What makes Farrow & Ball Special to Work With?
Thank you for considering Farrow & Ball for your next painting project. We are happy to help with creating a beautiful color scheme, selecting the correct finish for the job and with any questions you might have about using Farrow & Ball. More information about what makes Farrow & Ball Paints one of a kind can be found below as well as links to product advice sheets at the bottom of the page. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any further questions!
Unmatchable Color
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Farrow & Ball uses twelve exclusive pigments, all specifically selected for their color intensity. They take color seriously, so naturally, they only accept the very best. By using these same pigments to make every color in our palette, all their shades combine effortlessly, making it easy for you to put together a cohesive color scheme.
Companies that color match will use completely different pigments, so in the same way that trying to follow a recipe using different ingredients will lead to a dish you weren’t expecting, when you color match paint, you’re having a completely different color made up. It just won’t be the same.
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No one else understands color like Farrow & Ball does. They use a precise blend of different pigments to create the colors you know and love. This balance is carefully crafted and checked by our experts to make sure each tin is exactly the color they designed. When Joa and Charlotte (the creative minds behind most of Farrow & Ball’s palette) start designing a new paint shade, they know exactly what look and feel they want to achieve. They share this with their on-site color lab, where the color is tested, refined and perfected to make sure it’s exactly as they intended, in every finish they make. It’s a process that takes 18 months per color but it’s time well worth spending.
As part of the testing, Farrow & Ball’s experts check the color under all kinds of light, so the color you fall in love with is the color you get. Color matched paint can sometimes look similar to Farrow & Ball under one kind of light, for example daylight, but because they’ve used a different balance of pigments, the color will shift under another light, like artificial light. As a result, when you turn your lights on the color match looks totally different, either with a change in undertone or becoming washed out. That’s the difference between minutes to match and months of craft. -
Asking ‘can you match Farrow & Ball colors?’ misses everything else that goes into the tin to make their industry defining finishes. Farrow & Ball packs their paint with quality minerals, coverage-enhancing pigments and resin (using a much higher proportion than many other brands), ensuring an exceptional base to add color to. Their entire range is 100% water based, low odor and rated A+ for indoor air quality with trace, low or minimal VOCs.
Farrow & Ball’s experts also make sure their colors are available in a wide range of unique finishes, so you can enjoy their signature deeper, richer color in a range of sheens and on a range of surfaces: from matt, washable wall paint to high-shine Full Gloss for front doors. Sheen always affects how color appears: the same shade in gloss can look very different in matt. That’s why they specifically adjust the formula for every finish to make sure the balance is exactly right and you get the color you were expecting. Farrow & Ball’s colors and finishes are formulated together, so you simply can’t have one without the other. -
Farrow & Ball is dedicated to perfecting the art of paint. They use the highest quality ingredients, precise formulas and industry-leading technology to create high-performance paint for every project. They are constantly refining their paint and process, striving for even better coverage, even longer-lasting results and even easier application. Every tin of paint has nine quality checks before leaving their manufacturing site. In fact, they have such high expectations, the accuracy of their tests is higher than the industry standard. Paint color matching simply can’t compare.
Part of their commitment to making the best paint possible, is a commitment to being considerate of the world around us while they do. They have signed up to science-based targets and are working hard on lots of ways to minimize impact on the planet which you can read more about in the next section.
Sustainable, Safe, Cruelty Free
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Back in 2010, Farrow & Ball was the first in the industry to move to an entirely water based range, reworking their super-tough eggshell and gloss finishes into gentler water based formulations that don’t compromise on durability.
Now, all of their Emulsion paints are classed as Trace VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) which is the lowest rating currently possible. The remaining paints in their range are classed as Minimal or Low VOC, but in many cases go far beyond the requirement for inclusion in those categories.
WHAT ARE VOCS?VOCs are the culprits behind the strong smell of some oil and solvent based paints, a result of pollutants being released into the atmosphere as the paint dries. By contrast, Farrow & Ball’s low-odor water based finishes don’t release any unpleasant smells, as well as being safer, more comfortable to apply and live with, and kinder to the environment than oil based paints.
As part of Farrow & Ball’s commitment to transparency, they have just completed an in-depth review of their full ingredients list, working with their suppliers to get an even more accurate measure of VOC content across their range. Thanks to this review, we’re pleased to report that the VOC content in many finishes across their range is now even lower than original calculations.
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Farrow & Ball’s uncompromising dedication to quality is evident in every component of their paint, from the ingredients themselves to how they source them.
Farrow & Ball has long-standing relationships with suppliers who share their ethos, and they work with them to ensure that every single one of their ingredients, including their range of pigments, is responsibly sourced and not created or sourced as a result of exploitation.
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Every one of Farrow & Ball’s paints scores A+ for the French Indoor Air Quality Decree N° 2011-321 – Arrêté April 2011, even their hard-working trim and floor paints. You’ll see this top grade proudly displayed on their tins.
This test is conducted externally by independent laboratories in accordance with ISO 16000 and checks for the total level of VOCs in the air 28 days after application. The standard IAQ test chamber simulates a ‘standard’ EU living space, with 30m³ air volume and very specific levels of insulation and air flow, making it a good measure of how low-VOC paints can help reduce the impact of decorating on your indoor air quality – not just during the decorating process, but for a good while afterwards.
As more improvements are made to the way homes are built, giving us better insulation and heat retention, it’s more important than ever before to choose a paint that promotes better indoor air quality. Poor indoor air quality has even been linked to certain respiratory health conditions, so it’s not just a matter of comfort, but of safety too.
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Farrow & Ball’s 100% water based Dead Flat®, Modern and Estate ranges are independently tested and certified toy-safe in accordance with Safety of Toys Part 3: Migration of certain elements (EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021). That means they’re better for the little ones who share your world, too.
With hardly any odor and the toughness to handle anything life with little ones can throw at them, toy-safe Dead Flat® and Modern finishes give you the peace of mind to bring a splash of color to cots, toys, nurseries, and playrooms. They also don’t need any nasty solvents – which are especially dangerous around children – to clean up.
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When looking at the environmental impact of a decorating project, it’s important to consider the impact over time as well as that of initial application.
The more durable the paint, the less the need to repaint due to wear and tear, so it’s important to look at scrub performance when choosing your finish.
The quality ingredients in Farrow & Ball’s paints deliver excellent durability, with some finishes – including Dead Flat® and Modern Emulsion – achieving the highest possible scrub performance rating of Class 1.
WHAT IS SCRUB TESTING?Scrub testing is a global industry standard for testing paint durability, performed on all commercially sold paint to determine its resistance to erosion when scrubbed. Farrow & Ball conducts regular scrub testing on their finishes under laboratory conditions.
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As is normal practice within the industry, Farrow & Ball doesn’t test any of their paint on animals – they never have, and they never will, so you can always rest assured that you’re painting your home with a proudly cruelty-free product.
All of their available finishes (Dead Flat®, Estate Emulsion, Estate Eggshell, Modern Emulsion, Modern Eggshell, Full Gloss, Exterior Eggshell, and Exterior Masonry) are vegan-friendly, containing no animal-derived ingredients.