Painting - New house, paint for kitch, bath

I'll be moving in a new house with flat white in all the rooms. Should I paint the kitchen and bathrooms gloss/semigloss because of the moisture and staining environment?

Gloss or semigloss might be overkill. A quality satin should be just fine. A great product is Zinsser Bathroom paint, covers good and is mildew resistant.

We put semi-gloss on the ceilings in the kitchen and bathroom and matte finish on the walls...easy clean up on matte finish...and it's been great so far!

Either satin or semi-gloss would be a good choice. Quite often the white paint builders use is a cheaper grade of paint than you would pick for yourself. If time and money allow you might consider painting the other rooms too before you get moved in. :)

Personally, I prefer semi-gloss in the bathroom and kitchen because it does clean much easier. However, many do not like the shine of semi-gloss. In that case, satin is a good alternative.

Thanks for the opinions. I'm thinking satin for the kitchen, upstairs bathrooms, and semigloss for the douwnstairs half bath (which is inbetween the garrage and basement enrty = dirty hands from working on the car/workshop) ;)

I just moved into a new house as well. Like the original questioner, my house is painted with flat paint in every room. My father always used a satin in the kitchens and baths, but is it necessary? Will the occasional moisture in the bathrooms cause the flat paint to fail? I actually prefer the look of the flat paint.

Not all flats are equal. In the 80's I worked for a contractor in fla that bought flat interior white for $3 a gal. It covered and touched up well but would wash off the wall if you tried to scrub it. SWP everclean also comes in flat and is very scrubable and moisture resistant but it is closer to $30 a gal.

A lot of builders and some painters will not spend the money for a good wall primer and this can affect the durability of the top coat as well.

If the bathroom has no tub or shower go with the flat. I would stick with a satin finish if you have a tub or shower. It will hold up better than flat with the moisture.