How to find and use your perfect Farrow + Ball wallpaper (+ our favorites!)

Doesn’t wallpaper kind of feel like a nice, beautiful hug?

It’s a home dweller’s way of expressing themselves, plastering themselves up on the walls and saying “This is what I love, world, and I have no apologies about it!”

But far beyond just being a way to express beautiful patterns on walls, wallpaper (and peel and stick, for those friends who do not want to deal with all the headaches of installation) is simply a way to absorb your personality onto a canvas in your space to spark joy to you every time you gaze at it.

There are so many great wallpaper brands— Spoonflower, Rifle Paper Co., Love Vs. Design— and today, I wanted to focus on one of those: the beloved Farrow + Ball. ♥️

What is Farrow + Ball

What sparked as a rich friendship between a chemist and an engineer with a passion for blending beautiful hues together from John Farrow and Richard Ball is now a collection of beautifully handcrafted paints and wallpapers that have graced homes with the gift of color.

A fun fact to tickle your curiosity: the names of Farrow and Ball colors are as intriguing and unique as their shades. From “Elephant’s Breath” to “Sulking Room Pink,” the imaginative names are dreamed up just as creatively as a little spur in by Joa Studholme, using her life and imagination as the inspiration.

Things we love about Farrow + Ball

When it comes to Farrow + Ball, there’s a lot to love:

• Up to 5 free samples
• A+ indoor air quality– they were the first paint company to transition to a water-based range, making their paints low-odor and low-VOC
• Often multiple color options within the same wallpaper pattern
• Sustainably-sourced paper
• Free delivery
• Added glaze to make sure it’s wipeable
• Spunky color names
• Color consultancy offerings

Related: how to design your home with pink + green decor

Things we’d change about Farrow + Ball

And just as there are many beautiful things are Farrow + Ball, there are also some things that we want to note:

• The price is relatively more expensive than other brands like Spoonflower
• The colors use their own pain colors, which, while nice, don’t give much variety if you want some different colors to choose from
• No online visualization tool to see your wallpaper in your home like other sites

How to find your favorite Farrow + Ball wallpaper ?

Now it’s time to get some of this gorgeous, artistic, nature-inspired wallpaper inside your own home. Here’s how to get started:

1. Sort by pattern.

Although their site doesn’t have a visualizer in their room, they do have the option to sort by pattern. For me, I was drawn to the floral wallpapers first and worked my way through each of the other ones to see how they compare. You might be drawn to geometric wallpapers, damask wallpapers, or scenic wallpapers— it’s totally up to you!

If you’re already designing a space, consider what the space is missing and the types of spaces you’ve either pinned on Pinterest or the spaces you know make your heart warm. Is it deep, dark, simple spaces, natural scenes, fun, zany pops of color?

If you’re not sure, start perusing Pinterest to see these wallpapers in the wild so you can see how they look in their natural setting with furniture around it.

2. OR sort by color.

You could also sort it by color if you know you want a certain color. At the time of this writing, Farrow + Ball have a limited number of colors, since they use their own paint to design these wallpapers:

• Neutrals
• Blues
• Greens
• Reds
• Yellows

You’ll find different hues and shades within these (for example, pinks inside the Reds option), but compared to other brands like Spoonflower, their color choices are limited— which is a bummer if you like lots of options, but is great if you get information overload and need some semblance of simplicity in your choices.

3. Pay mind to the pattern’s scale.

One of the tricky parts about getting wallpaper online is knowing if the actual scale of the wallpaper’s pattern will fit your project.

The scale of the pattern is the size of the pattern— because the difference could be huge.

You’ll typically want a mixture of different scales in a room if you’re mixing patterns so it doesn’t feel busy or overwhelming.

Ordering a free sample of the wallpaper is your best bet to see just how large the pattern really is.

4. Consider how to complement what you already have (or what you’ll need to alter it).

Think about the furniture, decor, and overall style of your space. If your room is already filled with patterns, you might want to opt for a subtler wallpaper design.

Alternatively, if your room is relatively neutral, a bold, detailed wallpaper could provide a delightful surprise. Or, if you’re like me and like trying multiple patterns, try mixing scale but maintain the 60/30/10 rule.

I always like to err on the side of keeping what you already have and thrifting what you don’t. I think of items in thrift shops like dogs in shelters— there are already so many out there, why not help one out that already needs your love instead of “buying new?”

I also suggest using a program like Spoak or Canva to visualize your space before physically moving things around and getting your workout in.

Related: 19 aesthetic cottagecore color palettes for creative inspiration

5. Install + enjoy.

After you have a design plan for your space and have decided on your dream Farrow + Ball wallpaper, you’re ready to install and enjoy.

DIY, or find someone in your local area who knows how to hang wallpaper so you can ensure you’re getting it as chef’s kiss as possible.

Alternatives to wallpaper

Absolutely not! Wallpaper is an extremely versatile decorative material that extends far beyond your four walls.

Here are some ways to use your favorite Farrow + Ball designs aside from your wall (and for a budget-friendly name to incorporate these patterns in your home without using them for a whole wall):

1. Furniture revamp: Elevate your furniture with your favorite Farrow + Ball wallpaper on the sides of the drawers or inside the cabinets themselves.
2. Shelf backdrop: Add a splash of color and pattern inside your cabinets to make it much more fun to open them up.
3. Make it into art: Frame a wallpaper sample or small piece into a picture frame.
4. Upgrade your staircase: Wallpapering stair risers can create a unique, surprising design element, and bring personality to an often-overlooked area of the home.
5. Quickly upgrade your light switches.

Farrow + Ball wallpaper designs (+ paint colors) we love

Hope you enjoyed this little run-through of Farrow + Ball wallpapers. Which one would you add to your space?