Interior Styling Q&A - Is Farrow & Ball paint worth the money? 

I'm a yank from across the pond and I'm a DIY. My father taught me how to sash and swing a roller. I've always painted my own rooms. I've used them all, e.g., Glidden, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Pratt & Lambert, and then I heard about Farrow & Ball on a cooking show of all places (Barefoot Contessa). I bought several colors, Terre d'Egypte, London Clay, Charleston Gray and Stony Ground. And YES, there is a difference. I painted one wall in my family room 2 years ago. Life happens, and I didn't paint the other wall by the window until 2 yrs later. Paint and paint color perfect. You'd never know the walls were painted two years apart. My living room in London Clay is stunning. Color rich and deep. I'm a convert.

There's some really good advice in this video. One thing about the way some colours can fade over time - we would really recommend thinking about why you are decorating and what the goal is. If you want to live in the property for many more years - do as good a job as you can and do everything in your power to make sure you get long lasting results. If you are making a place presentable so that you can sell it and move on, don't worry so much. The new owners will probably want to 'make the place their own' by redecorating anyway. The colour card you showed at the start is useful but it can be hard to imagine how the tiny square of colour you can see in your hand will actually look on the wall. This might be of interest to your subscribers - we have painted each wall in our offices a different Farrow & Ball colour, so that visitors can see each one as it really looks. Anyway, good video - well done and thank you.

We asked Dulux to colour match Stiffkey Blue and I hate to say this but the finish, depth and complexity of the Dulux just cannot compare to the F&B we have elsewhere. We have Hague Blue in our kitchen and the finish is a country mile apart with a beautiful chalky texture. Spend a little extra - if you buy price you buy twice.

I just painted my entire bedroom and all it’s surfaces except ceiling and floor takings and it only needed 2 coats and it looks amazing. I will say - that I did colour testing on the walls first and there were colours that covered more than others - this was especially true for some of the whites.

With a good quality paint, repainting a white ceiling with white paint for eg, one coat is enough to get the job done. With F&B, you need at least 3, possibly 4 coats of paint to get an acceptable level of coverage.

I have a decorating addiction and have tried many ranges or paint, farrow and ball does look nice once it's been done but takes 3 - 4 coats and frankly I find most of there colours a bit dull. However Little Greene in my opinion is well worth the extra money. It covers almost in 1 coat, not too thin and not too thick to apply, large range of colours, available in oil, matt, eggshell, floor, masonry.

Farrow and ball is totally style over substance. Appauling coverage and drying time. They charge a premium so really should supply something that’s quality. Get the colour chart and get it colour matched in valspar at B and Q. Half the price, double the quality

I'm a decorator and hate f and b. Had to do 7 coats on one job to cover it up properly. Absolute con trick

Totally agree with you, investing in quality paints is well worth it in the long run. Dulux paints do fade after a few years whereas my Farrow & Ball is still very vivid

100 agree with you !!!!

That background music is bad. It started becoming a hammer in my head that I can hear even now that I've stopped that video immediately. I am sure the information was great though.

I tried getting Farrow and Ball paint colour matched in a trade Center. Despite going through loads of Ral swatches and using a spectrometer on the F&B original paint swatch, it was impossible to get an exact match. I settled for something that was as close to the F&B “Dimity” colour as possible, but it was such a poor comparison. No depth of colour and it felt synthetic. There’s a lot of contrarian advice in these posts and it’s all opinion, but in my experience there’s no comparison. I’ve also painted my kitchen in Little Greene slaked lime and it was OK but nothing special compared to the F&B finish. Finally(!) I’ve just painted the woodwork in our mud room using F&B Vardo and the finish was superb. Thin the paint 10% and use a spray gun and the coverage is superb. The depth of colour in two coats was very good. My two cents...

My living room is painted in Farrow and Ball and the paint lasted 15 years. Speaks for itself doesn't it?

Farrow and ball is loveley paint, packed full of pigment. Some prefer little greene probably due to a more zingy colour range, but ive used f&b and its good stuff.

Interesting info on why designer paint costs more, but F&B costs double Dulux, not a ‘little’ / ‘tiny’ bit more...

Having been a decorator for 36 years I’ve never heard such utter rubbish . Farrow and ball has absolutely no durability. If you want farrow and ball get it mixed in Johnstone’s

If you were a president - you would be Babraham Lincoln 🤣

You get what you pay for. Buy punters paint from a DIY store and compare the weight of the same sized tin from a trade counter. That is why Tradesmen don't buy the shite from the likes of B & Q.

I just recently spent thousands of dollars on F&B estate emulsion paint and it has been an absolute nightmare. My problem has been micro-cracks in the paint. I have followed all of their instructions, done painstaking prep work, diluted the paint, and used airless sprayer with all the recommended tips and pressure. One layer goes on fine, another goes all with patches of cracks, and another layer cracks almost everywhere. I tried emailing them about the problem with pics and they just reply with "sorry we don't see anything" and never replied to me again even though I provided with zoomed in pictures that clearly shows the issues. This company should be held responsible for selling such finicky product and blaming the customers when it doesn't perform. They clearly don't give a shit as long as they get the money.

Really funny and witty. Thank you

Hello, may I ask what the name of the wallpaper in your video? Thank you❤

Did you go 2% shine or the 7% shine F&B

I've tried many different paints but I have the best results by a long way with farrow and ball. The end result is far superior in my opinion and it just goes on so damn easy compared to cheaper paints. It's a lot more expensive yes, but I always feel that I am getting value for money.

I painted my front room with Farrow and Ball. It was so depressing I covered it up with Crown paint after less than a year.

Designer paint doesn't contain less water...it's made to be used by amateurs straight from the tin, whereas eg Dulux trade needs some easing up. The real difference is in finish, not durability or coverage.

Also farrow and ball do not cover better than dulux or crown and that is fact

I cannot believe this crap is real. I g hought it was from SNL . And it costs 100 bucks a gallon. Lol

Designer paint to SO worth it!!!! Totally agree

Hi i dont know where you did your research im a painter with20 years of using all paints and farrow and ball cant cover as well as dulux Fact

Yes but most like to change ever few years I can't find anything wrong with dulex I thing it is just snobery

Hey sarah, i have quick question. I'm thinking of starting the KLC online learning course in interior design. I read your blog post on it. Would you recommend? Also what laptop/pc would you recommend purchasing for it as it has to be compatible with all the programs you have to use in the course doesn't it? Xxx

I'm a painter and farrow and ball is a poor paint

That makes no sense. For starters you would get a totally different color. If you just go to Sherwin Williams or Ben Moore you don't even pay for the colorant. It's all included in the price.

Farrow and Ball is a very poor formula. Painters and decorators use Dulux Trade and Johnsons paint. Speak to a chemist and they'll tell you how weak Farrow and Ball is.

Thanks - useful video :)

So interesting well worth watching but I must say I really hated the background music. As I said though really interesting thanks.

i'll go for the punch of color

ok. no answer.

your British accent mesmorise me .....)

Buy Dulux or Crown professional . Rich in pigment and cost less than F and B.

I’ve been decorating for 36 years, this is the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard, farrow and ball have a poor reputation with decorators. She must work for these companies

Short answer is NO. It’s overpriced fabulously marketed junk in comparison with decent trade paints

There is no doubt that cheap paints have major coverage issues and durability issues. After a big remodel or purchasing a beautiful place, are you going to cut corners on the last touch? No way! However, as a professional painter for over 25 years, I'm sure that $100 a gallon for paint is way out of line. Here in the U.S. the top of the line Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams paints cost about half of that and perform perfectly. You can get them in any color you want including all the FB colors. They use soy based colorant and are low or zero VOC (the bad stuff). On top of that I just used the Estate Eggshell as per a client request and it was close to impossible to work with. Also after one week it was still not dry. Sound like a user error? Look up all the other people who have had poor experience with it. You can do a better job for half the price. Definitely do not go for the bargain paints, but you don't have to drink the Kool-aid that FB is selling. What a racket!

Thanks--this was helpful.

Thanks for your useful information. Love the wallpaper behind you, may I know which brand is that?

Colourtrend is better

Grey interiors are so boring ! She is talking about depth of colour sitting in a colourless room with dark grey/black walls !!

Interesting...but I got fed up trying to listen to her over the music, so I gave up...really annoying. People often talk about designer paint having 'better colour ranges'...total rubbish, colour is colour, you with like a colour or you don't..there is no such thing as a better colour...its personal preference. Quality?...a lot of FB has really poor opacity....the trade have been saying this for years, FB have finally taken it on board and added more pigment to certain colours. It is no more durable than modern emulsion.. It does, in some case have a lower sheen level.. As with anything with the word 'designer' on it, you are paying for the brand, FB market their products very well.. Is designer paint 'crap' no..definitely not Is it over priced for what it is..in my opinion, yes. There is a bit of snob value attached to it...people often say 'we are having Farrow and Ball in there'... Which prompts me to think...great, and extra coat to pay for!

Hi, where did you get your wallpaper from?

I love F & B paint and have used it for at least 25 years. It’s subtle, stands the test if time and has real depth. The video presenter has none of these qualities. Does she really need this length of time to recommend the product ? A few well-chosen, thoughtful sentences would have been far better than this. Although I found her annoying, she didn’t put me off the paint but I’d be hard-pressed to have to listen to any more.............

🤣🤣🤣

TRUTH! :)

Short answer: No, it's not worth it.

So this shit is real? I thought it was a made up joke on SNL. OMG you people with your disposable income. IT'S JUST PAINT....move along...

Colors are colors and CAN be replicated. Of course you cant trade in Honda for a RR. You also can't take your RR up to mountains for skiing or plow a corn field with it. Have fun with the dry time on that overstuffed paint. You have definitely drank the Kool-aid! Or are you the one selling it?