Comparison

Farrow & Ball, Little Greene or Mylands?

Three English manufacturers, three deep matts at 2–3% sheen — and three different answers to the questions that count. Farrow & Ball (Dorset, 1946, Hempel group) has the fame, the shops and 132 colours that have entered the language; its Estate Emulsion wipes but does not wash. Little Greene (Manchester, family-owned) has the most finishes, two matts — the wipeable Absolute Matt and the class 1 washable Intelligent Matt — wallpapers, and showrooms in Paris and Nice. Mylands (London, 1884, family-owned) has the only class 1 matt without changing tin and the best coverage (15 m²/L), which brings its 2.5 L tin at €121.00, sold on its official French site, level with the other two per square metre. Here is the detail.

Comparison updated September 2026 · sources at the foot of the page

Three walls painted side by side in deep matts, a sage green, a blue-grey and a powder pink, in morning light — Three English matts in the same light: to the eye, almost nothing; to the sponge and the square metre, everything

The starting point

What the three houses have in common

If you are torn between Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and Mylands, you are looking for the same thing: deep, complex colour, a chalky matt that absorbs light, a water-based paint you can use in a bedroom. On those points the three houses are sisters. All three formulate in water with very few VOCs and make in England; all three claim a pigment load well above mass-market paints; all three have a flagship matt between 2 and 3% sheen and coverage of 14–15 m² per litre.

The differences lie elsewhere: in ownership — one Danish group, two families — in how each house solves the washable-matt question, in the number of finishes and colours, in price, and in how you buy in France. That is what the table sets side by side; the cards that follow say which to choose for your case. We have also compared Mylands head to head with Farrow & Ball and with Little Greene.

English manufacturers, water-based, low VOC

2–3%

sheen of the three flagship matts

14–15

m²/L stated

houses still family-owned and independent

Side by side

The comparison, point by point

Every line cites the figures published by the three manufacturers (official data sheets and pages); Farrow & Ball and Little Greene prices are those seen at French retailers, the Mylands price is read live from our catalogue.

Criterion	Farrow & Ball	Little Greene	Mylands
Founded	1946, Wimborne (Dorset) — John Farrow and Richard Ball	Heir to the Little Greene Dye Works (1773, near Manchester); company relaunched by chemist David Mottershead	1884, London — John Myland, "Honest John"
Ownership	Hempel group (Denmark) since 2021	Mottershead family, second generation, independent	Myland family, sixth generation, independent
Manufacturing	Dorset, England	Bases made in north Wales, tinted and packed in Manchester	One manufactory, West Norwood (London); every tin tinted to order
Palette	132 colours plus limited editions; wallpapers	Around 200 colours in historic collections (with the National Trust); wallpapers	172 shades, including the 120 "Colours of London"; bespoke shades
Flagship wall matt	Estate Emulsion — 2%; Dead Flat 2%; Modern Emulsion 7%	Absolute Matt — 1–2%; Intelligent Matt — 2%	Marble Matt Emulsion — 3%, crushed Carrara marble
Washability of the matt	Estate "wipeable but not washable" (per the brand); Modern Emulsion washable	Absolute Matt wipeable; Intelligent Matt washable, class 1 EN 13300	Washable and scrubbable, class 1 EN 13300 — without changing product
Stated coverage	Up to 14 m²/L	≈ 14 m²/L	Up to 15 m²/L
Drying (matt)	Dry in 2 h, recoat after 2 h (Estate)	Absolute Matt dry in 2–4 h; Intelligent Matt touch-dry in 30 min, recoat after 1–4 h	Touch-dry in 1–2 h, recoat after 3–4 h
Other finishes	Eggshells at 20 and 40%, Full Gloss 95%, exterior, primers	Intelligent Eggshell, Satin, Gloss, floor, masonry, oil paints, Distemper, Limewash, Re:mix	Multi-surface Dead Matt ≈ 5%, Eggshell ≈ 15%, Satin, Gloss, Floor, Masonry, primers
Tin sizes	100 ml sample pot, 750 ml for some finishes, 2.5 and 5 L	60 ml sample pot, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 L	100 ml sample pot, 1, 2.5 and 5 L
Guide price — 2.5 L of matt	≈ €115–116 incl. VAT (Estate or Modern Emulsion, 2026)	≈ €111–113 (Absolute Matt); €127 (Intelligent Matt), 2026	€121.00 incl. VAT, on mylands.fr
Samples	100 ml sample pots; colour card	60 ml sample pots ≈ €9.75; colour card	100 ml sample pots from €9.50; free physical colour card
VOCs & safety	Water-based, low VOC, A+, "toy safe"	Water-based, "no added VOC", A+, EN 71-3; Absolute Matt with 40% recycled content	Water-based, low VOC, EN 71-3
Where to buy in France	Farrow & Ball showrooms, independent stockists, the brand's site	Showrooms in Paris (rue Bonaparte) and Nice, approved stockists, littlegreene.fr	mylands.fr, the official site — same-day dispatch before 2.30pm, delivery in 2–3 days, free from €75

Farrow & Ball and Little Greene figures are those published by the brands and their retailers on the dates given in our detailed comparisons and may change. Sheen levels are light-reflection reference figures from each manufacturer's data sheets. The Mylands price is read from our catalogue as you view this page.

Three unlabelled dark sample pots open on a table, three colours — sage green, blue-grey, powder pink — and three brush-strokes on white paper — Three houses, three sample pots: the one method all three recommend

Deciding

Which to choose, for your case

Choose Farrow & Ball if…

… you are set on a precise colour from its card — a Hague Blue, an Elephant's Breath, whose name is already part of the scheme — if you want to see large panels in a shop and leave with your tin, or if you are matching paint and wallpaper within one collection. Accept in return a matt that wipes without washing, or move to Modern Emulsion (7%) in busy rooms.

Choose Little Greene if…

… you want the widest choice of finishes — from distemper to limewash, from oil to recycled paint — if you are after the most absorbent matt (Absolute Matt, 1–2%) for a wall nobody touches, if you want a showroom in Paris or Nice, or if the recycled argument counts. Budget for Intelligent Matt, some fifteen euros more per tin, wherever you need to wash.

Choose Mylands if…

… you want one deep matt that is also class 1 washable for the whole house, with no trade-off between material and upkeep and no change of product from room to room; if coverage (15 m²/L) and price per square metre matter; if you like the idea of a family manufactory tinting every tin for you; or if you are after a bespoke shade. Accept in return buying online — free colour card, sample pots delivered to your door in 2–3 days.

In all honesty

Three things not said often enough

None of the three is "the best"

Farrow & Ball wins on fame and shop windows, Little Greene on breadth of range and recycled content, Mylands on washability of the matt, coverage and price. A decorator who knows all three chooses by the room, not the brand — and often mixes them, one brand per surface.

Two families, one group

Since 2021 Farrow & Ball has belonged to Hempel, a Danish paint group; Little Greene and Mylands remain independent family houses — the second generation in Manchester, the sixth in London. That does not change the colour in the tin today; it says who decides the recipe tomorrow.

The colour card is not the colour

All three houses publish superb colour cards, and none replaces the sample pot: the same shade changes between a living room in Dorset, Manchester and Lyon, between morning and evening, between a 2% and a 3% matt. Order two or three sample pots from the house that tempts you, paint two walls, watch for three days. It is the one method all three houses recommend — and so do we.

A living room with powder-pink matt walls, off-white woodwork, old parquet, end-of-day light — The finished room: powder pink in evening light

Frequently asked

What we are asked most often

Farrow & Ball, Little Greene or Mylands: which is cheapest?

By the tin, Little Greene with Absolute Matt (€111–113 for 2.5 L), then Farrow & Ball (€115–116) and Mylands (€121.00 incl. VAT for Marble Matt Emulsion); Little Greene's Intelligent Matt goes up to €127 (2026 figures). Per square metre, Mylands' coverage — 15 m²/L against 14 for the other two — narrows the gap to a few tens of cents, and for a class 1 washable matt Mylands is the cheapest of the three. Our Mylands paint prices page works out the cost of your room live.

Which has the deepest matt?

Little Greene, with Absolute Matt at 1–2% sheen; then Farrow & Ball (Estate Emulsion and Dead Flat, 2%) and Little Greene again (Intelligent Matt, 2%); then Mylands (Marble Matt Emulsion, 3%). At one point apart, the difference shows only in raking light — and is paid for in upkeep with the wipeable matts. Our guide "Best premium matt paint" sets out the trade-off.

Which has the most washable matt?

Two matts publish class 1 wet-scrub resistance (EN 13300), the top rating: Little Greene's Intelligent Matt (2%) and Mylands Marble Matt Emulsion (3%). The difference: at Little Greene it is the second matt in the range, dearer than Absolute Matt; at Mylands it is the flagship matt, the only one. Farrow & Ball describes its Estate Emulsion as wipeable but not washable and points to Modern Emulsion (7%).

Can the three brands be mixed on one job?

Yes, provided you keep one brand per surface: Mylands walls, a Little Greene door and a Farrow & Ball ceiling sit together without difficulty, all three being water-based paints. Avoid layering two brands on the same substrate without a primer, and do not expect an exact colour match between two manufacturers — even under a similar colour name.

Where can you see the colours before buying?

Farrow & Ball in its shops and at its stockists; Little Greene in its Paris and Nice showrooms and at approved stockists; Mylands on its physical colour card, free, and through sample pots delivered to your door — the only way, for all three houses, to see the colour in your own light. The digital colour card and the visualiser help you shortlist.

Where to buy Mylands in France?

At mylands.fr, the brand's official site in France: order online, same-day dispatch before 2.30pm from our warehouse in Occitanie, delivery in 2–3 working days, free from €75. Our page Where to buy Mylands in France walks you through it. To go further: Mylands or Farrow & Ball, Mylands or Little Greene, and all our comparisons.

Sources

Mylands data: the Our paint, Find your finish and FAQ pages of this site, and this site's Marble Matt Emulsion product page (3% sheen, ≈ 15 m²/L, class 1). Farrow & Ball data: the "Sheen levels explained" and "Estate Emulsion" pages of farrow-ball.com, Wikipedia and the Hempel press release (3 September 2021), prices at peinturedefrance.fr and monsieurpeinture.com (2026) — detail and dates on Mylands or Farrow & Ball. Little Greene data: product and "History & heritage" pages of littlegreene.com, the Intelligent Matt data sheet, littlegreene.fr (Absolute Matt 2025, showrooms), Knight Frank, prices at papierspeintsdirect.com and meinewand.com (September 2026) — detail and dates on Mylands or Little Greene. Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and their colour names are registered trademarks of their owners; Mylands is affiliated with neither.