Farrow and Ball Archive Colours: How to Order Discontinued Favourites
A complete guide to Farrow and Ball archive colours — what they are, how to order them, which discontinued shades are most popular, and how to find alternatives for colours no longer in production.
What Are Farrow and Ball Archive Colours?
Farrow and Ball's archive is the collection of colours that have been removed from the standard retail range but remain available to order. These are not colours that have been discontinued entirely — Farrow and Ball retain the formulas and will produce them — but they are no longer stocked in shops or shown in the main colour card.
The archive exists because Farrow and Ball periodically rationalises its range, removing colours that overlap closely with current shades or that have fallen out of fashion, and replacing them with new introductions. The archive currently contains over 100 shades, representing roughly 40 years of range evolution.
For decorators and specifiers, the archive matters for two reasons. First, clients who are re-decorating rooms painted in an older Farrow and Ball colour often want to continue with the same shade for consistency — either to match existing woodwork or to repaint a room that was last decorated a decade ago. Second, some archive colours are genuinely distinctive and preferable to their current equivalents for particular applications.
How to Order Farrow and Ball Archive Colours
Archive colours are available through several routes.
Direct from Farrow and Ball: The simplest route is to contact Farrow and Ball's customer services team and specify the archive colour by name and number. They will produce the colour in any standard tin format (estate emulsion, modern emulsion, estate eggshell, full gloss and so on) to order. Turnaround is typically two to four weeks, and there is usually a minimum order quantity — check current terms directly with them, as these vary.
Through a Farrow and Ball stockist or decorator account: If you work with a decorator who has a trade account, they may be able to place archive orders more efficiently. The colour formula is held centrally and the process is straightforward once the colour is confirmed by its archive number.
Having the colour matched: If you have a paint chip, an existing painted surface or the original tin, an independent paint supplier with a spectrophotometer can match the colour and produce it in a Farrow and Ball base or in an equivalent premium product. The match will not be identical to the Farrow and Ball formula, but for a re-decoration where you are painting over the existing colour, a close match is often sufficient. Tinting labs at Johnstone's trade, Dulux Decorator Centre and specialist suppliers such as Papers and Paints in Chelsea can all produce close matches from a sample.
Popular Discontinued Farrow and Ball Shades
Several archive colours have developed cult status and are regularly requested by clients.
Smoked Trout (No. 60) is a warm, dusty pink-terracotta that sits in a different register from anything in the current range. It was used extensively in London period homes decorated in the 1990s and early 2000s and remains a request we receive regularly for matching existing painted rooms. The closest current alternative is Pink Ground, though it reads as more overtly pink.
Fowl (No. 39) was a warm, slightly greenish off-white that provided a softer alternative to the main neutrals. It has been partially replaced by Joa's White and Lime White, but neither is a precise match. For clients with existing Fowl on walls who need to extend a room, an archive order is the clearest solution.
Pale Hound (No. 71) — now in the current range again at the time of writing, but it has moved in and out of the standard collection. Always confirm current status before assuming a colour is only available as an archive.
Cord (No. 16) was a warm, creamy off-white slightly deeper than Clunch. It was discontinued but remains in demand for period dining rooms and kitchens where a warmer neutral than the current off-whites is wanted.
Setting Plaster is now in the current range but has previously been an archive colour — another example of shades moving between archive and standard range over time.
When Archive Colours Are and Are Not the Right Answer
Archive orders make sense when you have a specific matching requirement — a room where existing surfaces in the original colour will remain and the new decoration must match them, or a client with a strong emotional attachment to a particular shade.
They are less practical when you are starting fresh and simply prefer the look of an archive colour to the current range. In this case, a colour match in a current product offers more flexibility (standard stock availability for touch-ups, no minimum order delays) at a similar or lower price point.
For exterior work, consider whether the archive colour is available in the exterior-appropriate formulation (exterior masonry or exterior eggshell). Some archive colours were only produced in interior products and a direct order for an exterior version may not be possible; in this case, a match in a suitable exterior paint system is the practical alternative.
Working With Your Decorator on Archive Colours
If you are working with a decorator on a project involving archive Farrow and Ball colours, give them as much lead time as possible. A two-to-four week production delay can disrupt a project schedule if it is not anticipated. Providing the original tin or a generous paint chip to your decorator at the earliest stage allows them to arrange either an archive order or a matched alternative before work begins.
Our team works with archive colours regularly across London period homes and can advise on the best route — direct archive order, trade account order or quality match — for your specific project.