Welcome to a Paint Colour Case Study on Farrow and Ball French Gray (still tempted to spell it French Grey!!).
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray bathroom |
I hope these Farrow and Ball Case Study posts can do all the legwork for you so you can see at a glance whether the colour is going to work for you in *your* house with *your* lighting conditions.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray bathroom |
Farrow and Ball French Gray is a perfect example of how light can change chalky paint colours, read on to see why...
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen |
In South-facing rooms that receive a good amount of natural light, Farrow and Ball French Gray appears as a muted green....
| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
and, at times, as quite a strong green...
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen |
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen |
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
In north-facing rooms, which get a much cooler cast, Farrow and Ball French Gray appears as a gentle graceful grey and all of a sudden, I can feel my Modern Country heart pitter-patting merrily.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
And, with dusk drawing in, Farrow and Ball French Gray turns greyer still..
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Particularly, when given the chance to build intensity in rooms with internal corners aplenty...
Who are you to believe? Are these photos lying?
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
No! The answer is that Farrow and Ball French Gray paint can appear as ALL of these.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Especially if waxed and distressed...
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Farrow and Ball French Gray can look green,
Farrow and Ball French Gray can look grey....
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Farrow and Ball French Gray can look green....
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen |
... and Farrow and Ball French Gray can even appear blue
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Get it right, and, oh my! Just look at this Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen:
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen with red Aga |
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen with red Aga |
It absolutely sings Modern Country....
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen |
You need to know which of these you're aiming for before you choose the setting it'll work for with you.
Farrow and Ball French Gray harmonises wonderfully with natural materials.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray painted furniture |
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray kitchen painted furniture |
and looks great in rooms which lead onto the garden...just feast your eyes on this French Gray kitchen....
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
How does French Gray compare to other Farrow and Ball paints?
(l-r Farrow and Ball Lamp Room Gray, Manor House Gray, Hardwick White, Pigeon, Blue Gray and French Gray)
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| Farrow and Ball Lamp Room Gray, Manor House Gray, Hardwick White, Pigeon, Blue Gray and French Gray |
Farrow and Ball French Gray can seem confusing...
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray panelling |
I know it sounds confusing but, really, it's not.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Warm light makes all paint appear greener, you see. Here's Farrow and Ball French Gray with warm light:
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray paint |
And cooler light makes it look bluer...here's Farrow and Ball French Gray on an overcast day...
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
If a certain colour is already veering on the grey-green scale then chances are that putting it in a south-facing room will tip it right over into definite green territory.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
The Modern Country rule of thumb with French Gray is to keep it on the dark side of your home.
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| Farrow and Ball French Gray |
Isn't it pretty? With the right light, Farrow and Ball acts as a chalky, muted shade of grey paint, with enough green to add stunning Modern Country interest.
Coming up soon...using Farrow and Ball French Gray for exteriors!
If you're a fan of muted, gently-greyed paint colours then you've struck gold here at Modern Country Style! Have a look at my other colour studies:
Images via: Lucy Swales, my French country home, Harvey Jones, little biba, Harvey Jones, Harvey Jones, Accio Fabric, House To Home, Remodelista, rurally screwed, Plain English, Made Sign Interest, Desire To Inspire, Attic Mag, James White Photography, Rurally Screwed, west egg interior, Farrow and Ball, JS Joinery, Houzz, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, The Kitchen Spray Company, unknown, ebay, unknown, virginia Roberts, Lucy Swales, Lucy Swales, unknown??, La Vie En Rose, Farrow and Ball, Icon Interiors, Busy Bee Studio, old creamery furniture, Farrow and Ball,
I see we are working on the same things lately... I rely entirely on you for all the studies of the different greys, though. As I was searching for pictures of the different greens by Farrow & Ball today instead of marking papers, I kept finding pictures of French Gre/ay! Now, I see why!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I always thought it wasn't possible to shower in a claw foot bathtub, but with that first picture, I stand corrected!
I just found your blog and am loving the Farrow and Ball case studies. I have been trying to decode their grays for months. Please more! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm thinking of French Gray for my basement, which is quite dark and nothing special. It really is striking how this color changes, depending on the light!
ReplyDelete"Grey" versus "gray" : for a few words ("colour" -v- "color" is another one) the American spelling is the traditional spelling from English - I.e the purer form which has survived from the period of the Pilgrim Fathers/Puritan period in England. So dear old F&B is being true to authentic 17th century spelling - which ties in with their whole heritage shtick (should there be a "c" in there?).
ReplyDeleteFantastic post!
ReplyDeleteHi I am thinking of painting my kitchen units in French Gray with either Farrow and ball or Little green. Can you help me with a colour that would look good with it for the walls please? My kitchen does face south but it has a smallish window so can be a little dull from after lunch. It also leads into a very sunny garden room with an open double entrance so the garden room would ideally need to be painted in the same colour as kitchen....so a colour to lighten up the walls in kitchen and tone with French Grey and also suitable for a very sunny bright room. Also which type of French Gray would you recommend for kitchen units - Farrow and Ball or Little Green? I wonder if Mid French Gray by Little Green would be a bit lighter for units and more hardwearing? Thanks Jeanette
ReplyDeleteHi I am thinking of painting my kitchen units in French Gray with either Farrow and ball or Little green. Can you help me with a colour that would look good with it for the walls please? My kitchen does face south but it has a smallish window so can be a little dull from after lunch. It also leads into a very sunny garden room with an open double entrance so the garden room would ideally need to be painted in the same colour as kitchen....so a colour to lighten up the walls in kitchen and tone with French Grey and also suitable for a very sunny bright room. Also which type of French Gray would you recommend for kitchen units - Farrow and Ball or Little Green? I wonder if Mid French Gray by Little Green would be a bit lighter for units and more hardwearing? Thanks Jeanette
ReplyDeleteReally so beautiful and decorative post shared here .The picture you have shared of living area are too good.Thanks and keep updating more with us.Sharing something for all about bathrooms as there are many innovative small bathroom makeovers sites with which we makeover our bathroom with creative bathroom ideas and bathroom design and get your bathroom looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI l❤️ve your f&b colour stories, they have been extremely helpful in picking sample pots. Any chance you'll have one for LIGHT GRAY any time soon?
ReplyDeleteGreat,Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteKitchen Design Services San Francisco
ahhhhh - I wish I had seen this before painting my south facing kitchen (with lots of light) French Gray. my basic 3'x3' swatch moved from wall to wall at different times of the day looked fabulous - my 28' long kitchen painted French Gray looks like mint toothpaste during the day.
ReplyDelete