Skimming Stone Farrow and Ball paint no 241 neutral

It’s never as easy as you think to find the paint shade you have in your mind’s eye is it? I recently decided to give my house a paint refresh. I wanted to find a warm, neutral grey that would contrast nicely with white. Far too many tester pots later, my walls were blotchy and I was more confused if anything.

Discover Skimming Stone Farrow and Ball paint – the perfect pale milky grey with warm stone undertones.

It’s so true that you can find the exact colour you’re looking for when you look at in one corner of your home and then, when you try it in another corner, where the light is different, you often find yourself looking at a totally different shade. I started out looking for a soft plaster colour in estate emulsion but they all looked too pinky in my room. I knew I wanted a soft, contemporary look on my interior walls, but it took way too many sample pots before I got anywhere. Sunny afternoons would give cold shades a softer look, even on something like darker elephant’s breath. But on a darker day, this was too dark and I wanted a lighter strong white.

Contemporary neutrals are a bit of a rabbit hole, I’m not going to lie. I knew I wanted a chalky matt finish, but not too much so, without verging on an overly smooth silk finish. Farrow & Ball modern emulsion is a practical, perfect choice for me. The estate eggshell was my choice for interior wood (it’s a modern eggshell with a soft sheen rather than a full gloss. I decided to go for similar shades for the walls and woodwork, and wanted to carry the exterior eggshell in the same shade to the outside of the windows too. Stony off-white was the look I wanted, light tones to work with natural materials in a neutral tone. I found the perfect shade: my pick of all the neutral shades, cooler and more stony than Wimborne White, but warmer and softer than a crisp white. Something that captures the way a skimming stone shines as it hops across the surface of the sea…

Skimming Stone is a milky grey off-white neutral with warm stone undertones

Having driven myself slightly demented with tester blotches in all the different light conditions, I finally narrowed everything down and arrived at a decision. The element to make it onto my new soft, natural palette is Skimming Stone Farrow and Ball paint. It has a milky quality that I love. I have low ceilings and small windows in my old Hampshire cottage and all of the cooler greys felt too dark and gloomy. Because of its warm stone, almost pinky undertones, Skimming Stone feels so much more cheerful, whilst still definitely sitting comfortably among the greys. The other reason Skimming Stone will work so well in my cottage is that I have both grey slate floors and old dark brown wooden floorboards. Skimming Stone works beautifully with both, providing a colour bridge between the warm brown and cool grey.

Farrow & Ball’s Skimming Stone is perfect for adding a soft, neutral touch to exterior walls, exterior masonry, kitchen cabinets, bedroom schemes, exterior wood, you name it. Combining complementary white paint colours is a sophisticated choice and sure to create an inviting atmosphere. Combine with a rich colour feature wall (London Clay works well if you like a darker statement scheme) for a unique look. If it’s a totally matt look that you’re after, try the Farrow & Ball Dead Flat finish paint. It’s a multi-surface, ultra matt finish for walls, woodwork and metal, with added toughness built in. A good choice for kitchen cupboards or high traffic areas. The estate emulsion is a versatile finish, and exceptionally durable for a wall paint. Skimming Stone takes its name from a 19th-century skim, or plaster colour, reminiscent of childhood afternoons skimming stones. I’d not heard of 19th century skim before, but I can see the inspiration.

I’ve put together a moodboard of how I’m seeing my new colour scheme coming together. I’m loving the idea of bringing in textural linens and ceramics as well as soft pink terracotta and fresh whites. It’s such an uplifting yet still very understated colour scheme don’t you think? Choosing new paint colours is an ideal way to freshen up your living space. Add some accents with natural textures and one or two interesting furniture pieces and it’s an effective way to breathe a whole new lease of life into your interior.

I see that you can book a one-to-one colour consultancy with Patrick O’Donnell which might be worth knowing about if you’re well and truly stuck down a rabbit hole. I hope my ideas with Skimming Stone help a little…

Skimming Stone Farrow and Ball moodboard

skimming stone farrow and ball paint moodboard showing how to decorate with this soft milky pale grey with warm stone undertones that works so well with elephant's breath and strong white. Hope you love the moodboard I have created for my own country cottage #farrowandball #skimmingstone #grey #neutral #paint

Featured in my moodboard: Plant pots from The Future Kept; textural linens from Peony & Sage; farm flowers from The Real Flower Company; Linen apron from Swedish House at Home; Teapot from Pottery West.

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