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Once every two years something rather exciting happens in the paint calendar – I know, I know, a paint calendar may sound a little insane but bear with me as I pretty much set my watch by it! Today, in a few hours time, Farrow and Ball will launch their set of nine new paint shades to the lexicon of just over 230 modern paint colours that they offer.
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/We are midway through the London Design Festival and although London is a whirr of new launches and collaborations, this is the launch I get most excited about. Paint is so relatable, it’s accessible to us all in a way that high end design isn’t always, and it can have the hugest impact on your space. When the press pack landed on my desk in late August I may have done a little jump for joy at the postman (he’s not used to this from my usual blase demeanour) and hurried to open it quicker than you could say WhatsTheNewDeadSalmon/
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And this new palette is really strong, I mean really strong! Perhaps their best new releases to date and I’m putting my painting hands where my mouth is as over the coming weeks I shall be using three of these new shades in Teds bedroom makeover! There’s a hint of Scandinavian new neutrals to it, all but one are soft and muted, some inspired by vivid hues but taken down a notch with greys and creams or black and brown.
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So, let’s get to the nitty gritty, what are the colours (you can cheat and scroll through images in piece if you are impatient like me) and perhaps even more importantly what are they called?! Farrow & Ball are often parodied for their outlandish paint names but each one does have a traceable inspiration and my leg pulling is purely tongue-in-cheek. But if your looking for names, the first shade on my radar won’t disappoint. SULKING ROOM PINK, and not just because of its amazing name, is one of my favourites. I am not done with pink yet and the beauty of this subtle and powdery shade is that it’s not overtly pink. Farrow & Ball describe it as a muted rose, reminiscent of shades commonly used in boudoirs (a room named after the French word Bouder – to sulk) hence the name. And as the modern replacement for Smoked Trout the memorability of its name is fairly assured.
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As you may have seen from my post a few weeks ago, I am getting very into Bordeaux shades in the home(and fashion) at the moment, so I am truly delighted with PREFERENCE RED. It’s a shade I’ve been looking for on the Farrow & Ball palette to suggest to clients for a while and it fills the void beautifully. Preference Red works well with all red based neutrals, I particularly like it next to a neutral with brown undertones such as the shade that’s up next.
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JITNEY, so named after the New York bus that takes passengers to the sandy shores of the Hamptons, is a brown based neutral which fits the very definition of Scandinavian inspired new neutrals. I want to use it, in combination with Preference Red on woodwork, but where!? I have an idea…
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There are a couple of greens in the new palette, the first, BANCHA, is a very punchy and vivid Olive tone and my favourite of the two. It looks great in the kitchen image above. I’d love to place it alongside a punchy pink, it has a sobriety and a feeling of heritage. Named after Japanese Tea Leaves, Farrow & Ball describe Bancha as a sober tone which creates a feeling of calm. I love it’s use in this modern setting above, but am also thinking it could look incredible in a period dining room.
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The next colour, DE NIMES, has an inspiration that may already be on your radar – denim (who remembers Dulux’s Denim Drift of a few years back?). This is a really soft shade, to my eye it has a hint of teal, it’s described by Farrow & Ball as a grounding colour and it is inspired by Regency tones.
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Now for a very bold colour hit right between the eyes! RANGWALI is described by Farrow & Ball as an adventurous pink, akin to Radicchio to my mind, this is a shade which positively jumps off the colour chart at you. Named after the powder thrown around enthusiastically during the Holi festival of colours in India. Whilst vibrant, Farrow and Ball have achieved a workable shade by adding the smallest hint of black to the mix which creates an “absorbing depth of colour”.
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On the other end of the spectrum, another perfectly pretty, and pretty perfect, white. Farrow & Ball are good at these, a quick look
at their top 10 bestselling shades shows that nearly half fall within this tonal area. SCHOOL HOUSE WHITE is a new entry into the group of neutral whites Farrow and Ball produce to look like white positioned in the deepest of shade. These whites-which-aren’t-quite-whites are so versatile and I have used several in the past where harsh true white would feel too stark. This is a slightly lighter update of these well known colours, and one I will be using soon.
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If the last shade posed the question when is white not quite white, then the next black poses a similar question in reverse. PAEAN BLACK, so named after old leather bound hymnals, is described as a Georgian shade suited to bohemian homes. It is a red based black which I can see working perfectly on woodwork. I love this shades balance, it hints at purple whilst staying firmly within the black spectrum making it all the richer.
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And, the final colour! TERRON, a smudgy green with elements of grey, this shade is a greener version of Farrow & Ball’s very popular Pigeon shade. Farrow & Ball suggests that it is a colour which most comes alive amongst natural materials and it feels very classic amongst the dashes of greenery styled in this shot.
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So which am I using?! I am so tempted to paint our study in Jitney with Preference Red woodwork, and I am very persuaded by both Bancha & De NIMES too. But for my immediate decorating project, Ted will be having walls in School House white, a chimney breast in Sulking Room Pink, and woodwork in Paean Black. What colours are you most drawn to? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
All lifestyle images owned by Farrow & Ball and kindly permitted for use in piece. Images with sample pots by Design Soda.
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