Farrow & Ball is a name known to anyone with even a passing interest in interiors.
The paint brand, founded in 1946, is the Grand Dame of emulsion, as much of a status symbol as a KitchenAid on the counter, a Burberry-packed wardrobe, and a Rolls parked on the drive. To have your home painted in Farrow & Ball is to paint your walls with success, no matter which of the 132 colours you wind up plumping for.
The brand inspires visions of class; terrifically tasteful, upper-crust English, National Trust-esque elegance (and it did indeed begin life supplying paint to NT properties for restoration after the war). Despite the outlandish names - Arsenic in the bedroom, anyone? - you can picture palaces and stately homes coloured in the stuff.
Indeed, Farrow & Ball’s signature paints have been part of the National Portrait Gallery’s recent revamp, providing the backdrop for the masterpieces on display (as well as the shop, restaurant and cafe).
Not everyone is a fan. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen lambasted the company in a 2021 Daily Mail column following its sale to a Danish group for £500m, branding its paints ‘tepid, insipid and impractical’. Yet Farrow & Ball remains as coveted and aspirational as ever despite his acidic criticism, with a 1.7m Instagram following. Its price tags? Considerably less so.
Farrow & Ball charges some of the highest prices around. Five litres, which is enough to cover 65m2, costs a staggering £119, which is, astonishingly, better value than buying half the volume: 2.5L will set you back £69.50. Not exactly easy on the wallet, especially if you’re looking for a cheap interiors update.
Thankfully leaps in paint technology mean you can get copycat versions of its heritage and nature-inspired colour palette for a snip of the price.
Companies like Dulux and Valspar can mix custom versions, matching swatches to all kinds of paint finishes to bring walls, woodwork and furniture to life. Prices start at £20 for a basic litre and go up to £70 for 5L of Heritage Velvet Matt for interior walls.
Then there are ready-mixed paint cans that offer a similar vibe to F&B for less per can of paint.
From paint brands new and old, we’ve picked the best of them to consider below.
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Lick Purple 03 DUMBO House Eggshell
Dupe of: F&B Brinjal, 2.5L - £78
Brinjal, the Hindi translation of eggplant, was one of the shades used in the National Portrait Gallery’s recent restoration.
If you’re looking for a similar shade with an easier-to-swallow price tag, Lick has you covered. Its DUMBO paint, a dark purple with blue undertones, is the result of a collab with Soho House (the member’s club NYC outpost is awash with the hue), meaning you’ll still have plenty of bragging rights when guests come over.
It comes in matt and eggshell finishes, so if you’re dreaming of colour-drenching a space, there are formulas to see to every surface.
Buy now £45.00, Lick
Frenchic Flamenco Wall Paint - 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Romesco, 2.5L - £79
No prizes for guessing the origin of F&B's paint name; it's all about the Spanish sauce. The bright, passionate hue is ideal for highlighting details like window frames, skirting boards and dado rails but if you want the same effect for less, chalk paint specialist Frenchic has it in the bag.
Its flamboyant Flamenco hue is a close copy. Made with a water-based formula, it dries with an ultra-matte finish and can be scrubbed to keep it clean.
Buy now £42.95, Frenchic
COAT Baked paint, 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Red Earth, 2.5L - £78
Inspired by light, terracotta-hued soil (and not Mars as one might initially think), Red Earth offers an understated elegance to everything from ceilings and walls to doors and fences.
Save yourself a pretty penny or two by turning to COAT which has Baked amongst its ranks. The aged red tone has a little grey and the matt finish comes in Scrub Class 1, making it perfect for use in high-traffic areas of the home.
You can also find the hue in soft sheen, eggshell, floor, clay and exterior paint finishes, making it easy to go to town on the whole house inside and out.
Buy now £52.00, COAT
Dulux Easycare Pressed Petal Matt Wall paint, 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Sulking Room, 2.5L - £69.50
Derived from the French ‘bouder’, to sulk, this paint is amongst the most popular in Farrow & Ball’s canon. Dulux’s Pressed Petal is a convincing doppelgänger if a touch brighter than its pricier peer. Still, for £40-odd quid saving, we’d find a way to live with it.
The washable paint is stain and mould-resistant, making it ideal for moisture-prone areas like the bathroom and kitchen. Two coats will give you the best colour pay-off, so take your time with it and the results will speak for themselves.
Buy now £28.00, B&Q
Dulux 500001 Easycare Bathroom Soft Sheen Emulsion Paint For Walls And Ceilings - Soft Stone 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Elephant's Breath, 2.5L - £57
An example that’s frequently rolled out when discussing Farrow & Ball’s wild paint names is Elephant’s Breath. Banish thoughts of less-than-fragrant Dumbos; the grey taupe mix is an inoffensive neutral that promises to add warmth and light to any space.
Dulux’s Easycare range can be applied to walls and ceilings and comes in a variety of muted hues. Its Soft Stone shade looks an exact match for Elephant’s Breath and is currently £35 cheaper than the premium paint for the same volume.
Buy now £22.00, Amazon
Valspar Classic Walls & Ceilings Interior Matt Emulsion, Night Vision, 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Breakfast Room, 2.5L - £78
This stunning shade is textbook F&B; elegant, pared back, and heritage-inspired. A great dupe is Valspar’s Night Vision which offers full-throttle HD colour for a decent discount. Made with a water base, it’s easy to keep clean and can be applied to both plasterboard and drywall. Best of all it dries quickly so you won’t have to wait long to get a second coat on.
Buy now £30.00, B&Q
Little Greene Pale Lime - 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Acid Drop, 2.5L - £69.50
Decidedly straying from the usual F&B script comes this electric citrus hue warmed with a tint of yellow. It can be used on walls for an arresting stop-and-stare effect or daubed in sections to create a feature wall.
Little Greene Paint's Pale Lime is a dead ringer for F&B's option and while pretty expensive itself, will still see you pocket a saving of around £10.
Buy now £57.50, Little Greene
Dunelm Light Moss Eggshell Emulsion Paint - 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Bancha, 2.5L - £69.50
Whether for mid-century schemes or cosy cottage retreats, you can't beat a good olive green. F&B's version is called Bancha, named for Japanese tea leaves, and the hue offers the same relaxing, calming vibes as a cup of the drink might. Well, until you look at the price of a 2.5L tin, that is.
Get the same effect without making that vein in your forehead throb by picking up Light Moss at Dunelm instead. The durable formula is touch-dry in less than two hours and is antibacterial, low odour and low VOC, making it perfect for home with children and pets.
Buy now £32.00, Dunelm
COAT Lie-In Wall Paint - 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Lulworth Blue, 2.5L - £69.50
When the sun shines on a little pocket of the Dorset coast, it turns the sea beneath it a pretty shade of blue. That’s the inspiration behind F&B’s Lulworth Blue. Calming, coastal, a serene dream; you could describe COAT's Lie-In hue as the same.
The seaside shade means it's made for sprucing up bathrooms and bedrooms, but try it in the hall or lounge for an unexpected yet refreshing burst of colour - especially if you do the ceilings as well. COAT's version has a hint of grey in the mix, adding a little drama.
Buy now £52.00, COAT
Crown Easyclean Washable & Wipeable Multi Surface Matt Paint Midnight Navy - 2.5L
Dupe of: F&B Serge, 2.5L - £69.50
Echoing the shade of the original jeans, Farrow & Ball recommends this indigo blue for entertaining spaces like the dining room. It comes in a range of finishes including exterior eggshell to revitalise outside spaces but the twacking price point can be off-putting for many.
If you’re sticking to interiors, Crown does a convincing alternative in Midnight Navy that can cover walls, ceilings, wood and metal in one tin. Super tough once dried, it’s so easy to clean that it got the Mumsnet seal of approval too.
Buy now £23.00, Homebase
