Yahoo Finance Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen lays into Farrow & Ball’s 'insipid' paint
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has laid into Farrow & Ball’s “insipid” paint, saying it’s a “marvel of branding” that it has become “the badge of the aspirational middle classes”.
The popular paint brand has become known for its muted colours and whimsical names such as Elephant’s Breath, Drop Cloth and Mouse’s Back.
But it seems celebrity interior designer Llewelyn-Bowen isn’t a fan.
Watch: Farrow & Ball's New Paint Collection Is for Those Who Hate Boring W
Read more: Anna Richardson to host Changing Rooms reboot after Davina McCall drops out
Writing in the Daily Mail after it was announced that Farrow & Ball had been sold to a Danish company for half a billion pounds, he said: “You do have to admire a business that can make so much money from tepid, insipid and impractical products - sold at inflated prices, with revolting names.
“More than that, Farrow & Ball have convinced the nation that their infinite varieties of beige are somehow elegant and tasteful. It's hilarious.”
“Who would have thought that colours so flimsy and diluted would become the badge of the aspirational middle classes?” he went on.
“It's a marvel of branding, and if the Danes think it's worth £500 million, good luck to them.”
Llewelyn-Bowen said the brand’s paints were never used on his hit home makeover show Changing Rooms.
He also said that in his opinion it was a “delusion” that the paint transforms ordinary homes into “an icon of upper-class splendour”.
He claimed that rather than reflecting the upper classes in Georgian Britain, the paints are actually closer to the colours of the servants’ quarters.
Read more: Would you buy Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Grade II Cotswolds manor house?
Llewelyn-Bowen’s comments amused some readers, with one writing on Twitter: “This essay is great fun and I agree with every word.”
“The take-down of Farrow & Ball by my fellow Welsh Celtic Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen in this article is magnificent,” said another. “I've used Farrow & Ball in my flat but I see his point.”
However, another person quipped: “Having seen the inside of LLB's home when it was up for sale, he would do better to keep quiet about lack of taste!”
Watch: See how paint is made at Farrow & Ball's UK factory
