Paint…. Is Farrow & Ball worth the price?

Albermarle

daveyjp said:

Can you actually decorate well?  If not spend the money on a decorator who will do fantastic job with paint from whichever trade outlet they use,

Like all trades, there are good and bad decorators and those inbetween. We had one once and he was so bad we threw him out half way through, and I finished the job myself to a much higher standard.
Personally I find decorating pretty easy as a DIY job. and at least I know I will at least do an OK job and save money. Although I am slower than a professional of course, but now I am retired that is not really an issue.

gazfocus

Interesting to see all the varied opinions. 

I have to say, I've not been a huge fan of the standard dulux in the past - the dulux trade is much better from experience, but yes I agree preparation is key.

I think the main thing that sticks in my mind, especially with Valspar is that the last house we had decorated 'professionally', we spent a fortune on Valspar paints to do the entire house but the decorator was terrible. He did absolutely zero prep, took forever, and the only thing he did well was the wallpaper. Within a week we had gloss peeling because he hadn't sanded the banister before painting it, and the overall finish of the house was terrible. I know 100% it was due to the rubbish decorator but at the same time, you can't help associating it with the paint used at the time.

This time round, we are hoping to use a decorator that we know who charges a premium but is darn good at what he does. We are going to tackle one room at a time to help budget wise but honestly, if F&B is worth the money, then I'd rather pay the premium than have a disappointing finish....if the Valspar is going to be as good, then also happy to save money.

For what it's worth, I have considered dulux and also crown (as the decorator we know is a Crown fan), but my concern is that if we choose a colour now and need to touch up as mentioned earlier in this thread, will the colour we chose be discontinued whereas if I go with Valspar I will have the colour code and from what I've seen F&B don't discontinue their colours often.

FreeBear

david29dpo said:

Painting is 99.99999% preparation. If done, any paint will do. 

Having made the mistake of using B&Q's own brand GoodHome, I'll not use the cheap crap again. Very poor colour depth, and even with multiple coats, the base colour still showed through. Their emulsion paints for walls might be a little better, but I'd rather not take the risk (I'd been using a satin wood paint).

gazfocus said: For what it's worth, I have considered dulux and also crown (as the decorator we know is a Crown fan), but my concern is that if we choose a colour now and need to touch up as mentioned earlier in this thread, will the colour we chose be discontinued whereas if I go with Valspar I will have the colour code and from what I've seen F&B don't discontinue their colours often.

Something to be said for paint mixed to a colour code - Been using a Crown trade satin (RAL3004), and the colour between tins has been spot on to my eye. Will have to wait for a few years to see if there is a mismatch between old coats and touch-ups.

TELLIT01

Beeblebr0x said:

A professional decorator friend of mine said Farrow & Ball will need three coats where other paints will do the job in two. 

I saw a review of paints a few years ago which said the same thing.  Paying 3 or 4 times more money for paint which requires 50% more paint seems like a very bad deal to me.  There may be situations where that expense is necessary but I would only take that route if it was essential.  For example special paint for lime plaster.

MysteryMe

gazfocus said:

For what it's worth, I have considered dulux and also crown (as the decorator we know is a Crown fan), but my concern is that if we choose a colour now and need to touch up as mentioned earlier in this thread, will the colour we chose be discontinued whereas if I go with Valspar I will have the colour code and from what I've seen F&B don't discontinue their colours often.

Why don't you just buy a tester pot for future touch ups. For the sort of money you'd be spending on those posh paints you could afford to completely redecorate in a few years time with fresh colours using one of the big brands.

EssexExile

I'd ask your decorator what he thinks is best. If you make him use a brand he doesn't like he'll blame that for any problems!

Silvertabby

F&B sample tins are fabulous for decorating dolls' houses.

But when it comes to home use, I go for Johnstone's Trade.  Who will colour match most  F&B shades.