Because I am so craven and rigid, when it came to having to paint our drab whitish hallway a new colour, I went straight to Farrow & Ball’s new colours. One of these nine colours, feted like the arrival of a new Jilly Cooper novel was grey, called “Worsted”. Also, I read a piece in the Times by Rachel Johnson saying that the only colour to paint one’s hallway this day was grey.
So off I went to purchase some tins of it. When my husband saw the colour going on the walls – (I was out) – he rang me up and said “ARE YOU SURE THAT’S THE RIGHT FUCKING COLOUR DARLING? IT’S A BIT DARK!”
“Yes!” I bluffed. “It will look amazing when it’s finished!” I added, with 100% more confidence than I felt.
Because that’s the thing with a new colour – who knows if it will be marvellous or dreadful? Who can possibly say? Though my general take on things these days is that I have spent my adult life painting walls timid, vanishing colours and it’s just so dull.
And the fact is that I have never seen any room painted a Farrow & Ball colour and thought “No, I don’t like it. This doesn’t work.”
I’m also going wild and having one wall in the kitchen painted “Light Blue” because I am so bored with my kitchen looking like the inside of a fridge, or an igloo.
Anyway, more news on this as I have it.
It was great to read your post this morning as I too am having my hall painted and I too am painting it grey.. Hope it’s not too ‘concretey’….I’m using Dulux because my decorator told me to (he’s bossy) I painted my kitchen cupboards F&B ‘Light Blue’; it’s such a pretty colour..
ugh… never let your decorator boss you about! but I’m sure it will look lovely xxx
Light blue is my favourite F&B colour. I painted my kitchen cabinets this and through the day the colours changes from grey / green / blue depending on the light.
Every decorator I have ever used has said that they hate F&B/LGPC/posh paint (something about how it goes- or doesn’t- on) and they have all recommended picking out elephant’s fart or whatever colour I want and getting it colour-matched by, say, Dulux.
you can’t colour match farrow and ball because the reason it’s more expensive is that it uses more pigment per ml than other paint. if you care about such things, the increased pigment gives a depth to the colour and – if you care about such things – makes it look richer and nicer. decorators never care about such things, but interior designers usually do. the stupid names are just a marketing tool to make farrow and ball stand out in a crowded market and it works. but yes, sure, use Dulux, what does it matter really
Okay, something has occurred to me. If F&B have introduced nine new colours, does that mean they’re planning on DISCONTINUING some (in the manner of cosmetics companies everywhere)? This could be rather a disaster.
that’s a good question! I will ask their press office immediately
Argh! I’ve just checked their website and they have an Archive collection. So you can still order them BUT they don’t do samples of the archived colours.
ah yes but, they’re not terribly essential colours – their rationale is that they will still supply with the paint on the general assumption that you need that paint to patch up a current wall, which would indicate that you already know what the colour is, so don’t need a sample…
We live in a house of magnolia. Oh, I lie, the boys have one dark grey wall in their room. I suddenly feel the urge to paint everything…Am off to google this magical Light Blue…
I was watching Gile’s show last night with the kids (they loved it by the way) and one thing that really stood out was how ‘beige’ the 80’s was in decorating terms. I do wonder if we’ll look back in a few years and realise that we all lived in grey boxes for about 5 years. I love grey though – Polished Pebble by Dulux (if your decorator insists on it) is a terrific blue/grey colour and they do a Heritage range of whites which are basically grey also. I bet your hall is going to look lovely
Can’t wait to hear how it goes, I too am on a grey hallway mission but have yet to decide which F&B grey I should go with. I wanted Mizzle in the master bedroom but the husband said that a mixture of misery and drizzle had no place – so we have Light Blue instead!
We just had our bedroom painted Borrowed Light and despite my husband thinking it would look like a boys toilet, it doesn’t it’s awesome.
I did lie and say yes dear when he asked me to colour match instead of buying f&b, . He thinks he got a bargain, I got what I wanted. Perfect
Light Blue is a wonderful colour I have several rooms painted in this shade, also Borrowed Light. Dining room in Pigeon is my favourite. I adore F&B & don’t care if this makes me a sucker for a good marketing campaign!
I live in rented homes so my walls are always depressing magnolia, makes me want to cry. BUT I go crazy with the furniture. Neon yellow sofa with orange throw and duck egg cushions, red rug, pink phone, scarlet armchair and some azure and purple and gold russian dolls. I don’t care if it looks crazy, I smile every time I walk in the room. (And I love people’s reactions when they come over, obviously wanting to say ‘what is wrong with you you mad bint?! I have an immediate headache”, but being British, having to cover with backdoor burns like, ‘Oh. Lots of colour. Very you.’
)
Talking of colours, I always wondered what colour your kitchen cabinets are painted in- would you mind sharing?
Mic you know, I’ve got no idea. It was a colour they came spray painted by the company who supplied the kitchen (again, can’t remember) and it was called “Cornflower”. It’s s bit flat and boring in real life – looks better in pics x
I went from a strong anti-pink pre-Motherhood stance to gaily slapping F&B’s Nancy’s Blushes on every wall of my daughter’s room last year when she exercised her right as a six-year-old to pick her own room colour. It’s surprisingly glorious and only a tiny bit nauseating… Other than that Craig and Rose paints are like the Scottish version of F&B and their period colours are highly pigmented and lovely: Porcelain Blue in my kitchen, French Turquoise in my bedroom and I Love Them.
I also read somewhere the other week that everyone looks a trillion times better naked when they’re in a pink room. Apparently, the light miraculously bounces off cellulite and renders the most mottled of arses a glowing tribute to Kylie’s Tennis cover.
This post has rather prompted me – I’ve just sent myself an email setting out what the names of the colours in each room are (dimity, archive, dimpse etc).
Are you a good person to ask about colours? I need to get a giant, west facing staircase repainted (currently a horrific pink, seriously horrid). I am tempted by Elephant’s Breath but have a husband who basically only really likes magnolia and gets a bit tense if a colour veers too far away from magnolia.
ha ha! I wouldn’t trust me – personally I always go in and ask in a farrow and ball shop. they really do know what they’re talking about. xxx
Ah that is a good idea. I have a F&B shop at the end of my road – might pop in today.
omg!?! why are you not permanently in there
Do we have an update? I’m waiting anxiously. Currently in F&B colour chart circular hell trying to decide what colour to choose for a new kitchen in a north facing, dark, lower ground room of a Victorian house. Skimming Stone keeps rearing its head, but then… I know people are dying in Rwanda, or wherever, but I’m paralysed with the indecision!
I have Dimity throughout my kitchen with Light Blue on one wall… but if you’re not sure about these things and feel you have no natural gift for picking colours go directly to your nearest F&B showroom if that’s possible?? If not, the website has some helpful stuff on what colours go well in what rooms. But seriously, you will not go wrong with Skimming Stone.
I’ve finally chosen a colour for my hall and landing (not that anyone is interested.. Haha.); it’s F&B ”Dimpse’. It was a toss up between that and Dulux ‘Pebble Shore’ (I stood up to my decorator for once as he’s anti posh paints )
fuck these fucking decorators and their problem with posh paints! it’s a conspiracy!
PS : Hope you are pleased with your ‘Worsted’ hall!
yes I LOVE IT. I must take artful photographs when it’s looking tidy. so never