Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Is Farrow and Ball worth it?

62 replies

Artichokes · 24/02/2011 13:18

Thinking of decorating my new house but I'm on a very tight budget. I love the look of Farrow and Ball pain and am lusting over Elephants' Breath or Archive as colours for my living room. However, it is hideously expensive. Is F&B that much different to other paints? And can anyone recommend other paint companies that are cheaper?

OP posts:
MissMarjoribanks · 24/02/2011 14:10

I love F&B. Most of our house is painted in it. We have a 30s semi with some of the original features. The yellow we have used for DS' room is such a vibrant colour with real depth.

However, our downstairs toilet is in the Crown period range. DH kicked off and said he wasn't painting the bog in poncey paint. The difference is minimal, but then again so is the price difference.

Both my DH and my dad say it is an arse to put on though.

jeanjeannie · 24/02/2011 14:35

Loathe F&B! Love the colours hate the finish. The dark doesn't cover well (on 3rd tin) and it's a mare to put on. It's the second time I've had a go with it and I've just not got the knack! Plus - i think it looks chalky in patches - can't explain...but I know what I mean!

DaffadownDilly · 24/02/2011 15:46

The colours are lovely, but if you can get the trade colour wheel thing you can match them pretty accurately.

I think the names of them allude to something more than what is only paint.

Pannacotta · 24/02/2011 16:13

I get F&B colours mixed up in Little Greene paint finishes, which I think are better quality and the decorators I have used all agree.
A bit cheaper too (though not much!).

lovemysleep · 24/02/2011 16:17

I really liked the one that we used, the colour was brilliant - and they don't give off as many nasty paint fumes too.

But it is expensive in comparison to others, so I'd probably baulk at doing large spaces.

greenlotus · 24/02/2011 16:28

I have personally got on OK with Farrow & Ball both emulsion and eggshell. It covers fine in 2 coats and is very matt. I've lost count of how many rooms I've used it in. Dulux Trade is excellent paint too. But then I've painted it all myself and couldn't speak for a professional.

I did have a bad experience with colour matching where a soft red was "matched" into a shrimpy orange colour - maybe with the greys and creams it wouldn't be so obvious.

It is expensive relative to other paint, but paint is not a big ticket cost in doing up a house, it's an extra £10 a tin maybe but the colour is something you will look at all the time.

If you like the F&B colour, get it, if you like something else, go for that.

dustythedolphin · 24/02/2011 17:04

I agree with Hetty and Thandeka - the trick is to choose your F&B colour and get the hsop to mix you the same colour but in Dulux Wink

The best thing about F&B IMHO is their heritage style colour range, which you can easily get mixed in Dulux paint.

dustythedolphin · 24/02/2011 17:07

"DH kicked off and said he wasn't painting the bog in poncey paint".Grin

Sounds like my DH! Mind you I wall-papered the bog with William Morris wallpaper Grin. Blue and cream "Willow" and it looked very nice too Wink

MarshaBrady · 24/02/2011 17:08

yes I do think it's worth it, as has a different finish.

I wouldn't do the dulux colour match thing

Ooid, interested in paints that are nicer...

Deux · 24/02/2011 17:10

Dulux do a good range of Heritage colours. Fired Earth and Kevin McCloud do great colours too. I've heard the paints from Fired Earth are better than F & B but haven't tried them.

dustythedolphin · 24/02/2011 17:11

Artichokes if you go to Homebase, they can just "zap" the F&B colour chart and mix the same colour in Dulux base paint for you. You don't need to find the Dulux nearest equilvalent.

I have a colour I had mixed and when we redecorate in new house I want to use it again, so will just get Homebase to "zap" it with their clever electronic paint mixer thing to get an identical shade mixed new :(

dustythedolphin · 24/02/2011 17:12

:), not :(

Fired Earth do fabulous funky colours and I agree they are better quality paint than F&B or Laura Ashley

corns12k · 24/02/2011 17:52

fired earth paint is 3 for 2 on the website

TracyK · 24/02/2011 18:31

Duh - I was thinking I had been using F&B - but now its been mentioned - I remember - it was Fired Earth all along!

Haven't used F&B before! What a tube I am!

LemonDifficult · 24/02/2011 19:33

The reason F&B are so more expensive than Dulux is that they use much more pigment, a 'denser' colour.

This is why trade painters don't like it - it doesn't slap on so easily. If you get a tester from F&B and one from Dulux you'll see what I mean - the brush on the F&B one seems to drag and the paint won't cover such a large area for equal volume.

However, it's this high pigmentation that makes the paint look high quality. You can get it matched exactly from Dulux but it might feel more high street than Bond Street IYSWIM. I've done it in places and it looks fine though. And Dulux can be harder wearing depending on what type of either brand you go for.

All down to budget. But F&B still the better paint, even if your painter doesn't think so!

BlackType · 24/02/2011 19:34

Artichokes, in response to your OP: yes, it it worth it several times over. We even managed to get away with one coat in one of our bathrooms.

BlackType · 24/02/2011 19:35

Actually, red wine is addling my brain. It was Fired Earth that was one coat. But F&B was v v v v v good in our kitchen too.

Mirage · 24/02/2011 20:20

I'm a convert-anyone who knows me knows that I don't splash money about and don't go for designer names ect.But we had our kitchen painted in F&B Lime White and French Grey and it looks fab.I'm planning on using F&B again in the bathroom when it is finished-I love the flat matt look of their paint and it is very durable too.It is one thing I'm happy to pay more for.

LeQueen · 25/02/2011 13:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

corns12k · 25/02/2011 13:22

lequeen what colours do you have?

ChaosTrulyReigns · 25/02/2011 13:24

The thing is with colour matching, the colours are ok-ish, but you can definitely tell from the finish which is the real deal.

I have to strongly persuade DH that colour-matching is infra dig.

Grin
ChaosTrulyReigns · 25/02/2011 13:25

Oh cross-posts with the F&B Queen.

noddyholder · 25/02/2011 13:27

It is about the percentage of pigment in the f and b.You can get the colour copied but it is slightly sheened and less intense once on teh wall.It is not that much more expensive anyway esp if you use dulux ultra matt white emulsion as a base coat

fresh · 25/02/2011 13:29

Not wishing to cast aspersions on decorators, but another possible reason they don't like f&b is they don't get trade discount on it. To get discount you have to either be a stockist, or an interior designer and buy all of their wallpaper books (£££££££). Personally I think the finish is classier than high street brands although the acrylic eggshell doesn't wear as well as an oil- based eggshell, so not great for kitchen cabinets etc. Have had good results with little Greene for kitchen cabinets, and their ultimatt finish is very hardwearing for walls, and a good matt finish.

skybluewinking · 25/02/2011 14:50

The main thing I love about farrow and ball is as have been said; the mattness.
Usual emulsions are about 7 -9% sheen whereas f&b is a lovely 2%.
They even do a 2% sheen paint for wood, which I love using rather than eggshell,though admittedly it is not as robust.
It is that lack of sheen that you will not get with a lookylikey mix.
I maintain that the colours sre not the same either, but the sheen thing us unargueable.