i had a contractor recommend getting new baseboards installed before i paint the walls because he said a lot of times they have to use some fillers when the baseboards may not perfectly fit snug to the wall. he said this could smudge the walls and he didn't want to ruin a good paint job. is that a good idea as i know it creates more work from the painting perspective?

I painted a room with benjamin moore regal paint with eggshell finish. It didn't look flat when I was done, just a hint of a sheen, kind of like eggshell :D I put a second coat on one wall cause I thought it looked streaky, I probably could have just waited a day and it wouldn't have been as noticable. I'm not the best painter though. I noticed recently that the wall seemed to look even better than when I first did it a couple weeks ago. Someone splattered coffee on the wall yesterday and when I wiped it off I noticed the sponge was chalky. The wall dried fine after I wiped the coffee off though. I realize the walls look better now because the paint has a chalky finish to it, it's pretty much flat. Why is that? Should I wipe down all the walls? Maybe I should not select eggshell finish paint for my other rooms. I am concerned about durability and being able to clean the walls. I used the pearl finish in the same color in my kitchen. I am painting over previously wallpapered walls. I cleaned off the glue and sealed with zinsser gaurdz before priming with zinsser cover stain. I do not want to choose too glossy of a finish because my walls have some patches and other flaws. It's amazing how the eggshell benjamine moore paint makes them look like brand new sheet rock! The chalkyness doens't seem right though. I had read a post where somebody had some blotchiness in a paint job and it turned out to be something that happens to latex paint in high humidity rooms, I had a few spotches form on my shower/tub ceiling and wondered what did it but that post explained it. Maybe the chalkieness is some other phenomona I dont' now about. I used glidden paint in a utility room and did not notice this, it also seemed to cover a little better but that may just be the color I choose. I might choose a different brand when I do my living room if it would be an advantage. I have a limited choice in sheens from the BM dealer here, it's not like the website implies. I can choose flat, eggshell, satin, pearl, or glossy, at least that's how I remember it. I have 7 doorways of trim down the hall as well, I'm wondering what finish to do those in. I would like a little more gloss for the trim and want something durable of course. I am thinking of going with an enamal based paint for those as latex dries so fast and supposably the oil based leaves less brushmarks. What says the hive mind!?