Farrow and Ball - rubbish or not?

[ovariantryst]

Okay, I realise I am about to offend half of Mumsnet, but I have spent an entire morning having my ear bent by a professional decorator and I need a second opinion?

According to him and his previous experience, Farrow and Ball is a pile of poo, does not wipe clean as it should (have just seen thread here that suggests this is true) , doesn't go on well, and doesn't last long without bubbling in the Westcountry sun (not that I've seen it much recently, mind?).

So - do you agree? What should I use instead? Someone recommended Dulux but I'm concerned the pigments aren't as rich as F&B.

Is Fired Earth any better? Anything else I need to know?? It's for an 1820s house, if that has any bearing at all on anything.

I know a decorator who does posh houses. They always tell him they want XYZ farrow and ball . He nods and goes and gets that colour mixed by proper trade paint. Can’t. Remember the brand but he swore by it

If you have a period house, try to steer clear of paints containing plastics e.g dulux, valspar etc as plastic based paints trap moisture and stop your lovely lime plaster walls from getting rid of condensation. This is particularly important if your house has ever had repairs to mortar or plaster containing cement or gypsum, as they are also modern materials that trap moisture and stop your period house from functioning as it should.

Think of your house's exterior, and interior plaster and paint as a sandwich - outside and inside moisture needs to exit the walls and plastic paint, cement and gypsum will stop this and cause dampness.

For a period house you need clay based paints e.g Farrow & Ball, Earthborn or Little Greene.

Ha ha just looked at this thread and see I wrote a long post on it back in 2012 when I had a different name