The great “Is Farrow & Ball paint worth it?” debate – RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT!

[EscapeToTheShithole]

Redecorating… and got sucked into the See how it changes colour with the light! F&B marketing, even though I know perfectly well you could easily say that about magnolia.

Read some of the MN threads about how decorators loathe F&B paint and it’s all just Emperor’s new clothes. Felt worse than gullible, because even though I didn’t even believe the hype, I still went and bought it! And it is not cheap!!! 😫

An hour into painting, realised I’d underestimated how much was needed. It wasn’t bare plaster, but might as well have been as the walls are new and the builder must have used a crappy mist coat. Very absorbent.

Had the flash of genius that, as suggested on MN threads, I could nip out to B&Q and get 5L of ordinary paint mixed to match the colour.

This worked really well! Side by side, I couldn’t actually tell the difference from the wall I’d just done in F&B. They looked identical. So I used up the entire 5L tin (mist coat, then a second coat) kicking myself that I had forked out good money for the F&B, which I began thinking of as “that bullshit paint.” I am a cheapskate by nature, and it really irked me that I’d been foolish, but just in case it made a difference, I saved the F&B paint for the final coat.

By the time I'd finished the B&Q 5L pot, it was time to clean up for the day. To add insult to injury, I was looking around me slightly aghast at the colour I’d chosen: Why had I thought it was a good idea to paint the whole room in what looked like a bright orangey cream?! 😬

Next day, I braced myself and applied the final coat of the F&B “bullshit paint” … which, of course, looked exactly the same colour when applied. 🤦🏻‍♀️

And yet! – the effect in the room, especially as the walls dried, was quite different. No more orangey hue, more the subtle cooler/sandy effect I’d liked so much when using the tester pot. Hurraaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!

So here are my thoughts:

A lot might depend on the shade you pick. I went for Farrow’s Cream – a sort of golden cream with a cool/sandy hue that’s hard to explain, and there’s no point me posting photos as none of them look anything like the actual colour! Despite being a perfect match, the B&Q dupe had a hotter orange feel to it although it was objectively the same colour.

I suspect F&B put something different in theirs to achieve the muted tones (lamp soot? incinerated roadkill? vintage Chanel mascara?).

Whatever it is, it does make a difference, but the paint needs to be thoroughly and regularly mixed to disperse it evenly (might explain decorators’ reluctance to use it?).

FWIW, I didn’t find the paint at all thin or translucent, quite the opposite – very pigment rich (maybe depends on colour and finish).

So there we go. Sharing in the interests of scientific research.

I never kind understand the colour match thing. It's never a "real" match. That said, I think Dulux is very high quality and slightly easier to apply than F&B (based only on my DIY experience). But I can the the starting difference between the paints as I have Deluxe in the common areas and F&B in the bedrooms. F&B is very expensive and it does require at least 3 coats on top of a primer coat. I also love Little Greene. I used first time on a recent project in my DC bedroom and the colour is absolutely stunning. I found it easier to apply and with better coverage than F&B.

It also does depend on the finish you've already got on the wall and what you are painting over. The Dulux Heritage Sage that I have on one living room wall went on a flat wall over magnolia and looks amazing. Went on wonderfull and covered brilliantly. But if I'd painted it onto a bobbly wall over a dark colour I might have been a bit more disillusioned.

Although I put F&B 'Peignoir' on the rest of the walls. I did due diligence with a tester pot and little sample squares, but having painted the whole room it looks a very different colour to the one I wanted. The depth of pigment means that it picks up different colours depending on the light and, I'm afraid, the pink hint that I wanted is pretty much greige in my room. I swear it looked lovely in the test squares!

I've also used Little Greene which decorators often prefer. Beautiful colour but I found it showed every mark which drives me insane. F&B is the same I believe? Same with Dulux heritage, we had workmen around and now there's black marks on it that I can't get off so will have to touch it up. I now use Benjamin Moore Regal select and you can wipe almost all marks off so it stays looking great.

I’m a convert to Little Greene, and especially love their intelligent matt and intelligent satin finishes now that I have children. They do lovely colours and the coverage is amazing.

I used F&B when I was child free and care free. The colour match never worked, and I noticed it especially with the more neutral/grey colours which always looked “meh” in comparison to the F&B versions which picked up so many green, blue and pink undertones with the changing light. I would never use F&B now - expensive paint, requires more coats and requires much more painter time (££). Maybe I’ll go back to it one day!

I love F&B and over time have painted every room in my house n it. What I have learned over the years is:
It must be applied with a brush to get the true flat chalky finish. Using a roller leaves a slight stipple which spoils the effect. Also with a roller a lot of paint is wasted so it’s much more expensive.
It’s not true it’s not wipeable. I wipe all my paintwork, but I don’t scrub it.
It’s not true it’s thin. I’ve never had to do more than two coats and a pot goes a really long way if applied with a brush.
It lasts really well over time, especially if you use one of their drab colours they are so famed for that won’t show a bit of grubbiness.
They really do change with the light and look different in each room, which can be a blessing but also a curse as it might look nicer in one room than another.
Colour matches and they are absolutely not the same
I always love the effect once it’s done and for that it’s worth the extra cost, but I do my own decorating so I don’t pay out for that.
i wouldn’t use it on hall, stairs and landing though. That’d be silly.