Number
1
2
3
Name
Lime White
Hound Lemon
Off White
4 Old White
5 Hardwick White
6 London Stone
8 String
10 Fawn
11
13
15
16
17
Stone White
Olive
Bone
Cord
Light Gray
18 French Gray
19 Lichen
22 Light Blue
25 Pigeon
26 Down Pipe
27 Parma Gray
28 Dead Salmon
30 Hague Blue
31 Railings
32 Cooking Apple Green
34 Calke Green
Description / Recommended Undercoats
Neutral. No date, simply the colour of untinted brightest white limewash or soft distemper. Use Undercoat
Neutral/Cool. Best used in well lit spaces. This is a John Fowler colour. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Neutral. This is a bright non-coloured white. Use in place of brilliant white. Paler than No. 4 Old White with
which it could be used as a picking-out colour. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Neutral. This colour will look white in almost any 'old' situation. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Neutral. The colourway used to touch up old white limewash at Hardwick Hall. Probably not thought of as
white except in large areas or with strong dark colours. Use Undercoat No. 5.
Warm. John Sutcliffe's colour taken from a Nash house in Regent's Park. Use Undercoat No. 10.
Warm/Neutral. One of a series of pale earth pigment based colours which have been in continuous use
either as an off-white with brighter colours or as its own colour with a brighter white. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Warm. An often quoted colour in 18th and 19th century decorating accounts for both walls and woodwork.
Use Undercoat No. 15.
Cool. Cooler again, but still not specifically coloured. A 'Palladian' colour. Use Undercoat No. 15.
Cool. As used in early 18th century panel rooms. A true earth green. Use Undercoat No. 18.
Cool. As woodwork or to stimulate palest stone. Very good with the richness of some wallpapers. Use
A lively warm colour to put with natural materials. Use Undercoat No. 15.
Neutral. As a stone by itself or would appear white if used with, for example, No. 56 Etruscan Red. Use
Undercoat No. 10.
As the name suggests, also much used in 19th century wallpapers. Use Undercoat No. 32.
Quieter and subtler than No. 13 Olive for well lit rooms. Use Undercoat No. 18.
Neutral. All colour cards must surely include a light blue, but it is one of the peculiarities of the colour blue
to build up in intensity when painted in a room. If you wish for a slightly light blue room this, rather than the
more obviously blue blues, is the one to try. Use Undercoat No. 22.
Based on late 18th and 19th century paint sections. Use Undercoat No. 22.
A colour appropriate to imitate lead on exterior ironwork and to help 'lose' plumbing against brickwork. Use
Undercoat No. 26.
John Fowler's name and colour sample, though surely based on 1830's and 1840's schemes. Use
The name comes from a painting bill for the library at Kedleston of 1805, though in fact analysis suggests
that the colour is far closer to No. 21 Ointment Pink. Dead Salmon as depicted here is rather more 'tired' in
character than it once was. Use Undercoat No. 10.
A strong blue, reminiscent of Dutch external woodwork. Use Undercoat No. 26.
A dark bronze colour, suitable for exterior ironwork in place of the usual black. Use Undercoat No. 26.
An old fashioned non-strongly coloured green made from common earth pigments and lamp black rather
than the newly developed 19th century chemical pigments. Use Undercoat No. 32.
This is a colour based directly on a cleaned version of the breakfast room at Calke Abbey. Use Undercoat
36 Mahogany
37 Hay
39 Fowler Pink
40 Mouse's Back
42 Picture Gallery Red
43 Eating Room Red
44 Cream
47 Green Smoke
49 Porphyry Pink
50 Book Room Red
51 Sudbury Yellow
52 Straw
57 Off-Black
59 New White
60 Smoked Trout
64 Red Earth
66 India Yellow
67
68
69
70
71
73
74
75
76
Farrow's Cream
Dorset Cream
Print Room Yellow
Orangery
Pale Hound
Ciara Yellow
Citron
Ball Green
Folly Green
A standard and very useful colour as used to imitate mahogany both internally and externally and in place of
graining. An example of this colour exists today on the doors in the Marble Hall at Kedleston. Use
A bright but not excessively 'hot' yellow. An early 19th century colour. Use Undercoat No. 37.
A colour John Fowler often used for paints and wallpapers, invariably used as a glaze. Use Undercoat No.
A quiet, neutral dark stone or drab colour. Not to be recommended for use with white but very useful as an
early 18th century colour. Use Undercoat No. 18.
Based on the Picture Gallery at Attingham Park, but much cleaner and as a solid colour not a varnished
colour. Use Undercoat No. 49.
A deep red, popular around the middle of the 19th century and made possible with the discovery of new
pigments. It is related to red damask colourings. Use Undercoat No. 49.
A standard for any colour card and based only on the addition of yellow ochre and in this case a little lamp
black. Use Undercoat No. 1.
An uncertain green/blue/grey colour popular in the second half of the 19th century. Use Undercoat No. 18.
This colour was often used on walls as a foil to porphyry details such as columns during the Regency
period. Use Undercoat No. 49.
To do the work of either No. 42 Picture Gallery Red or No. 43 Eating Room Red but in smaller rooms. Use
Undercoat No. 49.
An interpretation in a solid unbroken colour of John Fowler's wall colour for the staircase at Sudbury Hall,
Derbyshire. Use Undercoat No. 37.
A brighter version of John Fowler's 'straw left out in the rain' colour. Use Undercoat No. 37.
More flattering to other adjacent paint colours than jet black. Use Undercoat No. 26.
Neutral. Lighter than the much used No. 3 Off-White, this colour is also slightly warmer. An ideal 'white' for
use with some of the brighter colours. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral/Warm. A paler, less coloured version of No. 28 Dead Salmon. Use Undercoat No. 15.
A paler version of No. 232 Loggia. Use Undercoat No. 10.
First available in England in the 18th century this pigment was produced by reducing the bright yellow urine
of cows fed on a special diet of mango leaves. Use Undercoat No. 37.
Farrow & Ball's original cream. Use Undercoat No. 1.
A darker and more yellow version of No. 67 Farrow's Cream. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Farrow & Ball mixed this colour for an early restoration of an 18th century print room. Use Undercoat No.
Typical 18th century terracotta colour much used in orangeries. Use Undercoat No. 37.
For the effect of No. 2 Hound Lemon when used in smaller rooms. Use Undercoat No. 1.
A typical bright Irish yellow as ordered for a project in County Cork. Use Undercoat No. 37.
A 19th century trade name for a strong fairly acid yellow. Use Undercoat No. 37.
An old fashioned distemper colour from the archives. Use Undercoat No. 15.
A late 18th century neo-classical green, somewhat paler than the fashionable No. 33 Pea Green. Use
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Card Room Green
Saxon Green
Breakfast Room Green
Dix Blue
Chappell Green
Green Blue
Oval Room Blue
86 Stone Blue
88 Lamp Room Gray
89
91
92
93
Lulworth Blue
Blue Gray
Castle Gray
Studio Green
95 Black Blue
96 Radicchio
201 Shaded White
202
203
204
205
206
208
210
211
212
Pink Ground
Tallow
Pale Powder
Skylight
Green Ground
Ringwold Ground
Blue Ground
Stony Ground
Blazer
213 Savage Ground
214 Arsenic
For those who think this colour too drab, try with No. 10 Fawn. Use Undercoat No. 18.
An early pre-British Standard colour found on paint makers' cards. Use Undercoat No. 32.
This colour is lively both by day and candlelight. Use Undercoat No. 32.
A cleaner version of No. 23 Powder Blue. Use Undercoat No. 22.
This colour will at times read green, at other times blue, depending on what colours are put with it. Use
Or should it be Blue Green? See explanation of No. 83 Chappell Green. Use Undercoat No. 18.
A typical late 18th, early 19th century colour which appears time and again in paint analysis. A lighter
version of No. 14 Berrington Blue. Use Undercoat No. 18.
Indigo, as imported in the 18th century, came in lumps and was often known as 'stone blue'. This was a
distemper colour. Use Undercoat No. 18.
A match to the original white which had dirtied down due to the trimming of lamp wicks. See also No. 5
Hardwick White. Use Undercoat No. 22.
A much used archive colour named by Norman Chappell of Farrow & Ball. Use Undercoat No. 22.
Try to view this colour in isolation from the others. Use Undercoat No. 15.
First used on the exterior woodwork of a stone castle. A good period green for exterior use. Use
The best very dark colours often appear black on colour cards and only show their colour when painted on
larger areas. Use Undercoat No. 26.
This colour is definitely blue when painted in large areas. It’s a blue version of No. 93 Studio Green. Use
Undercoat No. 26.
A cleaner, less aged version of No. 43 Eating Room Red. This is a strong red tempered by magenta. Use
Undercoat No. 49.
Neutral. Just darker than No. 3 Off-White and lighter than No.4 Old White. This can also be used as a light
'drab' colour. Use Undercoat White.
The lightest red of our wallpaper ground colours. Use Undercoat White.
Warm. A light off-white with a yellow tint. Use Undercoat White.
A pale, less coloured version of No. 23 Powder Blue. Use Undercoat White.
A definite light blue, lighter and cleaner than No. 22 Light Blue. Use Undercoat White.
One of our wallpaper ground colours based on No. 32 Cooking Apple Green. Use Undercoat White.
Warm. An off-white colour similar to No. 3 Off-White but with greater warmth. Use Undercoat White.
A blue wallpaper ground first used in our Damask collection. Use Undercoat No. 22.
A beige coloured wallpaper ground colour. Use Undercoat No. 1.
A bright vermillion red similar to the colour of the sports blazer worn at St. John's College, Cambridge. Use
Undercoat No. 49.
A wallpaper ground colour favoured by Dennis Savage, a block printer par excellence. Use Undercoat No.
A green verdigris wallpaper ground colour first used on our Napoleonic Bee wallpaper. Use Undercoat No.
217 Rectory Red
218 Yellow Ground
220 Pitch Blue
222 Brinjal
223 Babouche
226 Joa's White
227 Archive
228 Cornforth White
229 Elephant's Breath
230 Calamine
231 Setting Plaster
233 Dayroom Yellow
234 Vert De Terre
235 Borrowed Light
236 Teresa's Green
237 Cook's Blue
239 Wimborne White
Vermillion, as in No. 212 Blazer, red was often made cheaper by the addition of red lead which blackens
with age, so changing the colour to Rectory Red. Use Undercoat No. 49.
One of our yellow wallpaper ground colours. Use Undercoat No. 37.
A strong definite blue made warm by the addition of magenta. Use Undercoat No. 22.
Often requested for interior walls as aubergine. This colour originated as a 19th century estate colour. Use
Undercoat No. 49.
The brightness of this yellow will intensify on large areas, so best trial in situ with a sample pot. Use
Warm. For devotees of No. 3 Off-White, Joa's White, though just darker, has none of the coolness or
perceived greenish nature of No. 3 Off-White. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Warm. Just darker and warmer than No. 226 Joa's White, this colour would normally be seen as a buff and
not an off-white unless used with strong dark colours. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Neutral/Cool. In memory of John Cornforth, architectural historian and author of the landmark publication
'English Decoration in the 18th Century' and a friend to the historic interior, who guided the working lives of
so many involved in their decoration. John was foremost in the 1970's and 1980's in reviving the Georgian
palette of off-whites, stones, drabs and buffs. Use Undercoat White.
Warm/Neutral. A personal match for this famously named colour by John Fowler. Some colour experts
believe it should be darker and more 'slimey' in colour?! Use as a colour in its own right, or as part of a
'stone' scheme. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Pinks do not always sit readily in the Farrow & Ball pallette yet colours like this one appeared regularly in
country house anterooms and boudoirs from the 1870's on into Edwardian times. Use Undercoat White.
A definite pink in historical terms, this colour will reward those looking for a solid paint colour to reflect the
colour of plaster. Try using as a wall colour with lighter, cool whites. Use Undercoat White.
So popular throughout the 1980's and 1990's, these sunny yellows actually have their origins in the England
of the 1820's. A typical Soanian or Regency colour. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Reminiscent of the pigment green earth and amusingly to most of us sounding like the French for worm,
this is an excellent green. Darker and cooler than the much used No. 32 Cooking Apple Green, yet lighter
and less stony coloured than No. 11 Stone White. Use Undercoat No. 15.
A perfect bedroom light blue wall colour, though it can also be used as a complement to darker colours. Use
Undercoat White.
Just lighter in tone than the popular No. 84 Green Blue, this colour is also slightly warmer. Though originally
found in the 18th century, it has been used and reused by successive generations ever since. Use
Reminiscent of Cook's Blue as in the Farrow & Ball book 'Paint & Colour in Decoration'. Often
found in kitchens and larders during the 19th century in the belief that flies never land on it. Use Undercoat
Neutral/Warm. Sits between No. 2005 All White and No. 2003 Pointing®. Named after the historic Dorset
town in which John Farrow & Richard Ball founded Farrow & Ball in the 1930s.
240 Cats Paw
241 Skimming Stone
242 Pavilion Gray
243 Charleston Gray
244 London Clay
245 Middleton Pink
246 Cinder Rose
247 Terre d'Egypte
248 Incarnadine
249 Lancaster Yellow
250 Tunsgate Green
251 Churlish Green
252 Pavilion Blue
253 Drawing Room Blue
254 Pelt
255
256
264
265
266
Tanners Brown
Pitch Black
Oxford Stone
Manor House Gray
Mizzle
267 Dove Tale
Stronger in colour than its counterparts No. 8 String® and No. 16 Cord®, this is a good yellow-based
neutral. Try alongside darker reds and warm blues.
A highly versatile off-white, without the common undertone of green or yellow. ‘Skimming’ refers to its
original use as a 19th century skim colour or whitewash, today equally useful as an all round white.
Cool. A lighter, less blue version of No. 88 Lamp Room Gray®, reminiscent of an elegant colour used in
Sweden in the late 18th century under Gustav III. For a clean contrast use No.
2001 Strong White®.
Strong neutral. The Bloomsbury Group used this colour extensively, both in interior decoration and on
Less green and consequently warmer than many of the darker neutrals in our palette. A charming brown,
darker than No. 6 London Stone and works well as a colour in its own right.
A lighter, more delicate version of No. 202 Pink Ground®.
Cool. Contains no more than a hint of the yellow pigment found in many common pinks
Reds are notoriously difficult to use, often because they are seen with the wrong white. Try No. 226 Joa’s
White® to complement the strength of this terracotta red.
A rich crimson red, similar to the red gloss paint used by the late David Hicks at Baron’s Court in the 1970s.
This pale yellow is derived from a paint colour at Nancy Lancaster’s mid-20th century home, Kelmarsh Hall
in Northamptonshire.
A delicate pale yellowish green, this colour can be used with a clean white to maintain its clarity or against
much darker colours to act as an interesting neutral.
This yellow-green colour has been used decoratively for centuries, both on its own and as a ground beneath
patterned wallpapers. Good contrast to Tanner’s Brown No. 255.
This colour is to No. 204 Pale Powder, as No. 71 Pale Hound® is to No. 2 Hound Lemon®.
A traditional ‘salon’ blue, this colour’s clean hue is reminiscent of the pigment Cobalt, used by artists and
discerning decorators ever since its discovery in the 19th century.
Darker and less red than No. 222 Brinjal®, the perception of this colour will vary greatly depending on what
other colours are used with it.
Earth browns are the most timeless of decorative tones. Almost-black, equally suited to a loft apartment or
A truer, more intense black than No. 57 Off-Black.
Darker and warmer than Archive and Joa's White. The perfect combination with London Stone for a warm
A traditional 18th century colour. A definite grey which also sits happily in contemporary interiors.
A soft blue grey reminiscent of a west country evening mist. The blue will become more intense when
painted in a smaller room.
Some see this colour as a grey while to others it appears to be warmer and more stony. Typical of the
colours used by the Bright Young Things between the wars.
268 Charlotte's Locks
269 Cabbage White
270
271
272
2001
Calluna
Brassica
Plummett
Strong White
2002 White Tie
2003 Pointing
2004 Slipper Satin
2005 All White
2006 Great White
2008 Dimity
2009 Clunch
2010 James White
2011 Blackened
2012 House White
2013 Matchstick
Highly dramatic and extremely fasionable especially when combined with Railings. Widely used as an
accent in the minimalist decoration of the 1950s. Due to the high level of pigmentation in this colour, we
strongly recommend using a Farrow & Ball primer & undercoat in colour No 49 to achieve optimum
A delightful clean colour that takes its name from the distinctive wings of the cabbage white butterfly.
Slightly lighter and warmer than Borrowed Light.
A much requested pretty heather colour. Warm but with an element of sophistication due to the addition of
An aged darker version of Calluna. This colour comes alive when combined with Calluna and Pelt.
A lighter version of Down Pipe, imitating lead. Appropriate for interior as well as exterior use as often in
Neutral. A bright, clean white when used with dark colours. Or if used with light colours it becomes cool.
Use Undercoat White.
Warm/Neutral. The white of old, pre-brightened, starched cotton. Use Undercoat White.
Warm/Neutral. Named after the colour of lime pointing used in traditional brickwork. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral. A very successful off-white for woodwork with strong colours or as a wall colour used with many of
the other whites, both lighter and darker. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral. Only different coloured white pigments but no modern brighteners used to formulate this bright
white. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral/Warm. A bright white but one which is neither 'yellow' nor 'cold'. Use Undercoat White.
Warm. Most used as a wall colour in its own right with No. 2005 All White or No. 2003 Pointing on
woodwork and ceiling. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral. As in the chalk stone building blocks used in East Anglia. A very versatile off-white. Use
Neutral. A discerning James whose name appears over and over again requesting this lightish broken offwhite for use with Farrow & Ball colours. Use Undercoat White.
Neutral/Cool. Simply made with the addition of 'lamp black', a pigment made by collecting the residue from
burnt lamp oil. To be used as a white with strong colours or as a colour of its own with, for example, No.
2005 All White or No. 2003 Pointing. Use Undercoat White.
Warm. A light yellowed off-white. Use Undercoat No. 1.
Warm. Mostly used as a warm wall colour with lighter cooler woodwork and ceiling whites. Use Undercoat