When clients in our part of London think about paint, two names come up more than any other: Farrow & Ball and Little Greene. Both make beautiful, richly pigmented paint with deep heritage credentials, and you would be well served by either. But they have different characters, and understanding them helps you choose the right one for your home — or decide to mix them, which is often the best answer of all.
What they share
Both are premium British paint houses with carefully curated colour palettes rooted in historical and architectural tradition. Both offer the deep, complex colour that cheaper paints cannot match — colour that shifts beautifully with the light through the day, which is exactly what makes a period room feel alive. And both offer a range of finishes for walls and woodwork. In a heritage interior, either will give you a result that a standard trade paint simply cannot.
Farrow & Ball
Farrow & Ball is famous for the extraordinary depth and atmosphere of its colours, and for the quality of light they hold — its chalky matt finish, Estate Emulsion, is almost a signature. Its palette is tightly edited and instantly recognisable, with evocative names that have become part of the design vernacular. It excels at atmospheric, characterful rooms — and works as beautifully in a contemporary space as a period one. Its trade-off: the flattest finishes are gorgeous but mark more easily, so for hard-working rooms you will want its tougher Modern range.
Best for
Atmospheric colour, a soft chalky matt, and that unmistakable Farrow & Ball depth — in rooms where you want mood and character above all.
Little Greene
Little Greene is prized for the richness of its pigment and the breadth of its historical palette — it works closely with conservation bodies, and its colours have genuine period authenticity. Many decorators find its colours particularly deep and saturated, and its washable finishes notably hard-wearing, which makes it a strong practical choice for busy homes and family rooms without sacrificing heritage character.
Best for
Deep, saturated heritage colour with excellent durability — particularly where you want period authenticity in a room that also has to take daily life.
The honest truth: you would be delighted with either. The real skill is matching the right paint and finish to each room — and often, using both.
So which should you choose?
For a heritage London interior, the decision rarely comes down to one being “better.” It comes down to the specific colour you fall for, the finish a room needs, and how much daily wear the space takes. A common and excellent approach is to use both — perhaps a Farrow & Ball colour for its particular depth in a drawing room, and a hard-wearing Little Greene finish in the hallway and kitchen. There is no rule against mixing paint houses, and a decorator who knows both well will guide you to the best of each.
Where we come in
Part of our job is to take the agony out of this decision. We work fluently across both ranges — and others, such as Paint & Paper Library, Mylands and Edward Bulmer — and we prepare sample areas on your own walls so you can judge colours in your room's actual light before committing. The paint house matters; but matching the right product and finish to each surface and room matters more, and that is exactly what a proper specification is for. It is the foundation of our interior decorating, and of the more demanding work of decorating period and listed homes.
Trying to choose between paint houses for your home? Colour and finish guidance is part of every consultation we offer — and we will prepare samples on your own walls before anything is decided.