Most people walk into Sherwin-Williams, ask for “the good stuff,” and walk out with whatever the rep recommended that day. Which is usually fine — SW reps are good. But you should know what you’re buying.
Here’s what I actually use, and when each one is the right call.
Cashmere — the workhorse
Cashmere is what’s on most walls in most of the homes I paint. It’s a low-VOC interior latex with a soft low-luster finish that hides minor imperfections in the wall surface. The “low-luster” part matters: it’s not flat, not satin, not eggshell — it’s its own thing, somewhere between matte and eggshell, with a slight sheen that catches light just enough to look intentional without showing every drywall seam.
Coverage on Cashmere is about 350 square feet per gallon per coat. Always two coats. It’s washable — not bulletproof, but washable — so it handles a wet rag if a kid draws on the wall.
When I use it: most living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, family rooms. Anywhere the priority is “looks beautiful and holds up to normal life.”
When I don’t use it: hallways with high traffic, kitchen walls behind the cooktop, bathrooms (it’s not built for steam).
SuperPaint — the upgrade
SuperPaint is SW’s mid-tier interior. Stronger scrub-resistance than Cashmere, slightly better hide, available in flat, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss. The reason to step up from Cashmere isn’t usually the paint — it’s the conditions. If a wall is going to get cleaned regularly, SuperPaint takes more abuse before the finish wears thin.
Coverage is also about 350 square feet per gallon per coat. Two coats again.
When I use it: hallways, ceilings in high-traffic rooms, family room walls in active households, kids’ rooms, mudrooms. Sometimes whole-house when the customer wants a step up across the board.
ProMar 200 — toughness over finish
ProMar 200 is SW’s commercial-grade interior. It’s what gets put on rental units, multifamily buildings, schools, and any room that needs to take a lot of cleaning. The finish is slightly more utilitarian than Cashmere or SuperPaint — it doesn’t have the same soft hand — but it scrubs harder, hides more, and recoats faster.
Coverage runs higher — around 400 square feet per gallon per coat. Still two coats.
When I use it: rental property turns, walls in busy households with multiple kids and pets, hallways that take serious traffic, any room where the customer prioritizes durability over a soft finish.
Emerald — the highest tier
Emerald is SW’s flagship interior. Best hide, best color saturation (especially in deep saturated colors that other products struggle to hold), washable like an enamel, and a longer life than anything else in the line.
It’s also more expensive — meaningfully so. So I don’t recommend it for every job. The use case is specific:
- Deep, saturated colors where you don’t want the wall to look milky
- High-end interiors where the finish quality matters more than the cost
- Rooms with dramatic lighting that exposes any weakness in a paint film
- Customers who plan to live with the color for ten-plus years and don’t want to repaint
If you’re picking soft neutrals in a normal room, you don’t need Emerald. Cashmere will look the same.
A word on sheens
Sheen is the level of shine in a paint finish. It runs from flat to gloss. Here’s my rule of thumb:
- Flat / Matte — ceilings, bedrooms with smooth walls. Hides imperfections best, washes worst.
- Eggshell — living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms. Soft sheen, washable, good middle ground.
- Satin — hallways, kitchens, kids’ rooms, bathrooms. More washable, more durable.
- Semi-gloss — trim, doors, cabinets, sometimes bathroom walls. Tough, scrubbable, shows imperfections.
- Gloss — rarely used on walls. Specific accent surfaces, sometimes doors or trim for a high-design look.
The big shift I see customers regret: putting flat on a hallway. The wall picks up scuffs in three weeks and you can’t clean it without burnishing.
Why I’m a Sherwin-Williams guy
I get this question on every job. Why Sherwin-Williams and not Behr from Home Depot? Or Benjamin Moore?
Three reasons:
- Consistency. SW’s quality control on each batch of paint is as tight as anyone in the industry. When I order Cashmere in a specific color from any SW store in the Tri-Cities, I know it’s going to behave the same as the gallon I just finished. Behr and the box-store brands have inconsistencies between batches that cost me touch-up time.
- Pro support. SW reps work with painters. They know our products, they know our workflow, they can troubleshoot a problem on the phone in five minutes. That access matters when you’re four hours into a job and something isn’t behaving.
- The product line is built for trades. ProMar 200, Loxon, Duration — each one is engineered for a specific job. There’s no equivalent depth at the consumer brands.
I’ll use other products when the job calls for it — Zinsser primers for specific problems, Minwax stains for woodwork — but for paint itself, it’s SW across the board.
The takeaway
The right paint for the room is the one that matches:
- The surface — how is the wall going to be cleaned?
- The room’s traffic — kids, pets, daily wear?
- The color — deep saturated colors need premium product to hold up.
- The light — bright rooms expose weak finishes.
When somebody pitches you the cheapest paint for a hallway, that’s not because they’re saving you money. That’s because the cheap paint won’t hold up and they’re not the ones who’ll have to fix it.
Pick the product that fits how the room actually gets used. The paint cost is small compared to the labor — and if it has to be redone in three years, you paid twice anyway.