Farrow and ball- worth it? Post Reply

[Bibbitybobbity]

I'm looking for some advice on paint. I need to revamp my whole house and have fallen in love with some Farrow and Ball colours. However as we need to prime and paint every wall in the house (5bed) it will cost a small fortune using F&B even though we are doing the actual painting bit ourselves.
So my question is, do you have F&B and is it worth it? Can you really tell the quality? Do other people comment on it? Has it lasted?
Or have you gone with a cheaper brand?
I have heard that you can have colours matched at some builders merchants. Has anyone done this? And was it really an exact match? And if so where did you go?
Feedback would be very useful, thank you.

[healthymummy]

definitely worth it!the advantaje with F&b is that if you need to retouch at any time you wouldn't see marks,Dulux doesn't behave as well.
In farrow and ball there is such depth in colour as well!highly recommend them especially for old built properties!they just get it right!

[kiwimummy]

If you have small children forget about it.

the wonderful chalky finish is not wipeable. I regretted painting anything in F&B. would definitely use dulux next time.

[healthymummy]

F&B also does a wipeable version ,I used it in the past on hallways ,a bit shinier but still lovely.
Get sample pits from different suppliers and paint A4 sized board pages and see the difference ,also put the boards on different walls,paint is different in different lights.
Good luck !

[MrsOctober]

We also fell in love with the F&B colours and painted our entire house with it after our renovations. Never again. It doesn't stand the test of time like other paints. We have two small children and the entire house now needs repainting. Even rooms they haven't been in. The chalky finish that we all coo over in the shop is totally impractical for day to day life. We had the F&B colours made up in Leyland paint at the place in Balham (Johnstone's Decorating Centre, Zennor Industrial Estate) We're thrilled with the result and our decorators were relieved that it wasn't F&B (professional decorators HATE F&B, it's hard to apply and the homeowner moans after six months, blaming the decorator when it's actually the paint's fault)
If you tell Johnstone's you have a lot of paint to buy, they'll let you set up a trade account that will kick in after a few days. It's a fraction of the price, in the colour that you like, in a finish that will last.
No brainer as far as we're concerned.

[kiwimummy]

ugh. i forgot the worst part of F&B paint was my decorators mocking me mercilessly for choosing it.

they were right. everything chipped or marked within 6 months.

it's beautiful paint if you don't have children. i so wish we'd colour matched with dulux.

[snowpea]

I was wary at first and thought it a silly waste but,

1 I am retouching woodwork two years later and can do patches and it all blends in . And these are very sunny walls

2 The wood paint covers anything with little prep.

3 The wall paint we chose (there are a few types) was super flat. On old wobbly walls this deadened th bumps etc and again we can repaint in patches

That said often plain white walls repainted every year are the best!

[MummyWalker]

If you're looking to get paint colour matched, Valspar is good. B&Q stock it. They have an overwhelming range of "off the shelf" colours plus they can colour match to create custom colours. I've not used it to match Farrow & Ball but I did get the background of some wallpaper in my daughter's room matched and it worked very well. They do a cleanable / wipeable version I think.

[supergirl]

A few points when it comes to F&B. I am an interior designer with a passion for paint.
Firstly, stay away from Little Green and Fired Earth: paint chips very easily and is extremely difficult to apply.

Paint Library and F&B have a very good range for period properties hence the green, yellow and blue hues. I find F&B limited when it comes to greys as is Paint Library.
It is not true to say professional decorators "HATE" F&B. A decent decorator who does period properties would actually much prefer using F&B. What they moan about is if they have given you a price including the paint and have to buy some more because they might have underestimated the cost. They love colour matching F&B because they can put a fat mark up (if they buy the paint) and still their customer would find it cheaper.
F&B is very easy to apply when you know that 1. You need to prime the wall (yes you dont need to buy F&B primers) and 2. It is a fine paint allowing you to give your decorative plaster the details it deserve. BUT it means some areas would need 3 coats.

Re: woodwork. It is so great that finally ypu can buy paint that is NOT oil based particularly if you are painting yourself. It is much easier to clean your paint brushes (tips: if you re likely to come back in the afternoon cover your brushes with cling film to stop them drying). The application and coverage of the paint is amazing and is so much safer in our children bedrooms as it doesnt smell.

Finally, touching up a few years down the line has a better result with F&B than any others i find.
A house should be repainted every 7 to 10 years. But i find F&B stands the test of time. Yes i have 2 young kids and a house that needs repainting (but we re changing the windows first). I use their Modern emulsion everywhere so i can wipe the walls. I use Estate Emulsion on ceilings and decorative plaster (after sanding them properly) the results are mesmerising. It gives a warmth and a depth that i love a lot.

Apologies for the essay but yes: totally worth the cost. Good luck.

[Moonlight]

When we moved into our house F&B was extensively used and got marked very easily (especially with kids). I do agree there are a great selection of colours and when we redecorated recently we made up F&B, Little Greene and Zoffany colours using eico paint from the painting shop Raymunn - it's meant to be more environmentally friendly and well made - So far we are pleased with it. We also made up colours using Johnstones and Dulux.

[Bibbitybobbity]

Wow, thank you. I feel so much more informed and armed with information now.....but....still haven't decided! I'm terrible at decision making.
I think I will go place where I can colour match (like the places suggested) and get a quote so I can see the price difference on paper. I will probably go for a cheaper brand in the end.
I feel a bit silly now I know that I can use any primer under F&B, the shop seller saw me coming a mile off, I'm so gulable.

One question to Supergirl- you say you use their modern emulsion everywhere so you can wipe it.I do have young children so would need this finish- do you find it still has depth and a soft chalky Finnish even in a very slight gloss?


And to everyone else, do you all use a wipeable Finnish? I was just going to use that in the hallway but maybe I should do it in every room- I have boys and they spread dirt everywhere!! Does it look OK to have a slight gloss on every wall?

[windmill26]

Hi,after reading previous reviews on F&B paint we decided to not use it.I highly recommend "The Little Greene Paint Company" if you want lovely colors and durable results!

[falconmum]

We go the hallway done in Little Greene company's paint which was lovely and totally could not be matched.
Though it was not much , totally regretting it as it is easily marked and any attempts to wipe it off have resulted in paint coming off !

For the rest , we color matched. The cost savings were totally worth it. Infact, the soft buttery yellow tones I used for my son's room were available in Dulux rather than some of the other brands.

[windmill26]

With "Little Green" we asked for it to be wipeable and because I have a "touch" of OCD I wipe the marks on the walls with water and bleach and no paint ever came off. Worth investigating if you have kids!

[beachdreaming]

For the colours and low VOC content (important with young children in the house if you care about this) F&B were worth it for me. EICO is also excellent, especially for low VOC. My husband didn't want to spend the money on F&B so I initially tried to find colours that we liked with other brands and eventually came back F&B because the colours just looked better. It's really worth it to put the colours up on the walls in different lights and compare. We kept ours very simple and used White Tie on the walls and Wimborne White on the woodwork and it looks good in every room. I'll probably experiment with more colour next time but I get a lot of compliments from people and this is two years after painting.