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Original poster

Farrow & Ball colours

54 replies

badkitty · 09/10/2008 15:42

OK, in need of some help here - have decorators in next week to decorate downstairs + upstairs bedroom/nursery and I am in a total quandary re paint colours. We have a victorian terrace with the traditional through lounge/dining room downstairs. It is all dark wood furniture. DH v much wants the dining room part in a traditional green, which I have come round to the idea of but don't want it too dark - am thinking of F&B Ball Green. However I don't want the lounge part of the room green as well - think it would be a bit much - so want a nice warm classic neutral which would not clash with the Ball Green. I have painted so many tester pots that DH thinks I am an addict, and I still can't tell what will work or not. Thinking maybe Savage Ground (but will this actually be too light? - I don't want it to look washed out) or String (which I haven't actually tried but saw in a magazine yesterday and thought looked nice).

For nursery/bedroom I think am going to use Joa's White, which seems to be nice and warm when I put it on the upstairs walls, but weirdly looks totally different on the lounge walls and is far too light for in there!

Any opinions on the colours I have mentioned (or other colours I might try?)before I go making some horrible mistake?

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 09/10/2008 15:52

String really nice and we got Shaded White for hall and stairs which has greenish tinge.

I think most of their colours are great - lovely and mellow - and, if one doesn't work for you, just paint over it. It's a relatively cheap mistake to rectify.

lalalonglegs · 09/10/2008 15:52

String really nice and we got Shaded White for hall and stairs which has greenish tinge.

I think most of their colours are great - lovely and mellow - and, if one doesn't work for you, just paint over it. It's a relatively cheap mistake to rectify.

cremolafoam · 09/10/2008 15:56

ok so far we have Ball green and dark wood furniture- so we are loking for the lounge end yes?
I think Savage Ground is too cream
i like string but it is also quite 'strong'
My peference would be for either Clunch which is a good all round neutral but is 'warm' or Shaded White which is a more taupe than cream neutral. I am thinking of course of colours that are good with Ball green.
I have Ball Greenin my bedroom with mahogany furniture and it works well

NomDePlume · 09/10/2008 16:02

I have string in my hall and Savage Ground in my living room, Savage ground is much darker imo than String.

CatMandu · 09/10/2008 16:04

Do you have to paint all the walls the same colour? We often have one wall a different colour, but similar tone and it works very well.

Original poster

badkitty · 09/10/2008 16:07

Thank you. Right I might try the string and the clunch then (will have to nip out of house to get more testers without DH seeing....). I have tried the Shaded White but thought it looked quite greyish in tone, not sure this would work so well with our sofas which are more of a creamy colour...

The ball green is not too dark and overwhelming when on all 4 walls then? It looks like a nice colour, I just find it very hard to imagine what it will look like in the whole room just from the tester bits I have painted.

OP posts:

Original poster

badkitty · 09/10/2008 16:28

p.s. - have to get it right first time as first baby due at beginning of December so no one is going to be repainting anything for a while!

OP posts:

Vulgar · 09/10/2008 16:43

Off White is nice.
it has a greenish tinge.

i've painted all our woodwork in this.

isgrassgreener · 09/10/2008 16:49

OK first of all (sorry to sound bossy, but this does work) don't paint your tester pots straight on the wall. Paint on a piece of paper/card the bigger the better, (at least 2 coats of paint) then you can move it around the room and see it in all the different lights ie dark corner/ near the window. Also you won't get confused by lots of tester pots near each other, you need to look at each colour on its own, in the space to get a good feel for it.

Wouldn't personally put Savage Ground with Ball Green, they are too similar in tone and the savage ground has too much orangey/yellow in it, clunch would be a better bet.

Its def worth spending the time getting it right as F & B paint is expensive and it is so dissapointing to have to repaint.

Original poster

badkitty · 09/10/2008 16:52

You are quite right, walls are starting to look like patchwork and getting v. confusing. That is 2 votes for clunch then.

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overthemill · 09/10/2008 16:58

we did all this years ago! in the end we went for farrows cream for the 'off white' neutral kind of look as it was the only 'white' that didn't seem another colour in different lights and new white (which we'd used in all the other rooms) was too yellow.
try that btw my sil ended up buying ALL the F&B tester pots as it seemed easier than going back and forth...

uptomyeyes · 09/10/2008 17:03

We have string in our sitting room and frankly - its gorgeous. You've inspired me - I'm off to get the paint chart out because I want to decorate our hall and landings before xmas.

crumpet · 09/10/2008 17:09

Can't remember what Ball Green looks like but we have Bone which is a neutral sort of grey green -and looks much greener on the walls against whitish wood colours

fruitstick · 10/10/2008 20:40

Without wishing to throw a spanner in the works, I have to say that Farrow and Ball paints are beautiful but get very dirty and aren't very child proof. Our house is painted in F&B from top to bottom but has been absolutely trashed by our toddler (finger marks, chips from tricycles etc).

You might want to think about taking the paint colours to Dulux mixing and getting them to do the same shade in something more robust - it won't be so beautifully chalky but may look better in a few years time.

Or you may have a child who is not quite so feral as mine!

I definitely wouldn't recommend it for halls and stairs.

preggersplayspop · 10/10/2008 20:53

I've got Matchstick in my living room, but I am a bit disappointed with it, its a bit dark and the room sometimes looks a bit gloomy, I should have gone for Clunch which looks a lot lighter. We have Tallow in the dining room which is a gorgeous cream and when the sun shines on it the whole room glows a beautiful warm colour.

Its a good idea to keep your leftover paint for touching up knocks, as it does seem to mark fairly easily.

Also agree perhaps use something more durable for the baby's room. I've stuck to Dulux Brilliant White which is proving to be a good choice as my DS gets into crayons!

isgrassgreener · 10/10/2008 21:58

For high traffic areas you should use F & B modern emulsion rather than the estate emulsion, as it is more washable but it does have a slight sheen.

Dulux mixed to a F & B colour is never as good as F & B, as it is not as chalky, also not as enviromentally friendly.

Little Green Paint Co do a fab flat emulsion called ultimatt, which is completely washable, you can get very close to F & B colours.

nannyL · 11/10/2008 10:20

another vote for string

before i even read the replies i was going to say string

overthemill · 11/10/2008 12:53

we used eggshell on the walls of the hall

BlackEyedDog · 11/10/2008 13:29

this is the thread of my dreams

overthemill a builder once told me not to use eggshell on walls (to do with breatherbility of the plaster or something)

Slipper Satin is a very pretty white shade, bright and warm.

Also for green I love Vert de Terre.

jura · 11/10/2008 13:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

overthemill · 11/10/2008 16:42

jura - snap!!
about to paint new sitting room exactly the same as kids think thats the way sitting rooms have to be decorated!

jura · 11/10/2008 23:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NomDePlume · 12/10/2008 10:06

If youare worried about the durability of F&B on hall walls etc you can buy a fab product that you paint over the colour of your choice and it makes it much more hardwearing and wipeable. It's like a clear matt varnish.

Page62 · 13/10/2008 13:49

ah my dream thread!

can i ask for opinions please:

we need to repaint all our halls and at the moment they are two shades i.e. one colour in the top bit, and another slightly colour in the bottom bit (am sure you lovely ladies know what i am talking about). I have no idea what to colour them -- at the moment, it is a white/creamy colour on top and something akin to string in the bottom. Any suggestion of combinations will be greatly appreciated.

Also, we are repainting the outside of the house - we want to paint the brickwork with something white with a yellow tinge -- rather than yellow per se. Any recommendations on this one?

Lastly, (this one a bit of hijack as nothing to do with paint) - but what type of carpet would people suggest for hallways (just a normal victorian house in clapham). THANKS!!!

Original poster

badkitty · 15/10/2008 17:54

Update : now have Joa's White on walls of nursery (well, Johnstone's copy of it in wipeable finish!) and it is absolutely FAB

Living room not done yet but have chosen Fawn which looks nice, slightly greyish taupe rather than yellowy.

We have a colour on the outside of our house which I think is exactly what you are suggesting Page62, will have a look when I get home if you like and see what it is.

For hallway carpet I would go for something hardwearing like coir/sisal - we had it in our old flat and never showed any marks. The carpet shop on Northcote Road is meant to be v good by the way - new carpets is my next project.

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