The reason decorators don't like f&b is because the paint is harder to work with, it requires more coats to get the perfect finish.

We had our house painted in f&b, colours are amazing (we also got the colour consultation from f&b to decide on the colours, so that colours in the various rooms go with the colour in the hallway, etc).
Our previous house was done with dulux, in my opinion the finish in f&b is much better.

Yes, there will be marks in the hallway and children's rooms but that goes for any paint. I used to wipe them thoroughly at first (looked ok after wiping), but now I'm more relaxed about it and think the hallway should be repainted more often..

At 95£ a gallon I would say no ..... F&B are good for period colours and there are many places that are able to mix and match F&B ... due to the high chalk
content of F&B it is not a paint where you can touch up marks as you will always be able to see such . So you have to repaint the whole area ....Johnson is a good colour match and your be able to replicate most .... Hope this helps you ... Kind regards Colin .... Feel free to ask if you require assistance .....

Hi,

We are a local renovations company and we are asked this question on a regular basis, I would say for the more distinctive colours i.e downpipe, stick with Farrow & Ball, but for the large scale projects where you are using a softer colour such as Elephants breath, we use a company called Park Paints in Battersea and their matches are great and a fraction of the price.

Hope this is helpful
Michelle @Bethell Projects :)

Mylands paint is far better than f&b.

Ideal if you have little kids . As you can easily clean the walls

Agreed about mixing and matching. A friend painted some 'formal' rooms in F and B and others in a good match by Dulux. The F and B rooms have an amazing depth of colour. Not so much in the other ones. I have only used matches of F and B and they never have looked that great. Some colours are hard to match perfectly and well in my experience perhaps you get what you pay for?

The thing with Farrow & Ball paints is that you have to know how to use them. They do offer an excellent finish and on Kitchen cupboards and the like I a apply a flat clear secret topcoat to prevent chips and scratches. Obviously they take a little longer to work with but I don't charge extra for this only as long as the job takes plus materials.
Naturally I can get them mixed up in other manufacturers bases and get these as close to spot on as possible.
You can always contact me for a free estimate:
My name. David the Decorator.
My company: Beirneandsons.com
My email: david@beirneandsons.com
My number: 07948 902584/ 0208 6400 827

wish we'd done the same OP, only 6 weeks in... the one room we painted in estate emulsion is already marked and we can't get the marks off. very annoyed.

I think it is a shame to "copy" a colour (or anything) from somebody else in order to get it cheaper. This is intellectual property so copying is stealing. Why not having a Birkin (Hermes' famous handbag) or a Louis Vuitton bag copied, same effect but cheaper?
I don't think you should boast about it, but again this is only my opinion and my values.

I was the original poster on this thread, so just by way of an update - we went ahead and got our favourite F&B colours copied in Dulux, and the builders have painted the whole house in the Dulux Endurance paint. I think the finish is fantastic, and the colours are beautiful - they look like proper Farrow and Ball colours. Very very happy with the result.

If anyone is still wondering, then maybe we can offer some assitance in this matter.

Dulux is a fantastic product that has been created out of years of development. Dulux also have many different bases available from the trade centre in Wimbledon the bases are as follows

Flat Matt (recently released)
This base will give you the same chalky effect as F an B estate emulsion, the major difference is that it can be cleaned and can be touched in should you need to

Diamond Matt
This product is great for hallways and kids bedrooms, this can be cleaned with a white scouring pad and the paint will not be affected, this has a lower sheen level than the F and B modern emulsion

Vinyl matt
The product that everyone knows and expects to recive when using Dulux

Contract Matt
dead flat with no vinyl, this is great for ceilings, and will hide any imperfections that there may be, it also only costs around £10 for 10 Litres

I would always advise clients to go with Dulux as if you have any problems, their product is guaranteed for 2 years and they are always happy to cover the costs of repainting if there is a problem with the paint.

F&B along with all the other boutique makes look very nice when applied but will not give you the longevity that you would expect when paying over £50.00 for 5 litres.

If you have children and treat your house as a home, then Dulux will stand the test of time.

For external painting look no further than Sikkens Rubbol XD, it needs to be used with Sikkens Primer Plus, this product will out last any other on your external woodwork, slightly more expensive than Dulux but it is worth it when it can give you twice the life.

If anyone has any questions regarding paints or painting and decorating problems feel free to drop me an email and I will answer them for you, as best I can. andrew@theinvisiblepainter.co.uk

The Invisible Painter

hello guys, we love farrow and ball, the best paints ever... :D

My husband's friend sells them at 40% off the normal price if anyone needs any message me and i will try and help you out.

after all they are pricey

There is an article from The Times about F&B run again in The Week, this week - worth reading

We are just in the process of painting our entire house in Farrow and Ball therefore no idea on the longevity of the paint yet.

But one thing i would day is that if you dont like to see lumps and bumps the walls must be perfect because it does show every flaw, but if your going for the period rustic look no problems. We had our whole house re plastered before painting but it was not a good finish and in hindsight a waste of time and money our decorators spent weeks making the plaster work perfect and now it looks fabulous.

We painted the ceilings in Skimming Stone which looks fantastic particularly on the cornice. Also ordered some wallpaper F&B waiting for delivery so hopefully will be equally impressed

I've been a F+B Fan for years!! I use it in the Salons and my home! The big colour chart that they charge you £15 for is always in my bag!! Sad I know but I know others that do the same! My fave cols @ the mo are Slipper Satin and Brindjal!! Jo P

We had our entire house painted in F&B paints. Although we loved the colours available, we now really regret using F&B.
Our handbuilt kitchen cabinets were also painted with a F&B eggshell. Four years down the line, the entire house needs repainting. Kitchen cabinets all chipped. Walls all patchy and marks cannot be cleaned off. We have found the most amazing painter, who we've now used to do a few jobs, he flatly refuses to use F&B paint. He went off to Balham to get Leyland paint made up in an F&B colour, the result is SOOOO much better.
F&B: never again!