Farrow & Ball Pavilion Grey substitute?

[Cambionome]

I absolutely love Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Grey estate emulsion and really want to use it in my small (but light) spare room, but just struggling with the cost at the moment.

Does anyone know of another cheaper paint that's (very) similar in colour?

[LunaFortuna]

If you have a Johnstones near you they will match the F and B colour for you.

[Cambionome]

Thanks for your reply, Luna. Just wondering Johnston's paint has a nice chalky finish like F&B, or if it's "flatter"?

(Being very fussy - sorry!)

[giardiniera]

Dulux match is also very good.
It is not quite so chalky but it's barely discernible. I've been really pleased with colour matching and it will save you on decorating costs as well.

[LunaFortuna]

Hmmm - got the real thing downstairs and the Johnstones version upstairs and I'd be struggling to spot the difference, I'm happy with the finish.

Was really pleased with the colour match too.

[blueskyinmarch]

I have F&B colours in my house. My decorator gets it mixed at Johnstone's and I really can't tell the difference between that and the ones which were actual F&B.

[Cambionome]

Ok, that's very interesting - thanks.
Do you just take a colour chart in to get the colour matched or is it better to take an actual paint sample?

[LunaFortuna]

I think they have a list of the colours there, maybe take the colour chart if you have one just in case though.

[WeeM]

I’ve heard the wilko fancy range is copy of farrow and ball. Not as many colours to choose from though.

[WeeM]

You can buy the testers in store but need to order the big pots online:
www.wilko.com/wall+ceiling-paint/wilko-flat-matt-emulsion-paint-tester-pot-stoney-grey-125ml/invt/0428703

[lemonsquisher]

Had this discussion at work a while ago- more than a few colleagues swear by buying the F&B tester, painting a swatch onto some paper and taking it to the B&Q paint match counter thingy

However, if you’re having a decorator do the painting for you, a lot of the time they’re only happy to do trade paint/the real F&B deal and won’t touch the knock off!

[Bluesheep8]

Another vote for copying the colour. We've got f and b copies throughout our house and I'm really happy with them. Decision to have copies was based on a combination of cost and decorator's preference as he didn't happen to like working with f and b for some reason.

[Cambionome]

Thanks very much for all the replies - definitely going to give copying the colour a go.

I'll post a pic when I'm done!