Colour matching Farrow & Ball? Any advice as the colours I’ve chosen are not coming out well!

[PicnicAtHangingRock]

I am having a bit of a decorating disaster.

Could anyone tell me please if colour matched paints ever turn out like the F&B originals? My decorators tried to get Schoolhouse white colour matched and it looks like the colour of margarine! It is so far from what I expected I have decided to choose a different colour (Slipper Satin) but I am afraid that colour matching that is going to turn out rubbish too, even though that’s what I have told them to do tomorrow.

I’m afraid that maybe the colours aren’t the problem so much as the fact that trying to colour match doesn’t work and I should either buy the F and B colour I want in F and B or pick a readymade colour in a more affordable range instead of trying to do this colour matching thing which doesn’t seem to be working out very well for me.

I am doing an entire newly refurbished three bed house so there is quite a lot of paint to buy, hence trying to economise but if it doesn’t look great it’s a false economy and I don’t want to spoil it at the end with a bad finish.

If you’re still with me, thank you. I need to tell the decorators what I want first thing tomorrow and I am so confused right now so if any kind soul has any words of wisdom they will be gratefully received!

Does anyone know anything about Leyland? That what they’re using. I’m wondering why now but maybe it is just more readily available.

Oh Picnic. You are v funny.

But did you seriously pay £15 for a Farrow colour card, or am I being dense?

The colours in your photo both look like shades of green on my screen, which is no use to you at all. FWIW, Slipper S looks pale cream in my very dark 1840s house. Which is why I am going to use it in my kitchen (already have Johnstone’s copy in the sitting room).

Ah X-post. If you have a lot of light I’d say either of those colours would work, but go to Johnston’s for a better colour match.

Good luck OP, paint colours are very stressful!

If you're not sure, I'd go for a safer option. Natural Calico sounds good (I used to have that in my bedroom).

The two colours on your picture look way too dark for a whole house in my opinion.

I think Leyland and Johnstone’s are the same company.

Hi Scardanelli, it was one of those fan things with all the colours in a sort of 15x5cm sample.

Actually, I did try some samples of Shadow White and Shaded White on card a year or so ago before everything was demolished and I thought it looked good and closer to that greeny-grey described. I’ll try to find a picture.

The room does look darker at the moment because the new windows haven’t gone in and they’re boarded up which is why I thought testers might be a waste of time because the natural light isn’t coming in.

Thank you all for being so helpful. You’ve all cheered me up immensely.

We got a farrow and ball colour using leyland paint and it came out perfectly. Your problem is not the colour matching, it's that you haven't done proper testers of various colours to see what you actually like on your walls. Do NOT buy a load of horribly expensive paint without buying tester pots and trying it on your walls.

I’m a big fan of Shadow White, it’s very easy to live with, which is important if you’re going to do the whole house.

This was a small tester of Shadiw and Shaded White in the first floor landing before the demolition. I think the walls used to be Pointing. Gosh, maybe I should just use that again.

Picnic, you’ve got me all excited now, with talk of fan-things .

Paint is far more stressful than it ought to be. At this stage, I will confess that I painted my kitchen Blackened (having done everything I have advised you to do). It cost me two tins of genuine Farrow. And I hate it (just looks grey), and am painting over it with Johnstone’s Slipper Satin (can’t afford the Real Deal twice over)...

Hump, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I hang my head in shame.

Still, do you think I could get away with just telling them to do it all Slipper Satin?

( I am incorrigible, I know).

I used Johnstone’s Shadow White in a rental property. It is gorgeous. A lighter version of Old White. But they both look green in my own house. Flipping paint. I have Pointing on my stairs (again, Johnstone’s). It is good. Cream-ish, and completely inoffensive. The woodwork is Oxford Stone, which is good in this particular house. I will shut up now!

My last word: I love your floorboards.

My god, you’re so right, Scardanelli. It is stressful! Especially when they’ve had the whole place boarded up without windows so I haven't had any natural light to go on.

Still, that’s a poor excuse for not doing my due diligence. I wish I had asked you guys for advice before!

We’ve just had a colour match of Schoolhouse White done in our living room and it is very different from the one you have, although I appreciate that it’s tricky with whites because they are affected so much by lighting.

Oh don’t say that, Scardanelli. They’ve all gone in the skip! I should probably duck and hide now. I suggested saving them but was told they weren’t really good enough so it’s all going to be oak now.

I should add that they weren’t thrown out for the sake of it. Every floor, wall and ceiling went so it was four bare brick walls and no roof. It’s been a top to bottom job which is why I don’t want to balls it up at the end.

Even testers on the a trial walls are flawed though. Those patches look dark because they're on a brilliant white wall. When you paint all 4 walls the same colour and don't have so much white to contrast it with, they'll suddenly seem much paler. Probably. It's like the blue/black/gold/white dress.

I think the slipper satin looks fine and easy to live with.

Oh dear!!! So sorry. I am sure you were well advised, though. I have only ever lived in renovation projects, so I know how it works. And yet I still ballsed it up with the kitchen and bathroom of this one (the only one I intend to live in for ever, needless to say ).

Titus, that’s gorgeous and more like what I had in mind. I thought I was going crazy today when it didn’t match my expectations. It wasn’t even close.

I think I’m going to ask them to get the original F and B paint in slipper Satin and do at least one room to keep them busy until I can get there.

Thank you, all of you for your help and advice. Scardanelli, thank you especially for making me laugh as a fellow ballser-upper. May we all live to paint another day!

It’s a good job I didn’t mention the Dimpse in the bathrooms. 😫

Off now to change my name to SatinSlapper if it isn’t already taken.

Another vote for Johnstone's. IME Leyland paint is horrid, I know they're sort of meant to be the same company but I don't think they actually are?? Our local Johnstone's is Johnstone's only, no Leyland in sight! And my matches from there have been amazing.

Notes on your colour choices;

Slipper satin; looked rather yellow/magnolia in my west facing bedroom. As does Wimborne white (note yellow/cream is picked up in bright rooms).

Shadow white; gorgeous in both darker parts of the house and lighter rooms, very versatile.

All White; actually my fave colour of all the whites.... so subtle and lovely.

Do Dulux timeless at a push!

What about Wimborne White? I've not tried that in the flesh, but it looks lovely online in a variety of settings. I love Shadow White, but I don't think I'd want to do the whole house in it, as it's very definitely green, and I think I'd find that too restricting to have everywhere.

Hello and thank you to everyone who has posted. I really wish I had posted about my decorating questions before the very last minute as you have all been so helpful. I will post a proper reply and update later tonight as I have to rush right now but I just wanted to acknowledge the many thoughtful and helpful posts. It is much appreciated. You guys are a fountain of knowledge. Thank you.

The shades depend on the light available in the room and the base colour behind the shade.