Farrow & Ball are a British manufacturer of paints and wallpapers largely based upon historic colour palettes and archives. Their colour names, such as Elephant's Breath, have become talking points in themselves.
The company was started by John Farrow and Richard Maurice Ball in 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset. They have worked with the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty of the UK, in formulating near to exact matches for the restoration of historic building interiors and exteriors. Today they maintain an updated colour card of 132 colours. Farrow & Ball also produce wallpaper patterns made using traditional block, trough and roller methods and made using Farrow & Ball paint.
The company has 54 showrooms across the UK, US, Canada & Europe as well as a global network of stockists carrying both paint and wallpaper.
Farrow & Ball has produced three books; Paint and Colour in Decoration, The Art of Colour and Living With Colour
Friedman, Joseph. Paint and Color in Decoration. Rizzoli New York: 2003. ISBN .