Is Farrow and Ball paint worth it?

[justanotherremainer]

Just that really. And it is hugely more expensive? My house is tiny but having a full revamp.

This always gets mixed reviews. Some that rave about it and say it's the only one that has depth and looks different in different lights and makes a huge difference in person and others that say it's not the easiest to paint with, better to have a professional do it, and isn't at all hardy. I've not had any myself but was planning on buying some imminently and I think I've decided to get colour matched imitations instead for now after asking around because I have small children who are very hard on our walls and it needs cleaning a lot, I might go for the real thing when they are a bit older. I want washable paint and I don't want to pay for a professional painter and I'd prefer something easy to use since I have a lot of rooms to paint in one go. If I didn't have more destructive than average children I'd go for the real stuff. Price wise I'm not too bothered, for something you look at every day I don't think the price difference is too significant in comparison to upgrading flooring/kitchen worktop choice etc.

It has more pigment in than other colours which is beneficial for darker colours - but less relevant on paler colours. I’ve discovered a brand called Lick though so I’m looking forward to trying their paint ranges - the colours look great.

I’ve never had exact matches on colour matching - ever

I think Designers Guild, Graham & Brown and Mylands paints are all much better than Farrow and Ball.

I was told if you want the effect of F&B for less money is to have the colour mixed with a DIY store own brand paint then do a final coat with F&B.

No. It's expensive and it's a pain to apply.

No. It's expensive and it's a pain to apply

It's not a pain to apply - it's the opposite. It's a real sensual joy to apply.

And it is worth it, and it does make a difference ... but it's true that it's not robust; it does mark very easily.

it's a pain to apply

... Umm ... well obviously DramaAlpaca, this is what's known as a difference of opinion - I love the stuff, and you don't like it.

I have had two professional painters in the past , well the most recent is our home now . Both told us that the best paint is from Wilkos( Wilkinsons own brand . We were doubtful the first time , but the colours were beautiful , hard wearing &the professionals were right .

@Time40 no problem, we're allowed to have differences of opinion.

I'm a big fan. The whole house is decorated in it. It's much easier to apply in my book but most decorators hate it. The ones that do I don't get back to do the job because they obviously have no appreciation of colour or of paint!

Big fan here too- steadily re doing every room in it and it hasn't let me down so far! It's just so beautiful! Having said that, my family raves about little greene (which we haven't tried yet)

We prefer Little Greene - applies well and good range of colours

I'm a big fan too. Over the years I've used lots of paint brands and I've found F&B to be the best. I didn't like Wilkos, the mixed paint from Valspar is good, but f&b for dark colors is superb to apply and looks fab. My one gripe is that it does mark. For that reason, we are going to get our hallway paint colour matched with more robust finish.

I have a paler f&b in my lounge and it's been great. I have small kids too and it still look fresh 3 years later.
Compared to Neptune paint which was the same £££ but marks hideously! I would invest in f&b again as the colour range is lovely.

It’s like painting with milk! We had all our bedrooms painted the same colour - one room actual f&b colour, the others colour matched and I couldn’t tell you if my life depended on it which was the real f&b room.. they all look the same

I have had two professional painters in the past , well the most recent is our home now . Both told us that the best paint is from Wilkos( Wilkinsons own brand . We were doubtful the first time , but the colours were beautiful , hard wearing &the professionals were right .

I was going to say this too! I used to love Little Greene paints which were amazing but pricey, then tried F&B and thought it was very poor in comparison. Bought some Wilko paint for utility room and was blown away by how good it was for how cheap.

You could use it in some rooms and not others.

I’ve almost finished decorating my house, I used more expensive paints in my lounge and dining room, but other places like the hall and kitchen have got cheaper options.
I really rate Craig and Rose paint and Lick paints. Both do a pretty good job with one coat and perfection with too - the colours have that depth and chalkiness of F and B too.

I really wanted the colours in my lounge and dining room to effect my mood, so the colours had to be just right. But in places like the hall, I wasn’t too fussed and also went for PBW in my kitchen as the colour was in the cabinetry.

I love the colours. But my experience is that it isn’t a robust paint. We have it in our bedroom and have had no issues. The previous owners of the house had it in the hall and it looked very battered within a couple of years.

We also have it in our living room and it is not compatible with blu-tac in any way, shape or form - we now have paint-less marks on the wall where it has peeled off. That was the modern emulsion wipe clean stuff as well. I wouldn’t use it in a high traffic area with young kids.

We have F&B in the kitchen. DH who's never decorated before did it himself. It went on easily and looks great. Highly recommend Craig and Rose too, which we have in the living room. Very similar in quality, and looks lovely

I've just decorated and used a paint called Tikkurila. You can get your chosen colour mixed up to any shade. It goes on well, is washable and looks great. It's also non toxic. I got Durable matt, Optiva 5. It also has very good trade reviews.

@Smallonesaremorejuicy Yes! We had a great experience with Wilko's "the best" - crushed almond I think. Our only F&B experience was for our front door. It was ok but chipped a bit. I couldn't comment on the standard wall emulsion though.

I'm an F&B fan too - the modern emulsion finish is hard-wearing enough for high traffic areas, I have it in 2 bath/shower rooms and the hall and it's fine. Wipeable and has taken a lot of knocks over the years but still in good shape. I keep coming back to the colours - it's like a short restaurant menu: the selection is small compared with most other brands but everything on it is top class.

I do also love Little Greene and find their (oil-based) satinwood harder-wearing than F&B's modern eggshell, which is water-based. Not sure if oil-based paint is still legal though (last decorated 4 years ago) - the water-based is far easier to apply but our F&B Railings skirting boards and banisters need touching up quite badly, whereas the front door I painstakingly painted with LG Trumpet is looking as good as new still.

FWIW our decorators were also very complimentary about the F&B paint, I made a point of asking because I'd seen others on here say theirs weren't.

(Hallway has survived 2 young kids, scooters, balls being kicked along it etc)