Painting dado rails - satinwood or gloss paint?

[AnnOnymity]

I'm about to paint dado and picture rails. They're currently varnished but I think they'll look better white?

House is Georgian.

Room in question is south-facing but quite dark (trees largely block the sun ) and very cold. It's a big room with very high ceilings and I want to make it look lighter and brighter.

Planning to use Dulux trade white version of whichever paint is most appropriate.

Picture attached showing how it looks at the moment.

Satinwood. Or indeed eggshell (would be my preference). Gloss is, well, too glossy.

Is eggshell less durable and a PITA to keep clean?

The Dulux trade satinwood I bought recently was absolutely dreadful - didn't cover properly and has actually worn off in parts of the stair rail. I would never buy it again. Sorry for hijack.

That's interesting. I was going to use Dulux Trade because that's what the legendary PigletJohn always recommends!

I am doing exactly the same in my Victorian house. I am using Dulux Trade Diamond Satinwood in pure brilliant white. It is self undercoating and you can wash the brushes with water. Dries really quickly :)

Eggshell.

I did mine in gloss, it is shiny but I like it. Thought it would be easier to clean as it's a really scrubable finish and I thought would last longer. I would use undercoat as you're trying to cover a dark colour.

There is a dulux quick-drying gloss - I used it last week on my kitchen doors, and I think it is excellent. It has a softer finish than pure gloss, but it dries to touch dry in under an hour! I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Eggshell every time and yes, white is much nicer!

I would love to be able to afford to have all the wood - skirting boards, doors, door frames, stairs, dados etc - replaced with varnished or waxed wood, but in a much paler colour than the one in the OP's photo - honey coloured, maybe. I just think that would be easier to look after than white-glossed wood - no fading and chips and dings wouldn't be so visible (and could be easily touched up). I hate doing gloss painting.

It's personal preference of course, but I'm told that gloss is out of fashion. I like using satinwood, and haven't had problems with the dulux trade version.

An idea - we had v similar dado rails and used zissner BIN spray paint as an undercoat. We seem to have gotten away with not having done any prep!

This isn't helping - votes seem to be evenly split!

Pale varnish wouldn't look right. We've got lots of dark beams and a dark wooden mantelpiece.

Maybe I had a dud batch, it was just awful. It was properly undercoated and everything.

Just had my living room redecorated - Dulux trade satinwood in white for the dado rail - looks fab! (was gloss before).