since 1 January 2010 a matt paint for interior walls and ceilings may contain at most 30 g/L, and a glossy one 100 g/L (Directive 2004/42/EC and Portuguese Decree-Law no. 181/2006). The label must say so.
  • “For bathrooms” does not mean “more scrub resistant”. The paint of this kind we read is class 3; the same maker’s ordinary matt is class 1.
  • An anti-mould paint protects the new paint film. It does not kill mould that is already there, nor stop damp. The makers themselves say to clean and disinfect first.

Three facts to check before you buy

1. Sheen

The sheets use EN 13300 terms. Barbot defines dead matt (“mate total”) as a gloss reading of 5 or less at 85° (Barbomat), and satin (“acetinado”) as more than 10 at 85° and under 60 at 60° (Barbosilk). CIN classes its Vinylmatt as dead matt.

The law draws a different line: up to 25 gloss units at 60° counts as matt (subcategory a); anything above is glossy (subcategory b). So a satin paint can be “matt” for VOC purposes. The Barbosilk sheet, a satin paint, declares subcategory A/a.

CIN says its Vinylmatt, a dead matt paint, helps hide small surface flaws. Dyrup warns that a matt product may become shiny where it is rubbed.

2. Wet scrub resistance

This is a lab test under ISO 11998: it measures how much paint film is worn away by wet scrubbing. The table Barbot publishes alongside EN 13300 is:

Class Film thickness lost Scrub cycles
1 under 5 µm 200
2 5 to under 20 µm 200
3 20 to under 70 µm 200
4 under 70 µm 40
5 70 µm or more 40

The lower the class, the more washing the wall can take. On the sheets we read: Vinylmatt (CIN) class 1, Barbomat class 1, Barbosilk class 1, Barbot’s kitchen and bathroom paint class 3.

3. VOCs

The phase II limits, in force since 1 January 2010, for the most common interior paints:

Subcategory (Annex II of the directive) Water-based Solvent-based
a) Matt paints for interior walls and ceilings 30 g/L 30 g/L
b) Glossy paints for interior walls and ceilings 100 g/L 100 g/L
g) Primers 30 g/L 350 g/L
h) Binding primers 30 g/L 750 g/L

Decree-Law no. 181/2006 requires these products to be labelled with the subcategory, the limit value and the maximum VOC content in g/L of the ready-to-use product. The wall paints we read declare these maximums: Branco Total (Barbot) 1 g/L, Barbot’s kitchen and bathroom paint 4 g/L, Vinylmatt 6 g/L, Barbosilk 12 g/L, Dyrustar (Dyrup) 20 g/L, Barbomat 27 g/L, Acrilvip Mate (Robbialac) 29 g/L. All are under 30 g/L. Barbot and Robbialac note that the figure applies to the product tinted and thinned with their own products.

The A+ indoor air quality class shown on some sheets comes from French regulations, not Portuguese law.

Room by room

Living room and bedroom. Barbot recommends Barbomat (matt) and Barbosilk (satin) for bedrooms, living rooms and hallways. The choice between them is mostly about looks. In a child’s bedroom, where walls get washed more often, class 1 gives more margin, in our reading.

Hallway and stairs. These are the most touched walls. Go for class 1 or 2, and remember a matt finish can turn shiny where it gets rubbed.

Kitchen. Robbialac recommends Acrilvip Mate, a washable finish, for kitchens and bathrooms too. Barbot makes a dedicated paint for kitchens, bathrooms and damp rooms. Before repainting, remove the grease: Robbialac says to clean and degrease old paint in good condition, then rub it down with fine sandpaper.

Bathroom. Barbot’s kitchen and bathroom paint is matt and, according to the maker, reduces condensation forming on the surface. The sheet asks for 3 coats. Robbialac’s Robbiotel, in matt or satin, is marketed as resistant to mould and condensation, for walls and ceilings. No paint replaces ventilation. The World Health Organization advises occupants to manage their use of water, heating and ventilation to avoid excess humidity. To find out where the water comes from, see damp walls.

Ceiling. The law’s subcategory a) covers interior walls and ceilings. Barbot offers Branco Total for walls and ceilings, and its damp-room paint for kitchen and bathroom ceilings too. If the ceiling has a stain from an old leak, CIN names a primer for dry damp stains. Use it only once the leak is fixed: see leak from upstairs.

Anti-mould paints: what they do and do not do

What they do. They contain preservatives that protect the paint film. Vinylmatt declares grade 0 in the EN 15457 fungal test at 7, 14 and 21 days. Barbomat declares class 0 in the ASTM D 5590 test. Note that neither is a dedicated damp-room paint: many ordinary paints already carry this protection.

What they do not do. They do not remove existing mould and do not dry a wet wall. The makers themselves say to treat the surface before painting:

  • Robbialac (Robbiotel): wash the wall or ceiling with bleach, rinse several times with clean water, let it dry well, apply the brand’s water-based disinfectant and leave it for 24 hours, apply primer, and only then paint.
  • Barbot: wash and disinfect with the brand’s cleaning solution and treat the wall as new. In rooms more prone to mould, add the brand’s anti-mould additive to the paint.
  • CIN: apply the brand’s own product for surfaces with mould and algae. Dyrup: wash first with the brand’s cleaning product.

Follow each product’s label and safety data sheet, and air the room. Painting over mould without dealing with the cause does not work: see mould on walls. If there is white powder on the wall, read about salt on walls first.

Choosing, in short

  1. Damp, mould, salt or peeling paint? Deal with that first.
  2. Sheen: matt for ceilings and imperfect walls, satin if you will wash it often.
  3. Scrub class: 1 or 2 where walls get touched.
  4. Label: subcategory and VOC content.
  5. Data sheet: the primer recommended for your surface.
  6. Litres: use the calculator and the guide how much paint do I need.

What we could not confirm

  • The text of EN 13300. It is a paid standard and we did not read it. The classes come from the data sheets and Barbot’s table. An EN 13300:2022 edition exists; we did not confirm whether it changed the classes the sheets quote.
  • The hiding power classes. The sheets give a class (2 or 3), but we did not read the standard’s table.
  • How well anti-condensation claims work in a real home. We only have the makers’ statements.
  • The full Robbiotel data sheet. We only read the leaflet, which has no printed date.
  • Amendments to Decree-Law no. 181/2006. We read the original text in the Diário da República (Portugal’s official journal). The limits quoted come from the consolidated directive on EUR-Lex.
  • Who enforces it today. Article 5 of the original text names the environment inspectorate (Inspeção-Geral do Ambiente e do Ordenamento do Território) and ASAE, the food and economic safety authority. We did not confirm the bodies’ current names.

Sources (read on 3 November 2026)

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