Welcome to another Modern Country Style Paint Colour Case Study. This time its the turn of Farrow and Ball Hardwick White (number 5) to come under my watchful eye.
| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
Hardwick White takes the rather shaky accolade of 'Most Changeable Colour In The Whole Wide World Ever.'
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
Yes, that's a bonus if you want a chameleon of a colour that shifts between taupe and green and blue and grey and brown but it makes my job explaining it to you pretty trick-eeeeeeee.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen |
This is a colour that sits right on the cusp of a bazillion others so that it slips away in unexpected directions.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Hall |
Compare it to Farrow and Ball Light Blue, for instance...
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Light Blue |
or Farrow and Ball Blue Gray...
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Blue Gray |
...it veers right over to the taupe end of its dastardly spectrum... yet put it up against the natural tones of these reindeer antlers and watch Hardwick White's green undertones sing right out to greet you.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
You might find it useful to compare Farrow and Ball Hardwick White to these other paints in the image below (From top left...Farrow and Ball Charleston Gray, Lamp Room Gray, Ammonite, Purbeck Stone, Mole's Breath, Elephant's Breath, Manor House Gray, Skimming Stone and Hardwick White) to get a better handle on it. Hard to pin down, isn't it?
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| Farrow and Ball Charleston Gray, Lamp Room Gray, Ammonite, Purbeck Stone, Mole's Breath, Elephant's Breath, Manor House Gray, Skimming Stone and Hardwick White |
So here's the nub: before you get swept away in picking Farrow and Ball's Hardwick White, bear in mind the following factors:
| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
The direction your room faces....
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Modern Country kitchen |
In rooms that receives lots of warm southern light, Hardwick White can appear positively chocolate-like. There'll no escaping those taupe-y tones.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in south-facing room |
But in a north-facing room, just look! For the vast majority of the time, particularly with the glum weather we've been having, Hardwick White takes on a far bluer character....
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in north-facing room |
The second thing to bear in mind is the size of your room....
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White builds intensity like nobody's business, so the the closer your internal corners are (i.e. the smaller your room) the darker the paint will seem.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
Just look at the difference in the image below between full light and shadow. Those differences, my Modern Country friend, are what you'll be playing with.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White |
Conversely if you're painting furniture with Hardwick White and you have plenty of external angles that bounce the colour away from itself, this shade never has the chance to build and you start to see where the White part of Hardwick White comes to play. See the kitchen island below?
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen |
And this holds true for floors and doors...
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White floor paint |
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White painted floor |
including front doors painted in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White....
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door |
The last thing to take into account is the time of day that you'll be spending time in the room...if it's evening, and the lights will be on, then, again, Mr. Brown will be your constant companion...
| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls |
...but chose a garden to room to decorate with Hardwick White, where you'll see it mainly in daylight hours, and Hardwick White can appear as a soft grey-green.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White woodwork |
If that all sounds a lot to take in then let me add in some enormous plusses to using Farrow and Ball's Hardwick White.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom |
It can hold its own beautifully against stronger colours. Here is Hardwick White against a strong orange-red....
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen |
and here against Farrow and Ball's Down Pipe.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White with Down Pipe |
One of the things I love most is the lip-smackingly crisp contrast of Hardwick White and true White.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls |
See what I mean in this fantastic bathroom:
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom tongue and groove panelling |
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom panelling |
This is a colour that can sit happily at the Modern end of Modern Country....
| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Victorian Hall |
or right at the Country end of Modern Country: Aga and all!
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen |
More slippery than a bar of soap I think you'll agree.
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White painted furniture |
By going to the Gorgeous Paints tab at the top of Modern Country Style (see it up there?), you can browse my other Colour Case Studies at your leisure. Or, takes the lazy girls' route and get click-happy with the links below...
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White house and Railings front door |
ALL the Colour Studies are of colours that I've used {and loved} myself. Included are lots of images of each paint in lots of different situations and lots of different lights to give you a really full understanding. No one likes nasty paint surprises, do they?
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| Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls in light hallway with white panelling |
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Images via Farrow and Ball, House To Home, roundhousedesign, Farrow and Ball, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Syle, Modern Country Style, An Urban Cottage, Farrow and Ball, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Evie's House, Modern Country Style, Houzz, Plain English, Plain English, Decor De Provence, Pinterest, House To Home, alternative eagle, Yorkshire Pine, Flickr, hgtv, Narratives, Narratives, Farrow and Ball, Kitchensrenew, Sally Wells, Pinterest, Pinterest
