Painting ceilings - Farrow and Ball to match walls or trade white emulsion?

[MissPollysTrolleyed]

We're painting our downstairs in various shades of Farrow & Ball off-white with grey in the hallway. Can we paint the ceilings in regular trade white emulsion or will there be too much of a clash between paint textures?

We've just painted 2 bedrooms in F&B modem emulsion (Middleton Pink and Pointing) and have done the ceilings and cornicing in Crown pure brilliant white matt- looks very good IMHO. I can't tell any difference between the textures anyway. Woodwork in PBW Dulux trade satinwood.

It's a bugger to wash up the rollers after using F&B compared with the crown, that's the main difference!

What do you mean bu a clash between paint textures?

Fwiw i think it will be absolutely fine to use trade paint.

We did do all the ceilings in Wimborne White and I'm really pleased we did. I know it's a bit pea-ish (as in princess and the pea) and the decorator was absolutely aghast. But then he couldn't see the point of F&B at all.

But the colour is soft and mellow and works with the rest of the rooms.

Now I love F&B but refuse to pay for their pure white shades. White is White IMHO. I love the off-white shades though. But does anyone look that closely at ceilings...?

Depends on the F&B shade on the walls.

Some look absolutely fine next to brilliant white (and brilliant white looks fine next to it). Some look horrible. We have a kitchen painted in String, and did a couple of coats of brilliant white Dulux emulsion to cover the bare plaster ... walls looked dingy and slightly mouldy, ceiling looked bluey-grey and cold. One coat of a F&B off-white and everything looked warm and lovely.

I would recommend a coat of brilliant white trade paint followed by a single coat of F&B - if the brilliant white looks fine, then you can take back the F&B unopened and do a second coat of it, if you think the F&B will look better then only 1 coat will halve the cost!

Also, see if you can colour match a Farrow and Ball off-white. I am aghast at how much we are spending on paint, and so have colour matched Wimborne White in Dulux via a Google search which suggested Jasmine white as a good alternative; it does seem to be.

Thanks everyone. I will see how we go with a coat of brilliant white keeping a tin of F&B in reserve. I asked the chap in Brewers on Saturday and he said that the trade white could look a bit cold and blue against F&B but that, on the other hand, if you had a dark room, it could help by reflecting light.

Just had a long discussion with the painter about what paint we use in our new kitchen - he's says F&B is a total and utter waste of money......so we're back to Dulux!

I am a big F&B fan, and in very light rooms I have used F&B for ceilings, but I have just tried Wickes new chalky finish paint on my kitchen ceiling.
I used F&B shaded white on the walls (a beigey grey) and Wickes chalky victorian white on the ceiling. It is a good warm off white. Good matt texture and cheap. Especially when they have their 25% offer running!
I agree that you should try a coat of brilliant white to see, but I really think it would ruin the softness of the F&B finish.

Dulux trade white is quite chalkyish looking, not bluey. Brilliant white has the colder tinge (but it really is marginal)

Id use Dulux Trade White for the ceilings - NOT brilliant white, it's less bluey/glowy than brilliant white.

I see your painter is anti F&B. Some painters don't like F&B as it's harder to apply. However you won't get the same texture from Dulux, or the same colours. As an alternative, try Little Greene - texture and quality and subtle colours like F&B but painters love it.

Oops, it's Panic's painter who is anti F&B not the OP's painter.

All painters hate F&B, as it is more work to apply. Don't listen to them - F&B is better if we're talking subtle shades. However, as I said I'm not averse to a bit of pure white trade in the right places.