In Love with Paint

It’s a rainy kind of gloomy afternoon here in NYC. I don’t really feel like taking Boo out for a walk, so I am throwing a toy around the apartment instead. This is certainly not the most effective form of exercise, since my apartment is literally only 25 feet long, but short sprints seemed to have worked—he’s panting and now lying down to rest. I’m sure the downstairs neighbors are relieved that this game is over.

Watching “Bad Cuz”* bounce off the walls in my “foyer”—a bit grand of a term for the 4’x6’ space around the front door—I am convinced that I want to repaint this space. About two ago, I decided to paint my whole apartment. I just couldn’t take another year of the institutional white that is ubiquitous in rental apartments. I read many of the British decorating mags (Homes & Gardens, House & Garden, World of Interiors) and I had long ago been introduced to Farrow & Ball, a traditional paint and wallpaper company based in Britain. They have been supplying sample “pots” of their paints for years—I had pots of “Shaded White” (living room) and “Skylight” (bedroom) long before Benjamin Moore rolled out their Color Samples.

I love the Farrow & Ball colors. They are old-fashioned, yet they always seem to have the perfect shade for whatever project I have in mind. The colors are rich, even when they are pale or muted. Maybe dense is a better description. They have great names—“Mouse’s Back,” “Dead Salmon,” “Elephant’s Breath,” and “Pale Hound” are a few of my favorites. The selection is comprehensive—the paint card I have shows 132 colors—a small offering compared with many US manufacturers, but much more manageable. I find sometimes that the larger companies are overwhelming; there are too many colors to choose from, too many chances to get a clunker.

When I painted my apartment, I choose F&B’s “Skylight” for the bedroom. It is from their “Blues” range, but it has gray and green tones in it as well. Depending on the light and time of day, the color changes slightly leaning towards sky blue, pale gray, or aqua. It’s a unique color, so I splurged on it. That is one of a few negatives to the F&B paint—it’s more expensive than your average paint. A gallon can run from $60-70, depending on the finish--but I think it's worth it. I have also been told that you can’t “touch-up” the color, that repainting just a small area will result in a change in the density of the color compared to the rest of the room. I haven’t needed to touch-up yet—but I will have to soon, so I’ll let you know what I find. Additionally, Farrow & Ball is not widely distributed—check their website for local specialty retailers, or you can order it direct. There is a retail store in Greenwich, CT if you live in the NY area.

For the living room, I had my local paint distributor mix a match to F&B’s “Shaded White.” It is not exact, but it was close enough and more on the budget. In the foyer, I went with Benjamin Moore—a dusty, grayish green called “Hidden Ravine.” But now I am ready for a change. I always gravitate toward browns, and I have fallen in love with F&B’s, “London Stone,” a warm cocoa brown. Paint is the fastest, and usually cheapest, way to change the look and feel of a room. I’m going to splurge again, and in just a weekend I can have a brand new look to the foyer. If you need to paint a room, take a look at F&B. I bet you’ll get hooked too.

Boo is getting restless—time to face the rain.

* “Bad Cuz” is the greatest dog toy. It’s a hard rubber ball with feet, and it has a squeaker inside. Cuz comes in many colors, but Bad Cuz is red with devil ears. Boo and Simon LOVE it, but it causes a ruckus at dog run—every dog wants to play with it. You can find Bad Cuz and Good Cuz (in white) at Petco. Go fetch one for your dog today.