Farrow and Ball anyone ?

We wanted a particular F&B shade but our painter offered to match it perfectly using another manufacturer's paint. He did it too. Very good results and much cheaper.

Yes they are expensive but on the over all cost of the job isn't nothing . Plus the quality of the paint is so good IMO it is worth paying it .

Love their colours don't like their prices, my grandsons painted and decorated our living room hall and stairs matching the F & B colours I'd chosen perfectly at a local merchants we were really pleased with the results. I wouldn't pay that price for a tester pot.

Kevin McCloud ( of Grand Designs) did an interesting experiment where he used a F and B paint and got the same shade mixed up by one of those paint mixing machines, after a while assessed the paints and found a the F and B maintained the depth of colour and lasted much longer than the mix up paint. I like F and B as it uses natural pigment and is made in U.K. ( Dorset I think). The cheaper paints are usually synthetic and mostly shipped in from China. I know they are expensive but there is a reason for that.

My daughter has a talent for interior design and having now completely re-decorated the house she bought three years ago has increased the purchase price by over £250k. She has used F&B paints (and equally expensive wallpapers) and when she had the house appraised recently the valuer commented on the quality of decor as increasing both the price and the saleability of the property. He knew the paintwork was F&B without being told, so I wonder if you work in property you get a sense for the original article?
For honesty's sake I have to confess that I have no style whatsoever and wouldn't know one pot of paint from another - we're going to ask advice from our daughter when we next re-decorate, but I don't expect we'll be using F&B paint!

I agree the price of the match pots is extortionate. However DH used F and B to repaint kitchen cupboards and dark pine furniture about 7 years ago and they still look good, despite hard use for the cupboards particularly.
Interesting experiment suzied! Does tend to confirm the old adage “You get what you pay for” ?

I’ve used F&B for years - the whole house is now Farrow and Balled apart from the hall, stairs and landing( and that’s happening soon). The depth of colour and finish is really long lasting - we have rooms in Lulworth Blue and Breakfast Green downstairs and the colours just haven’t faded. I agree about the price of the match pots - they should knock the cost of any purchase you subsequently make.

How long did Kevin McLeod 's assessment last? We've had our non F&B painted walls for 6 years so far - absolutely no loss of depth of colour. We got much more than we paid for and don't have to kid ourselves that we haven't been ripped off.

How the other half live I ve never even seen it on sale round my neck of the woods not had I heard of it

I’m not kidding myself that I’ve been ripped off at all - my two downstairs rooms are 17 years and counting. So I’m fine about it.

F and B is expensive but it looks great and lasts so much longer than cheaper paints. The decorator matched the F and B colours we wanted when he did the kitchen. It looked great but it's not maintaining the colour and any marks seem to be more of a nuisance to clean than on the real life F and B.

That's lovely for you Maryeliza54. We're both happy in our different ways and for different reasons.

Iam64 what do you mean 'it lasts longer'? Does other paint fall off? Fade? No it doesn't. If you're happy with it and for paying so much more for it that's fine but don't somehow think it lasts longer!

DD used to work in paint manufacture, I asked for advice when I was redecorating the whole house, she said " paint is paint ". She said the only difference is the fancy names they give the colours and how much you are prepared to pay.

harrigran I think thats absolutely right. It is simply down to personal preference.

We found that the coverage detailed on the tin was over optimistic to say the least. On returning for our second, unexpected, batch of paint the assistant told us that everyone said that.

Needless to say we have not used F&B again and haven’t seen any difference in the the paint in the intervening years. We had the same colours mixed elsewhere and feel that you are just paying for the fancy shops.

Bluebelle I believe F&B is available at B&Q not that I've ever bought it.

I'm happy with Dulux or even Homebase own brand for sone jobs.

Wilko paint is supposed to be very good, coverwise and pricewise. I haven't used it myself, but a savvy friend has and gives it the thumbs up.

I’m not in Farrow & Ball’s league, so couldn’t comment on its beauty or durability. Dulux for me. At that level and below, you get what you pay for. When DH came home with a discount store equivalent, I got skirting boards that looked dreadful within the year as every slight knock took off yet another strip of the stuff. I like to pretend it’s shabby chic.

Wilco’s paint is great, though not many colour choices.
Decorators love F&B as coverage is poor and the client has to pay for more paint and time to put it on.

Extract from "Are posh paints worth it?
"McCloud, a self-confessed paint "anorak", is unequivocal in his defence of posh paints. "Having used many, many different brands over the years, it is very clear to me that the more you pay, the better the paint," he says. "Cheap paint has more water in it, less pigment and less binder." Thus, as a rule, the more expensive paint covers better and lasts longer. It is also more environment-friendly, being lower in "Volatile Organic Compounds". full article:

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/3347433/Are-posh-paints-really-worth-it.html

Our decorator wouldn't use F & B, said the quality was too poor and used Dulux. Until last year we had always done our own decorating but never again, he was quick, clean and did it all in no time.