Painting woodwork - gloss or matt?

[MissisBoot]

Which do you think looks better?

I'm redecorating - there's lots of white gloss everywhere - I quite like the look of matt I think but would I have to paint first with a primer?

Would gloss look fresher for longer?

Gloss is very dated imo, I'd go for matt or satinwood, which is someway between the two. You don't need a primer, but should sand down as you would for gloss (I don't always and haven't had any problems).

i use eggshell,it has a matt finish, it looks better imho, just as easy to clean as shiny gloss. no primer needed with eggshell gloss.

Yes - I thought gloss was a bit dated.

What about radiators?

Eggshell.

Has a lovely matt with very slight sheen finish, and is wipeable.

Eggshell / satinwood can be used to paint rads - using Farrow & Ball waterbased eggshell currently when doing a bit of a major redecoration - easy to apply but needs good undercoat and more layers than say oil based but onc eit goes fully hard (which also seems to take longer) its a nice finish.

For old gloss if its not too heavily applied get a good course sanding paper and matt back as much as you can, then use one coat of primer and then apply top coats - 2 or 3 depending on type you use and any colour changes. The F&B range has many whiter shades of pale .

Thanks...

Off to explore the many whiter shades of pale

One final thing

Should I do the skirting boards, windows, doors and rads in the same colour?

Normally would but it depends on style of house. Ours is older Regency and has doors with 4 panels - these we have painted the same colour as the walls. Rads in some rooms are painted the same colour as the walls too to help them blend in. Do what you think looks best - worst case is you just paint it again - had some pretty dramatic colours in the past and now going more refined.

Eggshell too.
Tougher than matt or gloss