How to Mix Matte and Gloss for an Ethereal Look

Creating a home that feels “ethereal” is rarely about buying white furniture and hoping for the best. It is a deliberate architectural manipulation of how light moves through a room. If you are looking for visual inspiration, you can check out the full Picture Gallery at the end of the blog post.

In my years as an architect and interior designer, I have walked into countless “minimalist” spaces that felt cold rather than calming. The missing ingredient is almost always textural contrast. Specifically, the interplay between light-absorbing surfaces (matte) and light-reflecting surfaces (gloss) is what gives a room that dreamlike quality.

Without this contrast, your eyes have nowhere to land, and the space feels flat. By balancing these finishes, you create a soft visual rhythm that mimics nature. This guide will walk you through the practical science of mixing these finishes to achieve that elusive, airy aesthetic.

The Science of Visual Softness: Understanding Light Diffusion

To achieve an ethereal look, we have to look at evidence-based design principles regarding visual comfort. Our eyes are naturally drawn to light, but they are strained by harsh glare. An ethereal room manages light so that it glows rather than shines.

Matte surfaces diffuse light. When light hits a matte wall or a honed stone countertop, it scatters in multiple directions. This softens shadows and blurs hard lines, which physically signals the brain to relax.

Glossy surfaces, conversely, reflect light directly. They act as mirrors, bouncing energy back into the room. In high doses, this creates high-energy alertness. Used sparingly, it mimics the way water catches sunlight, adding a spark of life to a serene environment.

Designer’s Note: The “Wet” Look Warning

I once took over a project where the previous designer had selected high-gloss lacquer for every wall in a small powder room. The intent was to make it feel like a jewel box.

Instead, the client felt dizzy every time they entered. The acoustics were harsh, and the reflections were disorienting. We fixed it by repainting the ceiling and three walls in a flat matte, leaving only the vanity wall in high gloss. Immediately, the room felt grounded yet expensive.

The Golden Ratio: 70/30 Matte to Gloss

The biggest mistake DIYers make is splitting finishes 50/50. This creates visual confusion because neither finish dominates. To get that soft, ethereal vibe, you need a clear hierarchy.

I recommend a 70/30 or 80/20 split, favoring matte finishes. Matte should be your canvas. It provides the quiet background that allows the glossy elements to sing.

Applying the Ratio

• The 70% (Matte): Use this for large surface areas. This includes your flooring, the majority of your wall paint, ceilings, and large upholstery pieces like sofas.
• The 30% (Gloss): Reserve this for accents and vertical surfaces that catch the light. Think glazed ceramic tiles, glass lighting pendants, lacquered side tables, or polished hardware.

This ratio changes slightly in wet rooms like kitchens or baths, but the principle remains. You want the room to feel soft (matte) with moments of sparkle (gloss).

Flooring and Architecture: The Foundation

As an architect, I always start with the permanent envelope of the room. Your floor is the largest continuous surface in the home. For an ethereal look, I almost exclusively recommend matte or satin finishes for flooring.

High-gloss floors are problematic for two reasons. Visually, they reflect overhead lighting, creating pools of glare that disrupt the calm aesthetic. Functionally, they are a nightmare for maintenance and safety.

The Pet-Friendly Perspective

If you have a dog, a high-gloss floor is a slip-and-fall hazard. Evidence-based design for aging in place (and pet safety) dictates that we prioritize traction.

• Wood: Choose a wire-brushed or oil-finished engineered hardwood. These hide claw marks and dust significantly better than high-gloss polyurethane.
• Tile: Opt for honed or matte porcelain. If you want the look of marble, honed Carrara looks softer and more authentic than polished marble, which can look synthetic.
• Safety Check: For tile, look for a Dynamic Coefficient of Friction (DCOF) rating of 0.42 or higher for slip resistance.

Walls and Paint: Playing with Sheen

Paint sheen is the most affordable way to manipulate this mix. For an ethereal look, the current standard is a flat or matte finish for walls. However, this comes with a durability caveat.

True flat paint is difficult to clean. If you have kids or active pets, “scrubbable matte” or “velvet” finishes are essential. These offer the light-absorbing look of flat paint but have a tighter chemical bond that resists staining.

Mixing Sheens on Millwork

Here is a specific trick I use in high-end projects to add depth without changing colors:

1. Paint the walls in a creamy off-white using a Matte finish.
2. Paint the baseboards, crown molding, and door casings in the exact same color, but use a Semi-Gloss or High-Gloss finish.
3. The result is subtle elegance. The light catches the trim, framing the room, while the walls remain soft and retreating.

Common Mistakes + Fixes

Mistake: Using high-gloss paint on old, uneven walls.
Why it fails: Gloss highlights every bump, patch job, and drywall seam.
The Fix: The rougher the wall, the flatter the paint should be. Use a high-quality flat enamel to hide imperfections.

Kitchens and Baths: The Hard Surface Balance

Kitchens and bathrooms naturally contain more hard surfaces, making them prone to feeling sterile. This is where the mix of matte and gloss is most critical for achieving an ethereal atmosphere.

If you choose glossy cabinetry, you must ground it with matte elements. High-gloss white cabinets can look like a hospital if paired with polished countertops and polished floors.

My Go-To Kitchen Formula

• Cabinetry: Matte or Satin finish. It hides fingerprints and feels more like furniture.
• Countertops: Honed Quartz or Soapstone (Matte). This prevents overhead recessed lights from creating blinding hotspots on your work surface.
• Backsplash: High-Gloss Zellige or Glazed Ceramic Tile. This is where you bring in the magic. Under-cabinet lighting hitting an uneven, glossy tile creates a shimmering, water-like effect that is purely ethereal.
• Hardware: Polished Nickel (Gloss) or Unlacquered Brass (Gloss). These act as the jewelry against the matte cabinets.

Textiles and Furnishings: Tactile Depth

Once the architectural shell is set, furniture and decor bridge the gap. In an ethereal space, you want fabrics that invite touch.

We often think of “gloss” only regarding hard surfaces, but fabrics have sheen too. Silk, velvet, and mercerized cotton reflect light. Wool, linen, and boucle absorb it.

Layering for Lightness

To prevent a living room from feeling heavy, avoid matching all your fabric textures.

• The Sofa: A matte, heavy linen or boucle provides a solid, light-absorbing anchor.
• The Pillows: Mix in a silk blend or a velvet with a high sheen. This catches the afternoon sun.
• The Coffee Table: If your rug is wool (matte), choose a glass or acrylic coffee table (gloss). The transparency adds to the ethereal, floating sensation.

Pet-Friendly Fabric Constraints

While velvet offers a lovely sheen, it attracts pet hair like a magnet. However, high-performance velvets allow you to wipe hair off easily.

Avoid loose-weave matte fabrics like linen if you have cats, as they are prone to snagging. Instead, look for tight-weave synthetic blends that mimic the matte look of linen but offer the durability of nylon.

Lighting: The Activator

You cannot have an ethereal look without proper lighting. The finish of your fixtures matters just as much as the light they emit.

If you have a room full of matte finishes, you need a glossy light fixture to prevent the space from feeling dead. A glass chandelier or a polished brass pendant adds necessary sharpness.

Technical Lighting Rules

• Color Temperature: For an ethereal glow, stick to 2700K to 3000K. Anything higher (4000K+) will turn your glossy surfaces into harsh, clinical reflectors.
• Beam Angles: Use wide beam angles to wash matte walls. Use narrow beam spots to highlight glossy decor items.
• Spacing: If you are using a wall washer to highlight a textured glossy wall, position the fixture 24 to 30 inches away from the wall to avoid creating a “hotspot” (a bright white glare spot).

Finish & Styling Checklist

Ready to execute? Here is the checklist I mentally run through before finalizing a design concept.

What I’d Do in a Real Project:

• Check the Floor: Is it matte? (Yes = Safe base).
• Check the Walls: Are they matte/eggshell? (Yes = Soft light diffusion).
• Add the Sparkle (The 30%):
  • Does the room have a mirror? Place it opposite a window.
  • Is there a glazed ceramic element? (Vase, lamp base, tile).
  • Is there a metallic element? (Table legs, picture frames, hardware).
• Edit the Glare: Sit in the primary seating areas. Do the recessed lights bounce off anything and hit you in the eye? If yes, switch that surface to matte or move the light.
• Texture Audit: Ensure at least one “fuzzy” or nubby matte texture (rug/throw) touches a smooth, glossy surface (floor/table).

FAQs

Does glossy paint make a small room look bigger?
Yes, generally. Glossy surfaces reflect light, which blurs the boundaries of the room and creates a sense of depth. However, painting an entire room in high gloss is intense. A better strategy for small spaces is a semi-gloss ceiling to reflect light downward, paired with matte walls.

How do I keep matte black surfaces from looking dirty?
Matte black is notorious for showing oil from skin. I avoid matte black faucets in high-traffic family bathrooms for this reason. If you love the look, use PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings, which are much more resistant to fingerprints than standard powder coating.

Can I mix matte and gloss metals?
Absolutely. In fact, I encourage it. A brushed nickel faucet (matte) looks beautiful with a polished nickel light fixture (gloss). The key is keeping the metal tone (silver/gold/black) consistent while varying the sheen.

Is an all-matte room a bad idea?
An all-matte room can feel very cozy, like a womb, but it rarely feels “ethereal.” Ethereal implies lightness and movement. Without a little bit of gloss to reflect light, an all-matte room can feel heavy and enclosed.

Conclusion

Mixing matte and gloss finishes is the secret to a home that feels curated rather than catalog-ordered. The “ethereal” look relies on this tension—the grounding comfort of matte surfaces against the uplifting sparkle of gloss.

Start with your matte foundation for sanity and maintenance, then layer in your glossy elements for magic. By respecting the 70/30 rule and considering how light interacts with every surface, you will create a space that feels breathable, light, and effortlessly sophisticated.

Picture Gallery