Farrow & Ball 'Matchstick' No. 2013 Colour Guide

The team at FMK have decided to chronicle our use, experience, tips and pictures about the greatest paint palette on earth - Farrow & Ball. With huge experience of Farrow's vast colour chart, we hope to help you make the right choice for that all-important colour decision - be it with one of our lovingly finished pieces, or just your general home decor. You're most welcome!

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Where else could we possibly start, but of course Matchstick No.2013.

When we made the switch several years ago from Annie Sloan Chalk paint to Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell (numerous reasons we'll go into another time!), the first thing we simply had to nail down was this - what would be our go-to, soft, cozy off-white shade to compliment out rustic wood products?

A close-up of Matchstick, beside our rustic reclaimed wood table top.

​We set about sourcing testers on all the 'possibles' judging by the colour chart (which, incidentally, you can order for free from Farrow's website, many local hardware shops / decorator's merchants and Homebase, among others). These included White Tie (too white), String (too dark), James White (too green) and a host of other colours which sadly just didn't match up to the colour chart. We wholeheartedly recommend buying in testers of F&B if you are choosy about your colours, as the chart can be a little bit misleading to a connoisseurs eye. Not a criticism, the same goes for pretty much every paint producer we know of.

Matchstick looks great distressed in front of darker shades and against the biscuity hues of hessian cloth.

Why do we like Matchstick so much? Well, to us, it's 'Goldilocks'. Just right for our needs - enough warmth, colour, subtlety... blends beautifully with both brilliant whites and stronger creams. It looks fantastic when distressed on top of darker base colours, as with our Vintage Coffee Sack Cloth Ladder Back Chairs.

You'll notice that in stronger daylight it appears much lighter, brighter and more neutral (see picture of table above). Then as the daylight softens, Matchstick reveals it's warmer side as the day draws in. The hue of Matchstick in lower, softer light reveals a subtle glow (see picture of chair above), making it a colour to enjoy throughout the day.

We love Matchstick. It's what we use most of, and will be for years to come.

What do Farrow & Balls say about this colour...?

"Matchstick is deservedly a Farrow & Ball staple as it is extremely versatile. With its tiny addition of black it is a wall colour which creates delightfully understated rooms which are warm but definitely not creamy. In well lit rooms it has a fresher quality, especially when contrasted with White Tie, where-as in darker or north facing rooms it appears more relaxed and traditional."