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No. 283

Drop Cloth

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Delivery Information

Hand Picked

When we receive your order, your paint is picked by our dedicated warehouse team.

Safe and Sound

Every tin is carefully packed to keep it safe on its journey from Dorset to your door.

Out for Delivery

We work closely with our courier to make sure your order arrives on time, in perfect condition.

You can find out more about our delivery options here.

Speak to an Expert

Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by endless possibilities or looking for the confidence to try something new, our expert Colour Consultants are here to help either online or in your home​.

Find out more

Our Showrooms

Visit one of our showrooms for help on colour schemes & finishes. Our in-store colour experts can help you find the perfect palette to match your vision.

Find your nearest showroom

Live Chat


Our live chat team are available from 9am – 7.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Click on our live chat button on the right hand side to reach one of our colour experts.

Customer Services

For Sales, order queries, colour and general advice, our team of experts are here to help and advise. 

Contact Us

    Add three sample pots to your basket and we’ll give you one of them for free *

A gentle mid grey beige

Neither too yellow, nor too grey, Drop Cloth is the traditional name for the indispensable painter's dust sheet which this muted colour embodies. A nod to our painters and decorators, this mid grey beige is the perfect contrast to our slightly lighter Shaded White and Shadow White, creating a trio of colours that sit effortlessly together in modern and traditional homes, both large and small.

Recommended Primer & Undercoat: Mid Tones

Complementary white: School House White

Key features

The finest ingredients

The finest ingredients

We’re dedicated to perfecting the art of paint. At our home in Dorset, we combine the finest ingredients, 75 years of experience and technical precision to help you create beautiful spaces that stay beautiful. Even in our colour rich paints, less than 8% of the tin is the colour. The other 92% is what creates the quality, depth and extraordinary response to light that transforms your home. 
 
Paint is like coffee. The colour is the froth on the top, but it’s the quality of the rest of the cup that makes it taste good. 
– Richard Ball, Farrow & Ball Co-founder 

We use twelve exclusive pigments, all specifically selected for their colour intensity. We take colour seriously, so naturally, we only accept the very best. By using these same pigments to make every colour in our palette, all our shades combine effortlessly, making it easy for you to put together a cohesive colour scheme. 

Deeper, richer colours

Deeper, richer colours

Packed with pigment for an extraordinary response to every kind of light.

We add generous helpings of rich pigment to create our signature look – deep colours with complex undertones. The same space that feels bright and airy in morning sun, can feel cosy and intimate by evening. Our teams design each shade under every kind of light, so it will be perfectly balanced in every setting.

Extraordinary response to light

Extraordinary response to light

We spend months carefully crafting and testing each of our paint colours to make sure they share our signature extraordinary response to light. This beautiful reaction to changing light, like bringing out different undertones or shifting intensity, is what makes our paint so special.

Interior and exterior finishes

Interior and exterior finishes

From walls, floors and furniture to radiators, skirtings and sheds, our range of paint finishes can help you transform almost any surface in your home (and outside it, too).

We even have multi-surface finishes like Dead Flat® and Full Gloss, so you can tackle walls, woodwork and metal at the same time. 

Our comprehensive range is comprised of paint finishes that not only look beautiful, but offer different practical benefits. Designed for a variety of different surfaces, each finish is compatible with our high-performance Primers & Undercoats to ensure exceptional coverage, adhesion and depth of colour. 

Colour Story

Complementary White

Complementary white: School House WhiteComplementary white: School House White

School House White

School House White is pared back, timeless and familiar without the cool undertones of the more contemporary neutral groups.
Find out more about School House White No.291

We pair each of our colours with a complementary white, hand-picked from our palette based on undertones, so they work wonderfully together and create an effortless, considered feel.

Find your perfect finish:

Available in new
Dead Flat

 

Walls, woodwork
& metal

Kitchen walls & ceilings

Bathroom walls
& ceilings

Ceilings

Interior
woodwork

Interior
flooring

Front doors
& woodwork

Exterior
metals

Exterior walls

Traditional plasterwork

Intricate mouldings

Recommended Primer & Undercoat

Primers & UndercoatPrimers & Undercoat

Mid Tones

Based on the colour Bone, using our Mid Tones Primer & Undercoat adds the richest depth of colour to some of our best-selling shades.

Made with the same natural ingredients and pigments as our topcoats, our Primer & Undercoat is the crucial foundation for creating a rich, even and longer lasting finish.

Why Choose Farrow & Ball?

Extraordinary response to light

We spend months carefully crafting and testing each of our paint colours to make sure they share our signature extraordinary response to light. This beautiful reaction to changing light, like bringing out different undertones or shifting intensity, is what makes our paint so special.

Matt 

Modern Emulsion is a beautiful, durable matt finish with 7% sheen.

Tough and Easy-to-Clean

Our super-tough superstar for washable walls, Modern Emulsion has a high-performance formula that makes it easy to wipe away spills and marks – not paint. We use high-quality minerals and strong binders to make sure it’s also resistant to knocks and scrapes. 

Resistant to Mould

Our expert chemists add a preservative to Modern Emulsion that protects it from mould, keeping moisture-prone kitchens and bathrooms looking fresh. So, although it makes a wonderful addition to every room of your home, it’s the best finish option for these steamy spaces in particular.

Scuff and Stain Resistant

We use high-quality minerals and strong binders to make sure Modern Emulsion is stain resistant and scuff-proof. 

The finest ingredients 

Even in our colour rich paints, less than 8% of the tin is the colour. The other 92% is what creates the quality, depth and extraordinary response to light that transforms your home.

Deeper, richer colours

We add generous helpings of rich pigment to create our signature look – deep colours with complex undertones. The same space that feels bright and airy in morning sun, can feel cosy and intimate by evening. 

Made by Us in Dorset, England

Every single tin of Farrow & Ball paint is handcrafted by our team in Dorset, England. As it has been since we started back in 1946. Each tin of Farrow & Ball is 75 years in the making, with a story and personal touch you simply won’t find anywhere else.

Responsibly sourced

We have long-standing relationships with suppliers who share our ethos, and we work with them to ensure that every single one of our ingredients, including our range of pigments, is responsibly sourced and not created or sourced as a result of exploitation.

Paint that can't be matched


Asking ‘can you match Farrow & Ball colours?’ misses everything else that goes into the tin to make our industry defining finishes. We pack our paint with quality minerals, coverage-enhancing pigments and resin (using a much higher proportion than many other brands), ensuring an exceptional base to add colour to.

100% water based
Our completely water based paint range doesn’t discolour over time like solvent based paints can. So your spaces stay beautiful for longer.

Toy safe
Independently tested and certified toy-safe in accordance with Safety of Toys Part 3: Migration of certain elements (EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021).

Low VOC
All of our finishes, including our tough trim and floor paints, are made with a low-odour, low-VOC water base that scores A+ for indoor air quality. 

Colour Schemes

#C5BDAC
#AFA592
#AEB2A4
#AFA592
accent Colour Light Gray
No.17
#AEB2A4
trim Colour Blue Gray
No.91
#C5BDAC
#9C9F89
#B7BAA4
#9C9F89
accent Colour Lichen
No.19
#B7BAA4
trim Colour Vert de Terre
No.234
#C5BDAC
#D5CFC0
#DCD7C8
#D5CFC0
accent Colour Shaded White
No.201
#DCD7C8
trim Colour Shadow White
No.282

Compare colours

Our paint colours all share an extraordinary response to light, revealing nuanced undertones and shifting in intensity as the light changes throughout the day. It's what makes our paint truly exceptional. Trying a sample pot pack is the best way to ensure you're finding the perfect colour for your space.

 

Drop Cloth
No.283

  1. Shadow White
    Shadow White
    No. 282
    No. 282
  2. Shaded White
    Shaded White
    No. 201
    No. 201
  3. Elephant's Breath
    Elephant's Breath
    No. 229
    No. 229
  4. Light Gray
    Light Gray
    No. 17
    No. 17

Lighter Shades

If you're looking to create a lighter space, our colour experts recommend also sampling these two additional colours to ensure you find the perfect shade for your project.

Sample selection includes:

Drop Cloth No.283
Shaded White No.201
Shadow White No.282

Darker Shades

For those wishing to curate a more intimate and moody atmosphere, our colour experts suggest considering these two alternative hues to help you discover the ideal shade.

Sample selection includes:

Drop Cloth No.283
Elephant's Breath No.229
Light Gray No.17

  1. Liquorice
    Liquorice
    No. CB10
    No. CB10
  2. Dove Tale
    Dove Tale
    No. 267
    No. 267
  3. Manor House Gray
    Manor House Gray
    No. 265
    No. 265
  4. Down Pipe
    Down Pipe
    No. 26
    No. 26
  5. Plummett
    Plummett
    No. 272
    No. 272
  6. Tar
    Tar
    No. CC1
    No. CC1
  7. Stoke
    Stoke
    No. CC7
    No. CC7
  8. Mole's Breath
    Mole's Breath
    No. 276
    No. 276
  9. French Gray
    French Gray
    No. 18
    No. 18
  10. Pigeon
    Pigeon
    No. 25
    No. 25
  11. Hardwick White
    Hardwick White
    No. 5
    No. 5
  12. Light Gray
    Light Gray
    No. 17
    No. 17
  13. Lamp Room Gray
    Lamp Room Gray
    No. 88
    No. 88
  14. Blue Gray
    Blue Gray
    No. 91
    No. 91
  15. Cornforth White
    Cornforth White
    No. 228
    No. 228
  16. Mizzle
    Mizzle
    No. 266
    No. 266
  17. Elephant's Breath
    Elephant's Breath
    No. 229
    No. 229
  18. Pavilion Gray
    Pavilion Gray
    No. 242
    No. 242
  19. Charleston Gray
    Charleston Gray
    No. 243
    No. 243
  20. Ammonite
    Ammonite
    No. 274
    No. 274

Colour Consultancy

Our expert Colour Consultants are ready and waiting to help bring your style to life. If you’d like personalised advice on how to use our paint and papers in your home, book an in-home or virtual appointment today.

View All Grey Paint Colours

Light or dark, warm or cool, grey paint is effortlessly versatile and can create every mood imaginable.

 

Discover Grey Paint Schemes

Find inspiration for your project and view beautiful images of grey paint schemes in real homes.

* Terms and conditions: Offer is valid on the purchase of sample pots of the 132 colours in our signature palette. Buy three sample pots for the price of two. Offer can be used multiple times in a single or multiple transaction, up to a total of 9 sample pots. Applicable in showrooms or online. Offer expires 29th November 2024.

Product information

Water Based and Toy Safe

Back in 2010, we moved to an entirely water based range of finishes, becoming the first in the industry to do so. These low-odour, low-VOC finishes are easy to clean without harmful solvents. They are also certified child- and baby-safe in accordance with Safety of Toys Part 3: Migration of certain elements (EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021).

Exclusions: Casein Distemper, Wood Primer & Undercoat and Metal Primer & Undercoat. 

Quality Finishes

Every one of our paint colours is available in a range of durable interior and exterior paint finishes, each rigorously tested to ensure an exceptional depth of colour and long-lasting finish. For the very best results, we always recommend using a Farrow & Ball Primer & Undercoat - see above for the correct tone for this colour.

Safety Information

Always read and follow the information on the product label.

All Farrow & Ball finishes except Limewash contain isothiazolinones, which may produce an allergic reaction. Farrow & Ball Limewash contains calcium hydroxide which can cause severe damage in contact with skin or eyes. For further information about our products, including guidance on safe use and application, click here to view our advice pages

Limewash: Danger. Causes skin irritation. Causes serious eye damage. May cause respiratory irritation. 

Exterior Eggshell and Exterior Masonry: Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. Contains isothiazolinones. May produce an allergic reaction.

All other finishes: Contains isothiazolinones. May produce an allergic reaction.