It’s no secret around there that we love paint. It’s one of the quickest, easiest and cheapest ways to transform your home.
Your colour choice can be safe & neutral, bold & daring or anything in between, and if you decide you need an update or don’t like the result, it’s a super easy thing to change, too!
Our hallway used to be painted in a muddy brown with a green ceiling. Whilst we have sanded the floor and restored the staircase, the biggest change is still down to painting the walls. It just feels much fresher, cleaner and even larger.
Since starting to renovate our home over 5 years ago, we’ve inevitably tried and tested a lot of different paints in a range of different finishes and colours (as well as pretty much every paint stripper out there!).
In life you often get for what you pay for, but can the same be said for paint?
For us, the main consideration when choosing paint is always the choice of colours. We probably have around 10 different colour charts and our decision is first and foremost always based on the colour that we like best.
But, it’s not just the choice of colour that influences our paint decision (no, it’s not the pretty names either). High-quality paint like Farrow & Ball paint has a much higher quality of pigments which means that the paint has a much higher depth of colour which also tends to change in different light conditions.
The walls in our recently painted guest bedroom, for example, are painted in Pale Powder by Farrow & Ball.
Depending on the time of day, the colour changes considerably. Sometimes it’s a soft green, sometimes it’s bluer and sometimes it even looks grey – all tones are gorgeous and the different shades definitely make for a more interesting finish.
For our less-than-perfect walls, the estate emulsion is perfect. The matt chalky finish hides imperfections and has a lovely contemporary finish.
The floor in the same room is painted in Farrow & Ball All White Floor Paint. We love the finish that we were able to achieve. The paint was silky smooth to apply, gave great coverage and dried super quickly which meant there weren’t days of waiting involved.
Most of the woodwork in the rest of our home is painted in Dulux Pure Brilliant White. Whilst we were initially happy with it, we have had some problems with the paint starting to yellow over time. Not great when you’re after a pure brilliant white finish (apparently they’ve since changed the formula).
Another big reason for us to choose water-based paint is the cleaning aspect. Washing your brushes underwater is definitely much quicker and easier than using mineral spirits or another solvent cleaner.
Farrow and Ball paints are also low odour, just a day after painting our bedroom there was absolutely no smell and you wouldn’t have known that it had been recently painted. Their water-based paints are also low VOC and eco friendly which helps to protect the environment
Our master bedroom is painted in Farrow & Ball Skimming Stone Estate Emulsion. It’s a lovely warm colour with greyish undertones.
Just like Pale Powder in our guest bedroom, the colour changes with the light and time of day. In sunlight, it’s really bright and crisp, in the evenings it feels much warmer.
So, the more you pay the better the paint? Overall we would say that “posh” paints are worth it.
Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to find me painting our cellar walls and floor with inexpensive paint, but the higher quality and quantity of pigments and greater depth of colour make Farrow & Ball one of our favourite paint brands.
Have you ever made a design choice that you’ve regretted? Do you have a favourite colour or brand of paint? Do you have tips for picking paint? Have you ever painted a room and immediately regretted your colour choice? What do you think – is high-quality paint worth paying a bit more for?
Vanessa says
I honestly can’t tell one paint from another, although I have a preference for an oil based paint for trim, that is the type, not the brand. I think that unless we do real research – 5 front doors in a similar location, five different unmarked brands of similar and same color paint, waiting three years to determine how well it held up, etc. – we are always under the influence of advertising. And advertising is very persuasive.
Christine says
I agree with you about oil based paint, especially for exterior woodwork!
At the end of the day, it’s all about choosing the colour you like best for your home. We’ve actually just tried colour matching paint for the first time and were really impressed with the result (we’ll be sharing a post about it soon!).
Cx
Lorraine says
Interesting comments about choosing colours / quality of paint. I like the look of skimming stone, I’m always looking at grey paints. I’ve read mixed reports of Farrow & Ball. But you seemed to be very pleased with the results. I’ve used Little Green, I suppose a similar company, producing ‘posh’paints and have been pleased with the results. Though when using their Intelligent Eggshell on wood work its taken about 3 coats to get an even finish, though I’ve been really pleased with the result. Not sure if this is due to my lack of expertise with the paint brush. generally I think it is worth paying more money for the paint, the color choice is wide and the finish excellent.
Just a tip I picked up about choosing colour: get the sample pots but instead of painting patches on the wall, use the sample pot on some lining paper, use the whole pot and you will have a strip of paper that you can put up on the wall and move round the room. It gives you a much idea of what the colour looks like on a bigger area.
Thanks, keep up all the good work. I’m going look at Farrow & Ball: Skimming Stone, Pale Powder and Borrowed Light for my sitting room.
Christine says
I agree with you about the coverage Lorraine. We painted our front door in Farrow & Ball Rectory Red and it took a few coats to get an even finish. Having said that, I don’t think I’ve ever achieved a better coverage with another paint either.
Thanks for sharing the tip about choosing colours. It’s something that we’ve started doing (the first time was in our recently painted guest bedroom) and I agree that it works much better than adding patches of paint around the room. We also keep our painted paper which means that we don’t have to buy another tester if we ever consider painting another room in it.
Cx
Lucy says
I was so chuffed after using Farrow & Ball’s Estate Eggshell on our table that I’m pretty much only eyeing up their colour chart for painting our kitchen and lounge! It’s what you said about the changing look of the paint throughout the day (our table legs are Stone Blue, but depending on the light etc they either look a true blue, more teal-y or a very grey blue), it adds so much more interest! Really like the Pale Powder in your guest bedroom. x
Christine says
Thanks Lucy, glad to hear that you’re happy with your paint, too! Your table looks fab! I love the colour you’ve chosen for the legs – it works so well with the pine top.
Cx
Lucy says
Hi, a tip to get rid of paint smells is to cut onion in half,
place cut side up on a saucer in middle of room you’re painting.
Throw away when finished. Result no paint or onion smell.
I’m super sensitive to smell & badly affected by chemical/paint
smells. Tried this tip and my whole home got painted with me
having no problem in smell department :~)
Christine says
Wow, I had no idea – what an amazing tip! I’ll definitely give it a try next time I use a smelly paint.
Thanks for sharing!
Cx
Lucy says
You’re welcome :~) Also works with nail polish/remover, enamel paints ect.