Ceilings - Flat
Trim and Doors - semi-gloss
Walls - I prefer flat/matte (more easily touched up)

Doors get dirty from hands touching them, so you want semi-gloss which is easily cleaned.

My goodness - I cannot imagine semi-gloss ceilings. That seems very odd to me. I agree with chispa on what paint to use. I would be unhappy if I was charged more for flat paint on ceilings. Good luck!

How exciting to be at the painting stage!

Anita

Some folks prefer eggshell or semi-gloss ceilings since they tend to reflect light and brighten a space.

Sounds like you may not be one of those folks!

The more reflective the paint, the better the job needs to be on the drywall and finishing since imperfections become more noticeable with shiny surfaces reflecting the light.

A textured ceiling (which may be common to conceal materials and workmanship shortcomings) with a semi-gloss finish is an unusual combination, IMO.

I'm not sure why it would cost more to paint a ceiling with flat paint than semi-gloss. Sounds to me like a builder's "preference", rather than yours. You should get what you prefer.

Good luck with your project.

I also agree with chispa. I have absolutely never heard of a semi-gloss ceiling. Doors do need to be semi-gloss, though...they are like trim.

Thanks, everyone. I wasn't sure on satin or semi-gloss for the doors, so I guess the semi-gloss will be good. I emailed the builder, waiting to hear back. I am hoping it was just a mistype on the semi-gloss ceiling. If not, I will fight to get flat without having to pay extra for it. Since paying extra just to get flat paint on a ceiling seems bizarre to me. Glad I am not alone in that thought!
I will update when I hear more.

Skyangel, if it really is semi-gloss, might you be able to see one of your builder's houses that has this same ceiling finish before deciding?

Our architect specified some non-flat finish for our ceilings to "bounce the light around" -- but we won't have a textured ceiling.

Good luck!

threepinktrees, but are your ceilings textured too?

They do have texture-- a skip trowel in the traditional plaster finish look. I do not find that the semi gloss makes the texture more obvious. I do think it makes the house seem cleaner and brighter.

I realize this is largely a preference thing. I do have a ceiling that is still flat paint and I really wish I felt like repainting it!

Semi-gloss ceilings and walls in bright colours were once the de facto standard in parts of downtown TO occupied by immigrants from the Azores.

Moving on up, most homeowners seem to prefer satin on the walls and flat on the ceilings.

When our children were younger, we had many walls treated with a glossy topcoat. After six years, you still didn't see a handprint.

We are in the northwest and I know here it's standard for flat on the ceiling as well. I just think it looks dull. The semigloss does cause a lot more light to play on the walls and I just like it. Our home is an older farmhouse.

Not trying to convince you to try it Skyangel! Just pointing out that there are people who want and like it. :)

As a side note, our house is currently for sale and no one has ever commented now (or guests before) on the ceiling finish. We do, however, get a lot of comments on how bright and open the spaces feel. I attribute that in part to the paint :).

threepinktrees,
I'd love to see some pics if you're up to it! :-)

Builder agreed to flat at no cost, so whew. If the ceilings weren't textured, I might consider a different finish. But flat is what I'm used to, so I'll stick with it. :-)

If you have a plain smooth ceiling in your home i feel FLAT is best BUT if you textured the ceilings you want that to STAND OUT and using semi-gloss is what should be done then use flat on walls..A textured ceiling in flat is awful in my opinion but fine when smooth....

We just went through a living room update because of a large crack in the ceiling drywall. The job included the dining room, foyer, and adjoining hallways We removed the popcorn and had the builder stomp the ceiling followed with the slightest knock down. Then came the recommended semi gloss white paint. We said excuse me? He said your going to love it. We are early 50’s people and may be a little flat on current trends so we bargained to let him show us with the reassurance that if we did not like it the primer and flat paint are on him. He said deal. We absolutely love it and so does everyone else. Never would have considered it but for this job it is amazing.