Little Greene vs Farrow & Ball: Which Paint Brand Is Right for Your London Interior?

Little Greene vs Farrow & Ball: A Decorator's Honest Comparison

Ask a decorator working in Belgravia, Chelsea or Kensington which paint they use most often and you will almost always get one of two answers: Little Greene or Farrow & Ball. These two British manufacturers dominate the premium paint market for London period property interiors, and the debate between their respective merits is a perennial one in professional decorating circles.

This guide gives an honest, technically grounded comparison — the kind you get from a decorator who has used both brands extensively on similar projects, rather than a marketing brochure or a review from someone who has painted one room with each brand.

Company Backgrounds

Farrow & Ball

Farrow & Ball was founded in Wimborne, Dorset in 1946 by Richard Ball and John Farrow. For decades it was primarily known as a manufacturer of traditional English paints using traditional ingredients and formulations. In the 1980s and 1990s it was adopted by the interior design world and became, during the early 2000s, something close to a cultural phenomenon — the Farrow & Ball colour chart became a shorthand for a certain kind of tasteful, heritage-influenced London interior.

The company was acquired by the American private equity firm Ares Management in 2014 for approximately £500 million, reflecting the remarkable growth of the brand. Today Farrow & Ball operates globally, has over 60 showrooms worldwide, and produces paint in its Wimborne factory. The brand's colour palette of 132 named colours (as of 2024) is highly curated and instantly recognisable.

Little Greene

Little Greene was founded in Manchester in 1773 as a colour and pigment manufacturer — making it, arguably, one of the oldest paint companies in Britain with a continuous manufacturing history. The modern company has its roots in the 1990s restoration and revival of the brand's traditional formulations.

Little Greene is less well known to the general public than Farrow & Ball but is widely used by professional decorators, architects and interior designers. It has a larger colour palette (over 300 colours), a more extensive range of specialist products, and a more robust trade programme. It remains a privately held British company.

Colour Quality and Palette

Farrow & Ball

Farrow & Ball's colour quality is its most distinctive and commercially powerful attribute. The paints are formulated with a high proportion of chalk and calcite in the extender package, combined with organic pigments, and this gives the colours a characteristic depth, complexity and translucency that is difficult to replicate in standard paint formulations.

In practice this means that Farrow & Ball colours:

• Read differently in different light conditions — a room painted in Elephant's Breath looks pale grey in morning light and almost lavender by evening. This responsiveness to light is a genuine quality.
• Have a characteristic chalky, slightly matte depth even in eggshell finishes that is unlike standard paint
• Can be harder to specify predictably — the colour chips in the Farrow & Ball deck are reasonably accurate but the wall appearance will surprise you

The palette of 132 colours is tight and well edited. There are very few colours that don't work, and the palette coheres as a collection — colours from different families tend to sit comfortably alongside each other.

Popular professional choices among London decorators: Elephant's Breath (warm grey, works everywhere), Pointing (warm off-white, the bestselling F&B colour), Hardwick White (pale grey-green), Railings (near-black), Hague Blue (deep teal), Nancy's Blushes (pale pink), Calke Green (sage).

Little Greene

Little Greene's palette is broader and in some ways more versatile. With over 300 colours, it includes a much wider range of mid-to-deep tones, more saturated colours, and more architectural neutrals than the Farrow & Ball offering. The Historical Colour range — drawn from the company's records of pigment formulations dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries — is a particular strength.

Little Greene colours are formulated using a similar philosophy to Farrow & Ball — high pigment loads, complex formulations — but the palette reads as slightly more straightforward and predictable. The colours are accurate to their chips and behave consistently across different light conditions (though this is also, arguably, slightly less exciting than F&B's more mercurial palette).

Particularly strong areas of the Little Greene palette:

• Historical whites and off-whites — Loft White, Gauze, Slaked Lime, Stock, Pale Oat, Bone — a richer and more varied collection of near-whites than F&B
• Mid-depth architectural neutrals — Mid Lead, French Grey, Pea Green, Sage
• Deep rich colours — Hicks Blue, Mizzle, Obsidian, Cape Red

Product Range and Specialist Coverage

Farrow & Ball

Farrow & Ball's product range is deliberately limited. The core products are:

• Estate Emulsion — the signature F&B emulsion, very low sheen, good for walls
• Estate Eggshell — for woodwork, slightly more durable than emulsion
• Modern Emulsion — a slightly more durable, scrubbable emulsion (marketed as suitable for kitchens and bathrooms)
• Exterior Masonry — for painted exterior walls
• Exterior Eggshell — for exterior woodwork and metalwork
• Full Gloss — high sheen for doors and metalwork
• Limewash — a genuine traditional limewash, for specific heritage applications

What Farrow & Ball lacks: a comprehensive system of primers, specialist undercoats, damp-resistant variants, high-durability trade emulsions, or products specifically designed for trade use. A decorator fitting out a full Farrow & Ball interior still needs to use a separate trade primer system.

Little Greene

Little Greene's product range is considerably more complete from a professional decorator's standpoint:

• Intelligent Matt — the wall emulsion equivalent; excellent coverage, very good colour depth
• Intelligent Eggshell — the professional standard for woodwork in this range; harder and more durable than F&B Estate Eggshell
• Intelligent Satinwood — a higher sheen option for woodwork
• Intelligent Exterior Eggshell — for exterior woodwork
• Intelligent Masonry — exterior masonry paint
• Oil Primer/Undercoat — a proper oil-based primer system for traditional woodwork
• Absolute Matt Emulsion — an ultra-flat wall finish for period interiors where absolutely no sheen is wanted
• Hydro Primer — a water-based adhesion primer

Little Greene's range has been specifically developed for professional decorator use, and its products integrate as a complete system. This makes it easier to specify for a complete interior decoration.

Durability: The Trade Decorator's Perspective

This is where the professional view tends to diverge from the consumer press narrative.

Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion is not particularly durable. The high calcite content that creates the distinctive flat, chalky depth also means the paint marks, scuffs and washes less well than standard trade emulsions. In a hallway, children's bedroom or kitchen, F&B Estate Emulsion will show marks within weeks and cleaning risks rubbing through the very thin colour layer. Farrow & Ball's own response to this is their Modern Emulsion, which is somewhat more durable, but still not in the same league as professional-grade trade products.

Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell is similarly less durable than the trade equivalents. Professional decorators who specify F&B for prestige projects will often use Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell as an alternative for high-traffic woodwork sections while using F&B for the walls.

Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell is significantly harder and more washable than Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell. It is a genuine professional product with trade-level durability. Professional decorators who want the colour depth of a premium brand without the durability compromise tend to default to Little Greene for woodwork.

Coverage and Cost

At retail, Farrow & Ball and Little Greene are similarly priced — around £55–65 for 750ml of wall emulsion, £55–65 for 750ml of eggshell. However:

• Coverage differs. Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion covers approximately 13 sq m per litre (a very low figure — partly because of high pigment load, partly because the specification generally requires three coats for good results). Little Greene Intelligent Matt covers 14–16 sq m per litre with better coverage in fewer coats on most colours.

• Trade pricing makes a substantial difference for professional use. Both brands are available at trade discount of 30–40% for account holders at relevant stockists (Paint and Paper Library, Rose of Jericho, John Lewis trade, and specialist paint merchants). At trade prices, the per-litre cost becomes more competitive, and Little Greene's coverage advantage makes it more cost-effective over a large project.

When Professional Decorators Choose Each Brand

Choose Farrow & Ball When:

• The client has specified particular F&B colours and is committed to those tones — trying to match them with another brand, however good, never quite captures the specific quality of the original
• The aesthetic is the primary driver — for a prestigious SW1 or W8 reception room where the tactile quality and depth of the paint is part of the design statement
• Exterior work — F&B's exterior products, particularly Exterior Eggshell and Exterior Masonry, are excellent and the exterior palette is strong

Choose Little Greene When:

• Woodwork durability matters — kitchens, high-traffic areas, children's rooms
• A complete professional system is needed — Little Greene's integrated range of primers, undercoats and finishes makes specification cleaner
• The colour palette is being selected rather than specified — Little Greene's wider range gives more choices, particularly in mid-tones and deep colours
• Budget matters — comparable quality at slightly better coverage means lower overall material cost on a large project

Use Both on the Same Project

This is, in fact, what many professional decorators working in the central London premium market actually do. A common split:

• Walls: Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion (for the colour quality in reception rooms and principal bedrooms)
• Woodwork: Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell (for the superior durability)
• Exterior: Farrow & Ball Exterior Masonry and Exterior Eggshell
• Primer system: Little Greene or Zinsser (neither brand's primers are as good as specialist primer products)

This approach leverages the genuine strengths of each brand rather than forcing one product into every application.

Other Premium Brands Worth Considering

Edward Bulmer Natural Paint — genuinely distinct from both Little Greene and Farrow & Ball. Based on natural mineral pigments and linseed oil, it has a characteristic matt, chalky depth and is particularly appropriate for lime plaster interiors, listed buildings and environmentally conscious clients. The colour range is smaller but beautifully curated.

Mylands — a venerable London manufacturer (established 1884) with a strong professional pedigree. Excellent eggshells and specialist finishes, widely used in theatrical and heritage settings. Less fashionable than F&B or Little Greene but technically excellent.

Papers and Paints — a specialist Chelsea-based manufacturer with a loyal following among interior designers in the SW3 and SW10 market.

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Whether you are committing to a full Farrow & Ball interior or building a mixed specification across brands, our team can advise on the right product for each application in your property. Contact us here or request a free quote for a full London interior decoration specification.