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Original poster

Farrow & Ball - worth it?

89 replies

Noimaginationforaun · 27/08/2023 16:25

Is Farrow and Ball worth the price point or is it better to just colour match a colour if you particularly love it? I’ve bought a couple of their books and I’m really loving them as I’m pretty clueless about where to start!

DH and I have just moved into our forever home with our LO. Our last house was very much a doer-upper. We did what we could with a very limited budget and we also knew we were going to move. Basically, we never decorated for us and more for what was on offer/what is neutral to be pleasant enough.

Anyway, now we are in our forever home and have been lucky enough to have some equity and inheritance behind us. For the first time ever, we want to actually take our time decorating and decorate for us and not just because we need everything doing as quick and as cheap as possible but equally we don’t want to waste money when it’s not worth it! We are trying to go with a ‘happy to spend the money when it’s for something that’s actually going to last’ kind of mindset!

OP posts:
TheYadaYada · 27/08/2023 22:41

Our whole house is Farrow and Ball, but we just had our downstairs loo decorated and, as the F&B Bee wallpaper was SO expensive, I decided to economise on the paint by having it colour-matched in B&Q. (Pavilion Grey, if you're interested).

Does it look inferior to the actual F&B in the rest of the house? No.

MujeresLibres · 27/08/2023 22:42

I didn't find it to be thin as certain other posters have, but I prefer a vinyl silk-style finish, and F&B didn't seem to offer that at the time I used their paint. They do have really nice colours though.

stclair · 27/08/2023 22:42

These threads always have people saying how quickly F&B gets scuffed etc but I haven’t found that at all. We had the whole house painted about 6 years ago and it still looks great. Even the hall/stairs. Although the skirting on the stairs is looking a little tired.

llamadrama16 · 27/08/2023 22:46

I colour match F&B in Johnstons. Little Greene paint is a dream to work with!

amidsummernightsdream · 27/08/2023 22:47

I have tried several times to colour match and you just cant. Maybe you can get away with it for darker colours but not possible for the lighter colours. I have really tried!

Either you appreciate the subtleties and nuances of the F&b colours or you don’t. If you do it’s 100% worth it.
If not, crack on with colour matching, it might look great to you but it’s not the same.

Screamingabdabz · 27/08/2023 23:19

amidsummernightsdream · 27/08/2023 22:47

I have tried several times to colour match and you just cant. Maybe you can get away with it for darker colours but not possible for the lighter colours. I have really tried!

Either you appreciate the subtleties and nuances of the F&b colours or you don’t. If you do it’s 100% worth it.
If not, crack on with colour matching, it might look great to you but it’s not the same.

Exactly - we tried to match Winbourne White and it just wasn’t anything like it.

elenabenjamin · 27/08/2023 23:27

Just curious, how do you know it's your forever home? .. anyway, F&B is a fashion / trend brand, not a professional quality paint. Professional decorators don't recommend it as to get a decent coverage you need to use a lot of paint and many layers.
Quality paint are little greene and a number of other not so familiar brands which will be on the higher end of costs but you can always get a decent colour match with Dulux for a fraction of the price.

Nugg · 27/08/2023 23:33

I've done F&B, Little Greene and colour march. Valspar colour match all the way!

Treacletart9 · 27/08/2023 23:40

I live in an old Victorian house and we’re gradually redecorating it after the old owners did an insta number on it.
Our paint supplier told us that f and b formula is specifically designed for old houses where the wall plaster is more absorbent and chalky, so covers better and I would say that seems to be true.
We have a mixture of f and b and others, which work equally well - depending on colour and the function of the room ie bathroom not f and b. Where we do have f and b, bedrooms and living areas, it’s perfect for our old house and the pigmentation is lovely. We’ve done one or two coats.

NopeNopeNoper · 27/08/2023 23:52

amidsummernightsdream · 27/08/2023 22:47

I have tried several times to colour match and you just cant. Maybe you can get away with it for darker colours but not possible for the lighter colours. I have really tried!

Either you appreciate the subtleties and nuances of the F&b colours or you don’t. If you do it’s 100% worth it.
If not, crack on with colour matching, it might look great to you but it’s not the same.

Agree with this. You can always, always tell when a colour match has been used. No matter how you #hashtag it on Insta! Wink

Our decorator has used F&B in our house - a range of colours from dark to light. She absolutely loves it and only ever needs to do two coats.

Franticbutterfly · 28/08/2023 00:40

100% worth it. I have used both the modern and estate emulsion in my house (depending on the area) and they have worn really well. DH has no problem using the brand.

MidnightMeltdown · 28/08/2023 01:07

Magnolia never fails

@caramacyears

I spent too many years renting to ever paint anything magnolia

To me, Magnolia = Landlords house 😂

Wakintoblueskies · 28/08/2023 01:12

Rachaelrachael · 27/08/2023 16:45

I think it's worth it! I find the pigment is 'strong' and covers really well. Also find the F&B paints change shade slightly as the sun moves throughout the day

This.

One decorator told us it’s harder to paint with and encouraged us to colour match. We did in one room. The colour match was nothing like the F&B colour. It lacked depth and didn’t change with the daylight. We had to paint the room again with F&B paint. There is no comparison.

The only place I would hesitate using it is in high traffic places. It is hard to wipe without having to repaint.

Playingintheshadow · 28/08/2023 01:41

Nugg · 27/08/2023 23:33

I've done F&B, Little Greene and colour march. Valspar colour match all the way!

Same!! I just wouldn't pay the price of F&B. We had a tradesman fitting our new ensuite and he recommended Johnson's or B&Q's Valspar colour matching service.

We had a very strong colour on our walls, and 2 coats of the Valspar covered it. Plus if we ever need to touch up later on, and the colour isn't available - they can match it!!

Freshair1 · 28/08/2023 07:20

What exactly does the paint do tho? Is it payoff or is it dual tone or something?

CountryCob · 28/08/2023 08:20

There are subtle colour tones, we did our windows and a neighbour said she couldn't quite describe it as a grey but liked it a lot for example. I also like the way they tell you which other colours are within that tone. I have used Little Greene and that is also lovely. I would rather get a colour I liked from dulux etc, have had some nice results with B&Q own brand, than take a chance on colour matching although I believe it works for some I have seen some poor copies to. I don't like the names of some of the F&B like bone or dead salmon, even if they are nice colours I wouldn't like that for myself as the association isn't pleasant and I would think it every time I looked at the wall. Colour and paint is very personal and there is a lot I wouldn't use in any brand. I am not loyal to any one brand but focused on colour and finish. OP I think your idea about having a colour you love in your room and a more durable in your child's is a good one. Have fun choosing

imed · 28/08/2023 08:40

Never heard a bad word said about Little Greene.
The colours are similar to F&B but 'cleaner'
It's much easier to apply.

TotalOverhaul · 28/08/2023 09:12

One tip about colour matching though - the colours can fade and change. We had a lovely sage green colour match but within three years the yellow had faded and it had become a lot bluer which didn't work at all. We had to repaint. Can't remember if that was Dulux or Johnson's but not bothered colour matching again. I'm now a massive Paint & Paper Library fan as their colours are really true and easy to apply. About the same price range and Little Greene or F&B.

BlueMongoose · 28/08/2023 11:44

My paint supplier reckons F&B isn't worth the money, though other high-end paints are.

BlueMongoose · 28/08/2023 11:50

Treacletart9 · 27/08/2023 23:40

I live in an old Victorian house and we’re gradually redecorating it after the old owners did an insta number on it.
Our paint supplier told us that f and b formula is specifically designed for old houses where the wall plaster is more absorbent and chalky, so covers better and I would say that seems to be true.
We have a mixture of f and b and others, which work equally well - depending on colour and the function of the room ie bathroom not f and b. Where we do have f and b, bedrooms and living areas, it’s perfect for our old house and the pigmentation is lovely. We’ve done one or two coats.

Edited

Unless it is claypaint, it isn't. If it uses a significant amount of acrylic binder, which IIRC it does, it is not going to be significantly better than any other modern paint. For old plaster walls, you need claypaint. earthborn, etc. You can tell by testing it- if the paint skins over in the can when you leave a tin for a year, and you have to remove it, it's not suitable for old lime plaster. Claypaint doesn't skin over.

Jadegreenjade · 28/08/2023 11:52

I have F&B in the hallway. We only painted it 6 weeks ago and it looks awful.

We have a Crown tester and it looks much better

Yalta · 28/08/2023 11:59

I would never use it.
I tried it in my living room and it was like painting with milk it took 9 coats and even then it wasn’t great

I came to give the walls a wipe down when we moved and literally wiped the paint off.

It has to be the worse paint I have ever used

Yalta · 28/08/2023 12:05

I was told that if you want the exact shade and finish of F&B but without the patchiness and hassle, colour match what ever F&B you want then once the room is painted go over with a finish coat of F&B

NopeNopeNoper · 28/08/2023 12:09

Yalta · 28/08/2023 12:05

I was told that if you want the exact shade and finish of F&B but without the patchiness and hassle, colour match what ever F&B you want then once the room is painted go over with a finish coat of F&B

The problem with this is that the vast majority of so called F&B ‘colour matches’ are nothing of the thing. They are so different.

Jadegreenjade · 28/08/2023 12:10

Our F&B paint was like milk too. No matter how much you stirred it.

The Crown paint is so rich and thick in comparison