Comparison

Mylands or Farrow & Ball?

Both are premium, water-based, richly pigmented British paints. Mylands (London, 1884, still family-owned) stands out for a washable class 1 matt emulsion covering up to 15 m²/L, at an equivalent cost per square metre; Farrow & Ball (Dorset, 1946, part of the Hempel group) for its famous 132-colour palette and its network of showrooms. Here is the detail, with the figures.

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

Two walls painted side by side in deep matt finishes, a powder pink and a sage green, in morning light — A deep matt is judged in daylight — hence the sample pot

The starting point

Two English houses, one standard of quality

If you are torn between Mylands and Farrow & Ball, you are looking for the same thing: deep colour, a chalky matt surface, a paint that does not smell of solvent. On those points the two houses are alike. Both formulate in water with a low VOC content; both claim a pigment load well above mass-market paints; both manufacture in England.

The differences lie elsewhere: in the story of the two houses, in how their matt finishes behave day to day, in coverage per litre, in tin sizes, in price — and in how you buy them in France. That is what the table below sets side by side.

Side by side

The comparison, point by point

Every line cites the figures published by the two manufacturers; Farrow & Ball prices are those seen at French retailers, the Mylands price is read live from our catalogue.

Criterion	Mylands	Farrow & Ball
Founded	1884, London — by John Myland, "Honest John"	1946, Wimborne (Dorset) — by John Farrow and Richard Ball
Ownership	Independent family business, sixth generation of the Myland family	Hempel group (Denmark) since 2021
Manufacturing	One manufactory, West Norwood (London); every tin tinted to order	Dorset, England
Palette	172 signature shades, including the 120 "Colours of London" and the colours of its film sets; bespoke shades possible	A 132-colour card, complemented by limited editions
Flagship wall finish	Marble Matt Emulsion — 3% sheen, crushed Carrara marble, breathable	Estate Emulsion — 2% sheen, chalky matt
Washability of the matt	Washable and scrubbable — class 1 wet-scrub resistance (EN 13300)	Estate Emulsion "wipeable but not washable" (per Farrow & Ball); Modern Emulsion (7%) is washable
Stated coverage	Up to 15 m²/L (Marble Matt Emulsion); ≈ 12 m²/L for the multi-surface finishes	Up to 14 m²/L (Estate Emulsion)
Drying (matt wall paint)	Touch-dry in 1–2 h, recoat after 3–4 h	Dry in 2 h, recoat after 2 h (Estate Emulsion)
Other finishes	Multi-surface Dead Matt (≈ 5%), Eggshell (≈ 15%), Satin, Gloss, Floor Satin, Masonry paint, primers	Dead Flat (2%), Modern Emulsion (7%), eggshells at 20 and 40%, Full Gloss (95%), exterior ranges, primers
Tin sizes	100 ml sample pot, then 1 L, 2.5 L and 5 L depending on the finish	100 ml sample pot, 750 ml for some finishes, 2.5 L and 5 L
Guide price — 2.5 L of matt wall paint	€121.00 incl. VAT — Marble Matt Emulsion, on mylands.fr	Around €115–116 incl. VAT — Estate or Modern Emulsion, at French retailers (June and September 2026)
Samples	100 ml sample pots (≈ 1.5 m²) from €9.50; free physical colour card	100 ml sample pots; colour card
VOCs & safety	Water-based, low VOC, meets the EN 71-3 toy standard	Water-based (100% since 2010), low VOC, A+ label and "toy safe" (per Farrow & Ball)
Where to buy in France	Online at mylands.fr, the official site — same-day dispatch before 2.30pm, delivery in 2–3 working days, free from €75	Farrow & Ball showrooms, a network of independent stockists and the brand's own site

Farrow & Ball figures are those published by the brand and its retailers on the dates given 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.

A damp sponge run over a powder-pink matt wall; the fingermark lifts without burnishing the surface — The test that tells two matts apart: the sponge, with no shiny trace

What makes the difference

Where Mylands stands out

A matt you can actually wash

Marble Matt Emulsion reaches class 1 wet-scrub resistance (EN 13300), the top rating: fingermarks and splashes sponge off without burnishing the surface. That is the classic objection to chalky traditional matts — and Mylands answers it without moving you to a shinier finish.

More square metres per tin

Up to 15 m² per litre: on a living room with 40 m² of wall, that means fewer tins and fewer coats. Set against the tin price, cost per square metre is the real figure to compare — our "Mylands paint prices" page works it out for you.

The material: marble and pigment

Our emulsions contain crushed Carrara marble, and the house states that Marble Matt Emulsion carries more pigment than any of its other paints: a dense colour that lives with daylight. Made in London, in a single manufactory, since 1884.

Supplier to the Crown, painter to the studios

A Royal Warrant granted by Elizabeth II in 1985 and renewed by Charles III; the paint of British film sets since 1928. Two references that demand tin-to-tin colour consistency — and recipes archived since the beginning.

In all honesty

Where Farrow & Ball keeps the edge

The showroom network

Farrow & Ball has its own showrooms in France and a long-established network of stockists: you can see large painted panels in store and leave with your tin. Mylands France sells online, with a free colour card and sample pots delivered to your door — a different model, without the shop window.

Colours that entered the language

Elephant's Breath, Hague Blue, Railings: Farrow & Ball's names have become decorating references, widely relayed by the press and social media. That is a level of fame Mylands, quieter in France, does not claim — even if its Colours of London have a story of their own.

Wallpapers

Farrow & Ball also produces wallpapers, printed with its own paints, so walls and patterns can be matched within one range. Mylands devotes itself to paint and wood finishes.

Deciding

How to choose between the two

Choose Mylands if you want a deep matt wall finish that is also washable in a room that gets used — a hallway, a kitchen, a child's bedroom — if coverage and cost per square metre matter, or if you like the idea of a family manufactory tinting every tin to order in London. Choose it, too, for colour drenching: Multi-Surface Dead Matt dresses walls, woodwork and radiators in a single matt.

Choose Farrow & Ball if you have your heart set on a particular colour from its card, if you want to see and buy in a shop, or if you are matching paint and wallpaper within one collection. Either way, test before you order: a sample pot, painted on two walls and looked at morning and evening, settles the question more surely than any comparison. Torn between the three English houses? See Farrow & Ball or Little Greene or Mylands, and all our comparisons.

A colour in mind?

Finding a Farrow & Ball shade at Mylands

We do not publish a table of "equivalents" between the two colour cards: Farrow & Ball's colour names belong to the brand, and two different formulations never give exactly the same result under the same light. What our colour team can do is match a shade to order from a painted sample, a fabric or an object — a skill inherited from the film studios.

The simplest route is to start from the colour family you love — a warm grey, a deep green, an off-white — and order two or three Mylands sample pots in that family. The digital colour card and the visualiser help you shortlist; the wall does the rest.

A living room with sage-green matt walls, a linen sofa, evening light through a tall window — The finished room: a deep matt that lives with daylight

Frequently asked

What we are asked most often

Is Mylands cheaper than Farrow & Ball?

Compare like for like: a 2.5 L tin of Marble Matt Emulsion costs €121.00 incl. VAT on mylands.fr, against around €115–116 for an Estate or Modern Emulsion from Farrow & Ball at French retailers (2026 readings). So by the tin Mylands costs a little more; but add coverage — a stated 15 m²/L against 14 m²/L — and the gap reverses per square metre, Mylands working out slightly cheaper over two coats. And for a washable matt, Farrow & Ball moves you to Modern Emulsion (7%), while Mylands keeps the same tin, class 1. Trade accounts also have their own price list.

Is the Mylands matt as flat as Estate Emulsion?

Almost: 3% sheen for Marble Matt Emulsion, 2% for Estate Emulsion. To the eye both are deep, chalky, reflection-free matts. The difference is mainly in care: the Mylands matt is rated class 1 washable, whereas Farrow & Ball describes its Estate Emulsion as wipeable but not washable and points to its shinier Modern Emulsion (7%) for hard-working rooms.

Can the two brands be mixed on one project?

Yes, as long as you keep one brand per surface: a Mylands wall and a Farrow & Ball door sit together happily — both are water-based paints. Avoid layering the two on the same surface without a primer, and do not expect an exact colour match between two manufacturers, even under a similar colour name.

Is Mylands paint made in England like Farrow & Ball?

Yes. Every Mylands tin is made and tinted to order in the house's single manufactory at West Norwood, south London — where the Myland family has produced since 1884. Farrow & Ball manufactures in Dorset, where the company was born in 1946.

Does Mylands offer equivalents to Farrow & Ball's bestsellers?

We do not copy other brands' colours and do not publish an equivalence table. But every family — off-whites, warm greys, deep greens, slate blues — has its great Mylands shades, and our team can match a colour to order from a sample. Start with the free colour card and two or three sample pots.

Where can I buy Mylands in France?

At mylands.fr, the brand's official site for France: order online, same-day dispatch before 2.30pm from our warehouse in Occitanie, delivery in 2–3 working days, free from €75. Our Where to buy Mylands in France page walks through the journey, from samples to delivery. Also weighing up Little Greene? We made the same comparison.

Sources

Mylands figures: the Our paint, Find your finish and FAQ pages of this site, and the Marble Matt Emulsion product page on this site (3% sheen, ≈ 15 m²/L, class 1). Farrow & Ball figures: the "Sheen levels explained" and "Estate Emulsion" pages of farrow-ball.com (sheen levels, 14 m²/L, drying, "wipeable but not washable", A+, tin sizes), consulted September 2026; history and ownership: Wikipedia and the Hempel announcement (3 September 2021); prices in France: peinturedefrance.fr (Estate Emulsion 2.5 L, €116, September 2026) and monsieurpeinture.com (Modern Emulsion 2.5 L, €115, June 2026). Farrow & Ball and its colour names are trademarks of their owner; Mylands France is not affiliated with Farrow & Ball.