Wednesday 26 February 2014

Colour Study: Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Welcome to another Modern Country Style Paint Colour Case Study. This time its the turn of Farrow and Ball Hardwick White (number 5) to come under my watchful eye.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Hardwick White takes the rather shaky accolade of 'Most Changeable Colour In The Whole Wide World Ever.' 

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Yes, that's a bonus if you want a chameleon of a colour that shifts between taupe and green and blue and grey and brown but it makes my job explaining it to you pretty trick-eeeeeeee. 

Painted Kitchen Units in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen

This is a colour that sits right on the cusp of a bazillion others so that it slips away in unexpected directions. 

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Hallway
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Hall

Compare it to Farrow and Ball Light Blue, for instance...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Light Blue
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Light Blue
or Farrow and Ball Blue Gray...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Blue Gray
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Blue Gray
...it veers right over to the taupe end of its dastardly spectrum... yet put it up against the natural tones of these reindeer antlers and watch  Hardwick White's green undertones sing right out to greet you.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
You might find it useful to compare Farrow and Ball Hardwick White to these other paints in the image below (From top left...Farrow and Ball Charleston Gray, Lamp Room Gray, Ammonite, Purbeck Stone, Mole's Breath, Elephant's Breath, Manor House Gray, Skimming Stone and Hardwick White) to get a better handle on it. Hard to pin down, isn't it?

Farrow & Ball Charleston Gray Lamp Room Gray Ammonite Purbeck Stone Mole's Breat  Elephant's Breath  Manor House Gray  Skimming Stone  Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Charleston Gray, Lamp Room Gray, Ammonite, Purbeck Stone, Mole's Breath, Elephant's Breath, Manor House Gray, Skimming Stone and Hardwick White

So here's the nub: before you get swept away in picking Farrow and Ball's Hardwick White, bear in mind the following factors:

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

The direction your room faces....

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Modern Country kitchen
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Modern Country kitchen

In rooms that receives lots of warm southern light, Hardwick White can appear positively chocolate-like. There'll no escaping those taupe-y tones.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in south-facing room
But in a north-facing room, just look! For the vast majority of the time, particularly with the glum weather we've been having, Hardwick White takes on a far bluer character....

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in shade
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in north-facing room
The second thing to bear in mind is the size of your room....
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White builds intensity like nobody's business, so the the closer your internal corners are (i.e. the smaller your room) the darker the paint will seem. 

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in north facing room
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Just look at the difference in the image below between full light and shadow. Those differences, my Modern Country friend, are what you'll be playing with.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in south facing room
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Conversely if you're painting furniture with Hardwick White and you have plenty of external angles that bounce the colour away from itself, this shade never has the chance to build and you start to see where the White part of Hardwick White comes to play. See the kitchen island below?

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen island
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen

And this holds true for floors and doors...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White floor paint
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White floor paint

Farrow and Ball Slipper Satin Estate Emulsion and Hardwick White Estate Eggshell.
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White painted floor

including front doors painted in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White....

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

The last thing to take into account is the time of day that you'll be spending time in the room...if it's evening, and the lights will be on, then, again, Mr. Brown will be your constant companion...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls

 ...but chose a garden to room to decorate with Hardwick White, where you'll see it mainly in daylight hours, and Hardwick White can appear as a soft grey-green.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White dining room
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White woodwork

If that all sounds a lot to take in then let me add in some enormous plusses to using Farrow and Ball's Hardwick White.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom

It can hold its own beautifully against stronger colours. Here is Hardwick White against a strong orange-red....

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen
and here against Farrow and Ball's Down Pipe.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Down Pipe
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White with Down Pipe
One of the things I love most is the lip-smackingly crisp contrast of Hardwick White and true White. 

Traditional Bathroom.  Farrow & Ball's "Hardwick White"
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls

See what I mean in this fantastic bathroom:

 Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom panelling
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom tongue and groove panelling

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White tongue and groove
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White bathroom panelling

This is a colour that can sit happily at the Modern end of Modern Country....

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White hallway
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Victorian Hall

or right at the Country end of Modern Country: Aga and all!

F Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White kitchen

More slippery than a bar of soap I think you'll agree.

Painted furniture in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White painted furniture
By going to the Gorgeous Paints tab at the top of Modern Country Style (see it up there?), you can browse my other Colour Case Studies at your leisure. Or, takes the lazy girls' route and get click-happy with the links below...


Front door farrow and Ball Railings Victorian house in Hardwick White and All White (Farrow & Ball)
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White house and Railings front door

ALL the Colour Studies are of colours that I've used {and loved} myself. Included are lots of images of each paint in lots of different situations and lots of different lights to give you a really full understanding. No one likes nasty paint surprises, do they?

Farrow & ball Hardwick white  with wood panelling
Farrow and Ball Hardwick White walls in light hallway with white panelling

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Images via Farrow and Ball, House To Home, roundhousedesign, Farrow and Ball, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Syle, Modern Country Style, An Urban Cottage, Farrow and Ball, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Evie's House, Modern Country Style, Houzz, Plain English, Plain English, Decor De Provence, Pinterest, House To Home, alternative eagle, Yorkshire Pine, Flickr, hgtv, Narratives, Narratives, Farrow and Ball,  Kitchensrenew, Sally Wells, Pinterest, Pinterest

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9 comments :

a breath of fresh air said...

Again another great blog its totally amazing how the colourcan change !
Annie

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

loving the color. amazed at how much it changes. I learned a lot by reading this post.

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

I think it's a tad too grey for me. Also, living in a cottage with small windows, I would end up living with too much chocolate-y - taupe-y colour! The changing of shades is what makes Farrow and Ball so interesting, but also so difficult to choose. Samples are the only solution, I think!

Woodville56 said...

Really enjoyed your photo essay on F&B Hardwick White Sarah ! We love the colour, have the test pots and thinking of our new kitchen units painted in Hardwick White - it's a smallish East facing room so a bit concerned about the kitchen appearing a bit dark in the evenings/ night time. To keep the room bright we were thinking of something like F&B Lime White on the walls ? Any other ideas for complimentary wall or floor (porcelain ) tile colours. The idea of a funky red/orange wall colour as in the kitchen pictured above is an interesting alternative but which F&B red is this ?
Our alternative plan B for our kitchen is to paint the wall units in F&B French Gray - what colours ( walls & floor tiles) would compliment this option?
Thanks !

Sarah @ Modern Country Style said...

Hi,

Thank you so much for your email. That sounds like a very exciting project for you!
If you are able to email me or to give me a way to contact you then I'd love to be of assistance.

Many thanks
Sarah

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Unknown said...

We have just had this colour in our master bedroom suite on woodwork against Wimborne white. It was recommended by colour consultant. I cannot get used to it and don't know what colour to use for bedding and curtains to try and work with it. My pale blue and beige combo is clashing! too expensive to redo Can you advise?

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