A traditional sage green
This rich and traditional green is a cleaned version of a colour originally found in the breakfast room at Calke Abbey. It is best used either on its own on both walls and woodwork, or paired with a Traditional Neutral like Old White to enhance its deep sage notes.
Recommended Primer & Undercoat: Dark Tones
Complementary white: Slipper Satin
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Matt S from
Beautiful paint
This was my first experience using Farrow & Ball paint, and I must say I have been thoroughly convinced of its quality and performance. I used Calke Green on all of the wood trim and the 100-year-old windows of my sun room. I could not be happier with the richness of the color. The room is east-facing, so in the bright morning light, it reads a bit more pastel, whereas in the diffuse afternoon light it takes on a richer, more sage-like hue. In terms of workmanship, I have no complaints. The paint went on smoothly, had good coverage, and dried quickly without much odor. I will definitely look to Farrow & Ball again for future DIY projects around the house.
Date published: 2022-09-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Edenrose from
A Beautiful Serene Green
About 18 months ago, we embarked on a full scale house renovation. We had come from a new build property, which we loved, but we had kept decidedly neutral with the view that we'd only be there a few years and would sell sooner rather than later. When we came to deciding on colours for our current home, we were adamant we would chose ones with impact and that enhanced the character of the house, and also colours that we really loved.
We chose Calke Green for the dining room. It is a south facing room and gets plenty of sunlight throughout the day, so we knew it could take a darker hue without losing the bright and airy feel of the room. We paired it with Cooking Apple Green on the ceiling (an idea I pinched from another reviewer on here!) and All White on the trims.
It really is a beautiful shade - I love it. The room has multiple uses. During the day, I find the colour quite invigorating when I'm working from home in here or reading on the sofa. At night, we use it for evening meals and it works there too - it's warm and inviting.
This is the room that had the most work done to it and looking back at the before picture, which I've included below, I can't quite compute that it's the same room. We chose colours quite early on while work was being done - plastering, new central heating, joinery work etc - and the excitement of using such bold colours in each room, and picturing the end result, really kept me going when things inevitably got quite stressful!
For the finish, I've used the Modern Emulsion throughout. I took a long time to settle on that decision as I know the Estate finish is legendary! But, I couldn't live in a house where I was scared to touch the walls. The Modern Emulsion is durable and a breeze to paint with. It was the right decision for us and the colour is still rich and changes depending on the light. For the inbuilt shelves in the alcoves, I used Modern Eggshell again in Calke Green. This was lovely to apply too but it did need 4 coats to get a truly even finish. For both, I used the suggested undercoat, which you can see in one of the pictures and is a deep bluey grey. I'd recommend using the undercoat.
Also a quick note about painters tape. I love a crisp, perfect line and always use Frog tape. But beware, as I've seen other reviewers have had the same issue, be really careful when using it as it will pull up F&B paint if you really press it on. I found the best way was to take the strip and blot it a few times on your trousers, then apply it lightly and remove it, slowly, as soon as you've finished. I still had to do a few touch ups here and there but I couldn't not use it as I'm terrible at doing the edges freehand!
It's fair to say using F&B is not a quick job, but the effort (and extra cost) is 100%worth it. The upstairs we left until last and at this point there was very little money left in the budget! I used a cheaper brand's one coat emulsion for the bedrooms. And it's fine and we saved a lot of time! BUT it does not even slightly compare to Farrow and Ball. The finish and the colour is nowhere near the quality. I'm a total convert - having not used it before. We can live with the bedrooms as they are for now but I will be redecorating as soon as I can and using F&B.
Happy decorating and I hope my review has helped your colour decisions!
Date published: 2022-09-22