Is Farrow and Ball worth it?

[Artichokes]

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?

Hi Chaos,see this below from F&B website
"Due to this product having a very matt finish, care should be taken when using deep
shaded colours. Losing the wet edge of the paint during application can lead to a
common decorating problem known as ?Flashing? (halo effect where two edges of paint
meet)."
Looks like this might be your prob,you failed to keep a wet edge!

My decorator says the matt is ok to work with but the stuff for woodwork he won't touch. We usually use Dulux Professional and lots of people say it is better quality than F and B, with more pigment in it. But not the chalky look. Isn't that finish a bugger to wipe if the kids get marks on it? My whole house is creams, so I do need to wipe the walls sometimes where the kids have knocked them.

Acanthus,I have F&B Lime White on my kitchen walls and a fondness for cooking curries,chillies and other stainy things,plus a slapdash dh & two grubby dds.Everything has wiped off the paintwork well and not rubbed away like cheaper paints have.I've even used those magic eraser thing,which removed the stain and the paintwork in another room [don't use Wickes paint],but caused no problems on the F&B.

whats limewhite like? Is it very white?

We have just had our cloakroom painted in Farrows cream .We painted the ceiling initially in brilliant white and the F&B looked like daffodil yellow [yucky!].We then redid the ceiling in pointing and it looks lovely.I think its worth it to be honest.I agree with the Wickes comment.My matte washable paint is not very washable.

We have just had our cloakroom painted in Farrows cream .We painted the ceiling initially in brilliant white and the F&B looked like daffodil yellow [yucky!].We then redid the ceiling in pointing and it looks lovely.I think its worth it to be honest.I agree with the Wickes comment.My matte washable paint is not very washable.

Thanks mirage. I might give it a try.

Farrow and Ball is the best paint I have ever used. Some of you probably are unsure about use of colour and finishes so why not pop into one of their showrooms and discuss with their expert staff? If you don't know what Elephants breath is then surely your Google skills are upto the job? #justsaying!

Aside from the farrow and ball strange colour names you have to note that their paint has good opacity (covering power) and in the case of emulsions is "dead Matt" whereas other paints have a slight sheen.
That said you can get a colour match with the required flat finish from some specialist outlets.
In Bristol you can get a great match for less than half the price in Avonmouth and get free delivery.

I also think F&B is worth it. Great quality finish
I used elephants breath and pointing in the hallway and elephants breath is quite light and was a very warm colour.
Just moved in to a house which is covered in slipper satin and Hardwick white. Hardwick white is lovely. A bit browner/greener than EB but looks good!

it is simple. Decorators do not get any discount with F&B. They are given huge incentives by some decorator outlets eg discount, free rollers, trays, brushes.

It is a no brainer for decorators. Tell you product Is crap , obtain cheap copy and charge you more than they paid.

I have a decorator who loves it but I have to get the paint myself. It makes no sense for him to supply so I order online.