A Farrow & Ball decorator in Cambridge, explained plainly
If you've chosen Farrow & Ball paint and want a decorator who knows how it behaves, we can help. We regularly decorate homes in and around Cambridge with Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion and eggshell, and with Little Greene. Graham visits, looks at the rooms and the colours you have in mind, and gives you a written quotation.
To be clear about what we are: we're an independent decorating company and Dulux Select Decorators. We are not appointed, approved or accredited by Farrow & Ball. We simply use their paints a great deal, either supplied by us or bought by you, and we know what they need to look their best.
Colours from our documented Farrow & Ball jobs
A few real specifications from our case studies, so you can see how the paints are combined:
- Cambridge bedroom: Skimming Stone Estate Emulsion on walls and ceiling, a Cinder Rose Estate Emulsion feature wall, Skimming Stone eggshell on skirtings and door frames, and a Fired Earth Turkish Blue eggshell window
- Cambridge redecoration: two coats of Skimming Stone on walls and ceiling after deep cracks were filled, with bare pine frames primed in Zinsser, undercoated in Farrow & Ball mid-tones and finished in two coats of Elephant's Breath eggshell
- Waterbeach: a Farrow & Ball colour scheme carried through the house
- Cambridge family home: Farrow & Ball and Little Greene colours blended through the hall, stairs and living rooms
- Haddenham: Farrow & Ball decorating, followed by Chris's gold-oiled floor restoration
Where to see them
The Farrow & Ball redecoration in Cambridge shows the Skimming Stone and Elephant's Breath pairing, and the Waterbeach colour scheme shows several rooms in different colours.
How Farrow & Ball paints behave
Estate Emulsion
Estate Emulsion is Farrow & Ball's very flat, chalky wall and ceiling finish, around 2% sheen. That depth of colour is why people choose it. The trade-off is durability: Farrow & Ball describes it as best suited to areas without much traffic. It can be wiped gently, but scrubbing a mark tends to polish the surface or lift colour, and touch-ups can show. For halls, kitchens and children's rooms, their Modern Emulsion, which is washable with around 7% sheen, is usually the better choice in the same colour.
Eggshell on woodwork
Farrow & Ball's eggshell is a water-based, low-sheen finish for skirtings, doors and frames. Water-based eggshells need sound preparation to grip: we sand, fill and clean the old paint, and prime bare or knotty timber. On the bare pine frames in our Cambridge job we primed with Zinsser first, as resin in pine can bleed through and discolour a pale finish.
Primers in the right tone
Farrow & Ball makes its primers and undercoats in tonal groups, and recommends using the one matched to your colour. A tinted base under a deep shade means fewer top coats and a more even colour, which is why the Elephant's Breath frames went over a mid-tones undercoat rather than plain white.
Little Greene, and when we suggest it
Little Greene is the other premium brand we use most. Its Intelligent Matt Emulsion is washable, breathable and touches up well once cured, so it's a good fit when you want a rich flat colour in a room that takes knocks. On a whole-house renovation the main colour was Little Greene Inox (Light Grey 224) in Intelligent Matt, with white and Mid Lead (114) on the fireplace. Many customers mix the two brands across a house, choosing each for the room it suits.
Preparation the paint deserves
Flat, deep-pigment paints show what's underneath. Cracks, filler patches and old runs that a sheen might disguise stand out under a chalky matt, so the preparation matters more, not less. We fill and sand with Mirka dust-free sanders, spot-prime filler, and stain-block water or nicotine marks with Zinsser before any colour goes on. New plaster gets a mist coat first. With several tins of one colour, decorators usually mix them together before starting a large wall so any slight variation between tins doesn't show.
Choosing colours: testers, light and advice
Farrow & Ball colours are known for changing with the light, so a colour that looks warm on the chart can turn grey on a north-facing wall. We suggest painting large tester patches in more than one spot, or on card you can move around, and looking at them morning and evening before deciding.
Colour advice comes as part of the visit and the job. Customers often mention it. Hannah Doran wrote in her Google review that "The colour consultation with Belinda was fantastic", and Graham is happy to talk through combinations with you.
What affects the cost
Premium paint costs more per tin than trade paint, and that's reflected in the materials if we supply it, or you can buy it yourself. Labour depends on the number of rooms, how much preparation the walls and woodwork need, the number of coats (deep colours and big changes from dark to light need more), and whether the woodwork is in eggshell too. The written quotation lists it all.
Booking your visit
Tell us the colours you're considering, or that you'd like help choosing. Graham will look at the rooms in their own light, suggest the right finish for each, and send a written quotation, usually by email. We work across Cambridge and nearby villages including Waterbeach, and you don't pay until you're happy with the finished rooms. Our main interior decorating page covers everything else we paint.
