I would pull up the closest Benjamin Moore matches and use those. Even if they are not perfect matches they would be so close that once in place I doubt there would be a discernible difference, and you could rely on them being able to pull up the shade out of their own system should you want more of it in a few years.

I've done 2 houses in F&B and gone through the color match. I wouldn't bother.

I would go with the close matches -- and Bennie has so many great colors it's possible.

F&B is the only paint not mixed in paint stores, it's done in their factory in England. The base is unique in terms of finished texture and they put in more than double the amount of pigments used in Moore (partly why it costs more).

It doesn't really color match and it's not worth the trouble IME as there's no real gain.

Thank you all!

It sounds like my best bet would be to use the closest shades rather than mixing.

I confess - i did ask them to make up a sample of F&B Down Pipe for me. I like it but I suspect that if I used it (rather than a BM shade that's close) I will always wonder what the actual Down Pipe would have looked like.

I have 2 more questions if you don't mind:

1) would you say that the first BM color they pull up is the closest? Or do i still need to look at all the shades they pull up before I decide which to go for?

2) what color would you say BM Ashwood Moss (1484) actually is? In the color swatch (whatever it's called ) I got from the BM store, it looked like an interesting dark greeney-gray. In the painted sample the painter gave me, it looks more blue-y gray. I looked at it in different lights and it still doesn't look terribly gray. I like it and am considering it but wondered what you paint experts thought.

Just as a fyi, I'm trying to decide between the Down Pipe (ie the closest BM match to it) and the Ashwood Moss. Other cabs will be Morrocon Red which is one of the matches (ie not the first one they pulled up) for F&B Blazer. What do you think?

Thanks very, very much,
ella

I have had them mix it to match and to me it matches perfectly. Pretty much everyone can mix everyone else's colors.

If you like a color, why sweat picking one that's "close". Give them the Fnb name and number, they look it up and it's done.

You can't really go by the name, when it says blue, green, grey...you really need to see how it looks in your environment or lighting. The swatch of my color looks greenish grey in the paint store, and is on a card with other colors that are definitely grey with a green cast. In my north facing apartment it looks distinctly blue: warm but blue. Many "blues" I tried took on a distinctly purplish tone in my LR.

oh yes --- regardless of whose paint colors you use, of course test it on a patch of wall at diff times of day and under diff lights

Downpipe is one of my favorite colors. It's dark/charcoal gray, pretty much the color of stainless steel. It has a every so slight yellow undertone.

The machines that duplicate colors these days are very good. So if you give them a downpipe swatch they will get you very close. But you can't get the undertones or the same degree of color shift. If you feel you want it matched and it looks the same to you then no harm.

In general with swatches the larger the better. I put them on 24 x 36 poster boards and tape them to the wall in the room they will be used in with the light bulbs that will be used if possible. Two of those big swatches on the wall are better than one. Because that's the only way you see it vertically and can see the undertone. Do you want green-gray or gray green? Is the gray-blue better?

Don't forget if you're using red that red and green are opposites on the color wheel so they will intensify/affect each other. I call it push. With red, a gray-green might look a bit greener. Why I'd look at big samples together and separately (and not paint them on the wall which can confuse the eye).

The color that works best in your room is IMO more important than any specific color. It's a funny thing because the color looks different horizontal and in my house different in front and in back.

If 2 colors will be next to each other -- say one a wall color and the other for cabinets, paint big swatches of each to see how they work. Very dark colors (like downpipe) can take up more visual space than they actually cover.

I think of paint color like dominos and test with the biggest possible swatches I can move around. Some color consultants tell me they even tape them together or go around a corner to see how it will work.

You do not have to give them a swatch and have them match. That is old technology. It's fine if you want to match a color that is not a paint. Ben Moore even has a cool iphone app for that. Take a photo of the sky and they will tell you the paint color!

But I digress ...

You are not having them match a swatch. You just tell them the make and name and number of the paint; you dont bring anything with you, you can do it over the phone. They know the formula to match the color. I painted my MBR in Ringwold Ground Farrow and Ball 208. Then a year or so later I went to the paint store and told them to make me Farrow and Ball 208 using Ben Moore. It matched perfectly.

I've just painted half my house with BM Aura, and I absolutely love the stuff. F&B sounds like great stuff, but it wasn't worth the hassle and expense to me.

Mtndredux is right, they shouldn't have a problem mixing up whatever you want based on the recipe from their database. There's always a small chance that another batch down the line will not be 100% identical to the one you get now (that's true regardless of what brand makes the color), so I just make sure I overestimate what I need a little and have a bit leftover for future touch-ups.

I think the Down Pipe would look wonderful with the Moroccan Red. Sounds like you are going for dramatic with a pair like that!

With all due respect, the idea of colormatching paints that have 12-20 pigments is ... uh, sheer unadulterated rot. Old colour-match technology or new - unless they know precisely what the colourants are that go into any particular colour, they won't be able to colour match it. I've watched 'em try - they eyeball it to decide when they've got it. Well, if they're very good, they've only got the colours that they can see in that light at that time of day / part of the store . My F&B (or DKC) painted walls - even my BM ones - change as the day progresses or which side of the house they're in. Some paints change more than others - if they have more colourants for instance. Well, that paint match is such a static thing that they can't reproduce the same colour.

Shucks, the paint shop couldn't even "perfectly" reproduce a certain RH (or Valspar?) colour I wanted to get - and that has far fewer pigments than an F&B. I gave them the paint name/number, they went to their computer, gave me something, I had the painters use it. Later that day, I dabbed a bit from my sample tin on the wall and to this day, there is a clear difference between my dab and the rest of the colour-matched wall. It is a fine colour - just no way is it the same thing.

My suggestion to the OP is also to go for the nearest colour in the BM that you like. You won't be getting the same thing - but you'll be getting a perfectly good BM paint colour that you liked for itself.

That said, I simply love my F&B walls in Strong White, Blackened, Lamp Room Grey, Pointing.

But, with, all due respect, they DO know precisely the colourants. At least some vendors have that information.

that's the change

A few years ago, a computer "read" a color and decided what the colourants were, by looking at a swatch or some type of sample.

Now, instead, you call them up and say "make me some such and such number such and such" .... There is no sample. There is no "eyeballing" Heck, they don't know if you asked for purple or white. But voila, i get a gallon that matches my FNB sample pot.

I do know that my painters really liked painting with my FnB "estate emulsion" paint (gotta love the name). I'm sure it's great stuff. But, as I said, i saw no difference when I did the adjoining room in a BM match, done formulaically.

Are they in fact ever-so-slightly different? They may well be. But it was not discernible to me in that instance or in the many instances in my new home, where I started with about 15 sample pots of neutrals and am now painting with BM matches.

If you are in the NYC area ella, you can some see for yourself. : )

mtnrdredux, see my paragraph 2 above. They took no sample. No eyeballing. Pulled up lists from computer based on the paint name and number. The proof of the pudding is in the eating ... and this for a paint that I expect will have BM's level of colourants - 2-6 per color.

No chance that technology is matching up an F&B or DK deck. ;-)

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all the replies! I'm so sorry I couldn't respond last night - right now (afternoon) is usually the best time for me on the computer.

I'll try to respond as best as I can:

mtnrdredux - thanks for all the info. I do understand that color matching/mixing is quite easy nowadays and the painters didn't have any trouble having the BM paint store mix Down Pipe for me. However, I do also appreciate what rococogurl was saying ie that while the paint store can mix a color to match the F&B paint, the mixed color will never have the same level of complexity and depth of color one would expect from the F&B paint because of the pigments F&B uses. I'm paraphrasing of course, but that is what I understood from rococogurl and mindstorm.

palimpsest (great name!) - thanks for the feedback. My BM ashwood moss still looks more blue than green in all the lights and angles I've looked at it but it's growing on me :)

dee850 - thanks for the thumbs up. I am leaning towards the ashwood moss+moroccon red combo. I love the Down Pipe (even in it's mixed-at-BM-store-shade) but can't fully justify the cost. Yes, going for a dramatic look!

rococogurl - thank you for all the advice. I really want to go with the Down Pipe (ie the F&B paint) but can't fully justify the cost - despite having contemplated it all this while. Your advice, and the advice of most of the respondents here, was to go with the closest BM shade rather than trying to get a color-matched paint. However I'm panicking that I won't have time to get all the samples and stare at them long enough to decide on a color! There was a hiccup with the work order and a possibility of canceling/postponing, which is why I'm now in a bit of a rush.

So! End result - I'm most likely going with the ashwood moss+moroccon red combo.

mindstorm - thanks. I do have a question about the F&B Blackened - exactly what color is it? In the brochure, it looks more gray but online it looks more beige-y. I like Cornforth White for the kitchen walls (the closest BM shade is Nimbus) which seems more gray...

Thanks all,
ella

Mindstorm and I both have blackened painted in our houses. I have it here in my work room and in the adjacent hallway and in DH's work room. She actually encouraged me to try it out a few years ago and it's a fabulous, wonderfully liveable and versatile color which has made me really happy.

Right now it's pale blue with a lavender tinge. At night it looks bluer. Gray-blue in the morning. Nothing whatsoever to do with beige. It's basically white with lamp black, which goes blue but very very soft. But I'm on the 12th floor with north light. It isn't especially gray -- f.ex. not like Cornforth. A true gray is Pavilion -- it's the Gustavian gray or the color of gray pearls and for them, has no real color shift.

Which deck are you using? The folding one with tiny swatches isn't color-accurate but the fandeck with the long large swatches is. So if you happen to be working from the free folding swatch card (which I did for a long time until amysrq, bless her forever, lent me her large fandeck for about a year) and do want to color-match, I'd use the swatch not the formula. F&B has its quirks for sure. Anyone pressed for time would has much more security with Moore's colors.

ella,

Rococogurl is right - it is a pale-blue that with a silver or lavender (I often can never tell, really) tint and in my house also it goes greyer blue in the morning - lavendery/silver blue in the evening (I think. I'm not at home just now to check). Beige? That's your monitor speaking. Promise, because I will second Rococogurl that there's no beige there at all.

Basically it is a sophisticated, grown-up pale blue. Normally, the trouble with buying a pale blue paint when you want a sophisticated pale blue is that it goes little-boy-nursery blue - I've repainted so many times for this reason. Blackened is basically lamp black pigment in white. This reads blue but because it is formed from black, it is a pale blue which, as Rocs says: "is wonderfully liveable" and not nursery blue at all.

It is very very calming.

That said, I'm in Boston, MA, Rocs is in NYC i.e. we're both in the North East. Someone we both know in Southern California tried F&B Blackened and said she felt she'd been locked up in a gun ship. Apparently it is a dodgy, dull, depressing grey shade in SoCal. I suppose there must be *some* blessings to not be in SoCal - Ours are that we get to enjoy Blackened ;-)

So, bewarned that geography matters when it comes to F&B. Or at least, F&B Blackened.

Hi rococogurl and mindstorm,

I really appreciate the quick replies (and glad I made time to check this evening).

Thanks for explaining about the Blackened. It looks really, really nice and I was curious about whether it would suit my color combo for the kitchen which has lots of white wall space with high ceilings and will soon have the dark cabinets with the red doors on another wall. I'm looking for a gray that will complement the cabs but not stand out too much (as I suspect the Pavilion will) since the rest of the loft/apartment has white walls.

rococogurl - yes, I'm using the folding swatch card that I picked up at their store in Soho.

I know I'm crazy to ask this (since I did mention cost previously) but since you're both so familiar with paint (!), if I were able to splurge on the F&B paint for only one thing, do you think it should be on the wall paint or on the cabinets? (keep in mind that I'm considering gray for the walls)

And one last question! Do either of you have a suggestion for an orangey-red that is a little brighter than the morrocon red (1309)?

Thanks in advance,
ella

ella, if you're here in town, I can mail you an actual swatch of blackened from my touch up pot. Send me an email at yahoo if you want it.

I don't see blackened with red and green. It's really not a gray though it looks gray on the swatch. It goes blue on the wall. Skimming Stone might work better as it's pale gray. Alternately Cornforth White, a bit darker.

Mindstorm may have another view on when F&B is worth it as a splurge. She also loves/knows Skimming Stone I believe.

The Estate Emulsion has a very special velvety surface texture when it dries (which it also does quickly and with almost no odor at all). I feel it improves the look of a wall (ours are pre-war plaster) plus it's very matte. The Estate Emulsion is what they're famous for. Any important walls provided they won't get a lot of bumping or fingermarks. It does clean up surprisingly well I find.

I'd say worth it if the color is real shifter with lots of pigments and drama, or you need something muted in a special way or very drab, or one of the darker hues. Those are their specialties.

Apologies but I'm not familiar with BM Moroccan Red as I don't have that fandeck.

I agree with rococogurl - I don't see blackened with a red or a green either. It may be fine but I can't say that I can easily resolve such a -to me- complex pairing in my minds eye .

Rocs says Skimming Stone and while I don't have it, I stared at it long and hard and indeed it may be a good choice with reds and greens. Now that's a grey that does have a decided beige/tan component to it. If that is too dark for you, I have Strong White on my walls which I love. In my house, it has a pale greenish-grey cast to it - rather the colour of "natural cashmere" if you will ;-) I think those must go pretty well with red and green - I mean to say, red, green and cashmere do perfectly well for Christmas, don't they? ;-)

Hmmm, walls vs. cabs. Gosh, that's a tough one. I'm trying to decide if I like my F&B walls more or my F&B woodwork more. I don't know.

Rocs is right that the Estate Emulsion is simply grand. Also you get the advantage of the expanse with your high walls by getting paint on the walls.
However, depending on the colour you pick and where you have it (and some bad juju about your house), you may have burnishing issues. I'm inclined to say their greys burnish as Pirula and Rocs both swear they can clean the walls perfectly while my Blackened walls do burnish as does my Lamp Room Grey. Strong White - which is on most of the walls in my house - not really much at all. So that's a consideration.

All the woodwork in my house (doors, trim, windows) is Pointing in the Eggshell - it looks like bone china. Almost has that translucence and it feels great. Rococogurl has kitchen cabinets in F&B so if she says walls, then I'd back her as she has the most direct parallel with your situation.

On that note, I really don't think that F&B is that much of a splurge. A gallon of F&B really really goes far. Now, if your painters are like mine, you may still have a big outlay because they'll purchase based on a "safe" estimate and then you'll have gads of left-over paint. That's how I came to have Strong White in 4 rooms in my house with 2.5 gallons *still* left over (they asked for 4 or 5 gallons to paint my living and dining rooms). I have 9+ foot ceilings also and my living room is about 30feet long and the dining about 20feet long. Well, after 2 coats, they'd only used 1.5 gallons of the 4 or 5 gallons they had me buy! I could have bathed in the left over Strong White for a week.

Are you familiar with Crown Point Cabinetry? Many people on the Kitchen Forum love their stuff. They now have an option of using Farrow and Ball for their painted cabinets. You may want to ask folks about their experience with the finishes. Or put out an APB for Pirula, who posts on occasion, has those cabinets and used F&B on her walls. As for me, well, I'm a devoted F&B fan, all the more so when I'm doing the painting myself. Love the pudding consistency, get no migraines or sneezing fits; the velvety, flat finish makes me want to stroke it, there's no splatter, and I've yet to get a bad result. I have never painted cabinets myself, though, only walls and ceilings. I probably would not recommend the Estate Emulsion for a kitchen wall, though. Too flat for walls that might encounter a grease splatter every now and again. I'd opt for the Modern (which I've used and enjoy) or Eggshell (which I've not).

Here is a link that might be useful: Pretty, pretty cabinets

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies!

rococogurl - thank you for offering to send me a swatch of the Blackened. What a nice gesture! I think I'll take your word, and mindstorm's, that Blackened does not appear beige at all (my mistake obviously) and that it won't work for my color combo. I'm now looking at a BM color for the walls called Graytint that might have the right amount of gray for my kitchen - another one would be the BM Horizons but that seems as if it'll appear more gray on my high walls than I would like.

Also, thanks for responding about the moroccon red :)

mindstorm - I was so surprised to read that you stared long and hard at the Skimming Stone to consider whether it would match my color scheme. That was a really nice thing to do for an anonymous someone on a board. Thank you! I looked at Strong White again and it does look like it could work.

One thing that rococogurl said that has given me food for thought is that she'd say getting the paint was worth it if the color was a real shifter with lots of pigments and drama. It's made me think again about all the painted surfaces and colors in the kitchen and I'm now seriously considering making my one splurge the Blazer - it will get different light throughout the day and since it's so bold, maybe that's the color I should 'invest' in? The "shifter...pigment and drama" makes sense to me.

kitchendetective - thanks for the advice about choosing the right finish for possible grease/splatters. If I go BM Aura for the walls, would you still recommend Eggshell finish?

rococogurl/mindstorm - question about finishes, now that kitchendetective has me thinking about that. The salesperson at F&B told me that I should get the Estate Eggshell for cabinets. That has a 20% sheen. What does that translate into for BM Aura? Is it satin? Also, what finish would you recommend for the walls if I use Aura?

Thank you!
ella

Blazer is a great color. No idea about the shift on it but it would work on bottom cabinets especially and it won't go nuclear as it's muted enough.

I've got all 3 finishes in my kitchen and dining room which are open to each other. The kitchen photos show what the Eggshell looks like on old cabinets, inside and out. Blazer is a bit brighter than my Dauphin. Uppers are Stony Ground.

The kitchen walls are Modern Emulsion, which is slightly slick and similar to one of the Aura swatches I tried. But I've also seen matte Aura -- best to ask at the paint store.

Stony Ground in Estate Emulsion is on my dining room walls which have an almost velvet-chalky texture -- the effect is like plaster. The trim is Eggshell White Tie. Color aside, Estate is the most beautiful finish and where the additional cost is most evident. Eggshell is second for me -- though it's excellent too.

BM Eggshell and F&B Eggshell but both are very good choices. The way I see it -- completely unscientifically but to my eye -- is that F&B dries down to a thicker skin than Moore and is a bit more matte even at 20% sheen. I find that highly desirable on older woodwork with bumps and layers though it might be far less of a factor on new woodwork since there's less to hide. Have not used the Aura Eggshell/Satin so I cannot comment.

Perhaps you already know the F&B showroom in the D&D building where they have actual brush-out samples on large swatch cards and on wood. If there was time to take the BM samples by there it would be easy to compare/contrast and see how everything interacts.

Hi all! This is my first posting on this website, being as I am a UK blogger who accidently stumbled across this site when blog surfing!
I just wanted to add that I was interested in this post because I am currently in the midst of renovating my kitchen and we have painted all the cabinets (the ones made so far-my poor husband is making everything himself!!!) in Farrow & Ball eggshell Cornforth White. It's a gorgeous soft looking Georgian pale grey-our bathroom panelling is in F&B Blackened eggshell which is a bluer,colder sort of grey.
Out of the two colours my favourite is Cornforth White. We have always painted our units in eggshell-it gives a tough long-lasting finish with a very slight sheen!
I LOVE this website-it's such an inspiration, as my favourite kitchen inspiration designs are all American-there are not really many equivalents in the UK!!! We are trying to incorporate some American style inspiration from some of my favourite USA kitchens, such as dark wooden floors, RH style pull handles, grey units, little hanging pendant over the sink!!!! If only RHardware shipped abroad!!
Anyway, thanks for all the fun!!

sjmtr -- so nice to read your post. Would love to see pix of your cabinets in Cornforth White if you have any.

Also, there is a UK kitchen blog I really enjoy which I'll link below. I find her very smart and current but that's from an American perspective. Perhaps you'll enjoy it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Clarity

Hi rococogurl thanks for the welcome! I would gladly post some photos of our kitchen makeover (we are working on a teeny tiny budget though, so our kitchen is nothing like the beautiful ones on here!!!) but I haven't got a clue how to add photos to this post! I read the instructions but they didn't explain very well! Can anyone help-I'm a bit of a novice at all this-I tried to copy and paste a photo but obvoiusly that's not right!
Any help will be much appreciated!!!

Hi all again! It seems really complicated to add photos, think will have to admit defeat! I could add a link to my UK little blog if anyone really would like to see how the colour looks on kitchen cabinets but am not sure if that's allowed on here or whether it's frowned upon as I don't want to seem to be promoting my blog, which I'm not!!!!
I'll continue to browse though and enjoy all your lovely photos! Thanks again rococogurl for the welcome to Gardenweb!

Welcome to GW. Please post a link to your blog. I'd love to see.

I actually live in Alabama, but had my cabinetry made in England. Used thre F&B colors. Sounds like we both wanted a kitchen unlike our neighbors. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen

then close with

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Won't let me put it correctly, or in one post. lol

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Thank you so much for the help Allison-I will try it now on a separate message called Farrow & Ball Cornforth White kitchen! Your kitchen is so stunning-puts our homemade one to shame!!! I LOVE the colours you used and the layout, it's wonderful!! Will save your photos to my folder!
Thanks again to all the kind helpers out there from a novice in England!!

Hi Rococogurl,

Thank you. You've been so great with all the advice and the thoughtful responses. Your kitchen is gorgeous - and inspiring! Thanks for posting the photos!

The painting contract is for Aura paint and the painters want to use Satin on the walls as well as the cabinets. I think Satin would work for the cabinets - and I will talk to them Monday about eggshell on the walls.

I didn't know about the F&B showroom in the D&D Building! I went to the store in Soho that was very busy on the day I went and the salespeople were rather rushed. I was quite ready for a Down pipe+Blazer combo at the time :)

allison0704 - your kitchen is lovely! Certainly not a small nyc space!

sjmtr - you couldn't have posted at a better time for me! I loved Cornforth White when I turned my attention to color for the walls! I was curious about Blackened as well, but Cornforth White seemed like a better gray for our kitchen. Unfortunately I hadn't been thinking about walls when I went to the F&B store (duh) so didn't get a sample pot of any of the grays and whites.

So I called the BM store and asked what the closest match to Cornforth was and was told it was BM Nimbus. Painters gave me a painted sample and I decided it was too gray. I then found BM Graytint - and a sample pot at the local hardware store (that never has many samples) - and tried it directly on the wall. It looks great ... but may be too gray for us! Aaargh! Now that i see your beautiful Cornforth White kitchen, I'm soooo keen to try it! Does it appear more white than gray in real life? I'm looking for that perfect "white with just enough gray to be noticeably gray but still white"!

I am obviously no closer to making a firm decision on color than I was last time I posted! And I have to have everything confirmed by Monday - yikes!

Ok, going to stare at swatches again...

Thanks all,
ella

Hi Ella-it's so hard to get the right colour isn't it!! The Cornforth White is definitely more a pale grey than a white, even though its name suggests otherwise, so it may be too dark for you if you're after a white? It's a very soft looking grey, very Georgian. My wall colour is a couple of shades paler than the cabinets and it does look nice and calm! Hope this helps-it's good to see actual photos of things in colours that you're considering, rather than tiny paper swatch squares isn't it!!!

Hi smjtr,

thanks for getting back to me. I'm curious about your wall color - I thought it was also Cornforth White?

You're absolutely right about the tiny squares. I am going with BM color for the cabinets called Ashwood Moss which in the square was a greeney-gray but on the painted sample is closer to the F&B Railings rather than, for instance, the F&B Studio Green which I assumed it would resemble if it were greeny-grey! Oh well :)

ella

Hi Ella! My cabinets are Cornforth but my walls are lighter, a Cath Kidston colour called Antique Linen. The closest F&B matches would be James White or Slipper Satin.
Can't wait to see your colours you've picked, they sound lovely!!

I agree with sjf -- the James White is white with just a gray cast. I found Slipper Satin a bit pink but it's one of those that can work depending.

Painters will tell you satin will hold up better but it shows all. For me it depends on personal preference about matte vs sheen and condition of the walls. They all want to work with Aura as it goes on easily, 1 coat covers and it dries immediately. But it looks good and the result's the thing.

sjmtr - thank you for replying :)

rorocogurl - I'm now focusing on finishes (panicking actually) and re-read all the posts and looked at photos...

I prefer walls to be more matte and think there should be some sheen at least to cabinets (like in sjmtr's photos and certainly in yours).

The painters have said satin for cabs and walls but I'm wondering if I should ask them to go 1)Aura eggshell for both or 2)Aura eggshell for walls and Aura Satin for cabinets or 3)Aura matte for walls and Aura Satin for cabinets?

This is what I'm reading : http://www.breslow.com/index.php/Benjamin-Moore-Paints-and-Stains/Benjamin-Moore-Aura-Interior-Paint.html

Thanks for any advice - I know BM isn't your area of expertise but I do appreciate your thoughts!

thanks,
ella

Having established that you prefer matte and low sheen in general what's used depends on several factors.

First, if the kitchen is small, closed in, no window or has very little tile on backsplashes then the walls might need more durable paint. Aura matte is scrubbable but if a lot of cooking/broiling will be done i.e. hard use and it's only small spaces then eggshell could work.

If it's a more open kitchen, has a window or windows nearby, has proper vent hood extractor (vs recirulating or none) and there is tile/stone behind range and around sink -- iow the walls won't take grease and humidity beatings then you might get away with matte walls.

I'm reminded that DH's bathroom had a window sill we painted "out" with Aura Wenge Eggshell which was close to the window color. Perhaps that will help a bit as a reference for you on dark colors and the Eggshell sheen which the light conveniently highlights.

If you think it might help why not put up an "urgent" post asking specifically about the Aura finishes on kitchen walls and cabinets and asking for photos indicating which folks used.

I've used BM Aura on furniture - coffee table and a non-kitchen cabinet - in satin, and it's been bulletproof. I used eggshell on my walls, though not in a kitchen. Those walls haven't needed a lot of scrubbing, but on those occasions, they have cleaned up just fine. I'll be using the eggshell Aura in my kitchen when I get to it, I have no worries about the finish holding up.

Rococogurl - thank you again. We're going with Satin paint (brushed on) for the cabinets and eggshell for the walls. However, they now won't start in the kitchen until later this week so I needn't have panicked about confirming everything (although it was a good exercise in getting me to focus). Your husband's bathroom window looks very nice indeed in the photo! Hmm, maybe I should think eggshell for the cabinets as well...:)

dee850 - thank you for the timely feedback. It helped me make my decision about eggshell for the walls. And "bulletproof" is good!

Thanks again,
ella

ella, since you have a few days before they start in the kitchen I would ask them to paint some samples in the two finishes to live with for 48 hours. See how it all looks them in natural light and at night.

Any good painter should do this for your approval. They can easily get a pint of the colors in each finish -- eggshell and semi. You know how the flat will look.

It can be quite surprising to see how different various colors react at different times. Once they buy the paint and start there usually are upcharges should there be any changes.

Good luck with it and I hope you will post pics so we can all see how it came out.

Thanks rococogurl. I'll talk to them.

I am now looking for a new gray for the walls - will start a new thread. The BM Graytint is a great color but I'm now thinking it'll be too dark (the backsplash, which we're not changing, is a slate gray).

ella

Hi,

I know this is an old post, but you all seem so knowledgable...I am looking for a crisp white to paint the exterior of my farmhouse. We have now treid 7 whites and they all break yellow or grey in certain lights Do you think a Sherwin Williams version of Farrow and Ball's All White would work? Would it be too flat and bring, or would it look crisp and clean? If you have another suggestion, I would love to hear it!

Thank you!

In the UK. All White would be crisp and clean. I'd advise trying to find a match for Wimborne White though. It just has a chalkier feel whilst not being either grey or yellow. All White is stark white. Lacks the chalky depth that Wimborne has. Not sure what SW colour that would be though. And if All White is easier to match, you won't be disappointed.

Farrow and Ball are really hard to match but you will certainly get close and for whole house exterior, certainly not worth the huge cost F&B would be. Even for us in England where it is much more affordable.

Thank you! I do like the Wimborne a lot. I thought it was a bit yellow at night, but I think that is just because we have yellow lights nearby. I appreciate the feedback-such a big investment!

Thank you

I don't know Sherwin Williams paint colors so I cannot say how any one would match to F&B.

F&B All White is their brightest, whitest white without undertones if I recall correctly. What I do know is that most paint lines have an equivalent -- the brightest white. I would look at those from SW and from BM and others.

A lot of the way any white will look depends on location. The same white paint will look much different in Texas, where the light is very strong and New England where it may look more gray due to the light.

Noon has the brightest daylight. I would suggest looking at paint samples then. Also in the a.m. and late afternoon. See which looks best to you at all times of the day.

Thank you! I agree about the regional thing-Oakland has strange light-very changeable due to the weather and nearby ocean. I tried Decorators White (which I was told was a true white) and it looks green on the house. I am leaning towards Wimborne(ever so slightly creamy) now....my husband still likes Ibis (which has a pink undertone)....

Not sure I have it in me to try a 9th white :O

Here is a pic of our house https://www.houzz.com/discussions/farmhouse-white-exterior-paint-color-dsvw-vd~3476336

Have you ever seen Ibis white?