Always evocative and often provocative, Farrow & Ball are well known for their titillating paint names, of which ‘Sulking Room Pink’, ‘Dead Salmon’, 'Elephant's Breath' and 'Nancy's Blushes' deserve special mention. But the names aren't designed just to entertain; far from it, each name is a conscious choice, a coming together of cultural references, semiotic codes, historic vestiges, subconscious allusions and, sometimes, very personal memories. Paint names have an undeniable impact on consumer purchasing decisions, with names influencing the perception of the colour, one’s ability to recall it, and the desirability of the product. So, what goes into choosing a paint name? And how are different companies doing it today?
Farrow & Ball’s beautiful, versatile colours have been front-of-mind for designers, decorators and homemakers since the company’s founding in 1946, but it’s not just the colours that ensure their fixed position in the public psyche. “You know, the name is in some ways almost as important as the colour,” remarks Joa Studholme, Farrow & Ball’s most well known Colour Curator for the last 25 years. “Well, maybe not quite” she adds, “but let’s just say it’s absolutely vital to get that name right!” Creating images that are both nostalgic and aspirational, Farrow & Ball certainly have us captivated. After all, if you go to a friend’s house and admire the sumptuous brownish grey tones of their new shaker-style kitchen, you’re much more likely to remember ‘Mouse’s Back’ than something as vanilla as ‘Beige’ – aren't you?
“The name and the colour itself circle around each other,” agrees Cassandra Ellis, founder of the natural, bio-based paint company Atelier Ellis. Sometimes the colour comes first, inspired and titled after an obvious namesake – like the dusty purple of ‘Fallen Plum'. Other times, a concept may take the lead, like the Atelier Ellis range of 12 colours inspired by Katherine Mansfield's short story The Garden Party, which Cassandra used as an emotional jumping-off point for both the colours and the names. “I wanted the colours to stir up the same feelings you get from Katherine Mansfield's writing: feelings of forgiveness, feminine energy and the beauty of still life,” she explains. So the colours and names were, in this case, born together; ‘Hazy’ is the colour of late afternoon blue skies in July, while ‘Lunching Ladies’ is a colour taken from the faded pink chiffon of a tea dress. “Sometimes I make the colour with the name in mind, so as to make sure the colour is the name,” explains Cassandra, referencing the buttery crumb colour of ‘Bread & Butter.' “But it's also about harnessing an emotion too; in the case of ‘Bread & Butter’ it wasn't just about the literal doughy tones, it was also about capturing a warm homeliness. That feeling of coming home from school to something delicious.”
Nostalgic food references are often called upon by companies and colour curators, presumably because the taste and smells of food are some of the most transportive and powerful senses to call upon. The Creative Director at Dulux notes that “colour names chosen before lunch when everyone is a bit hungry often reference food.” Joa has a new favourite colour that came about during lockdown, when the sanctity and ritual of food and meal preparation became more important than ever. She recalls the beautiful colour of her special bowl of morning porridge, as well as the shade of the morning light coming into the kitchen. The shade ‘Stirabout’ (named after Irish Stirabout, a name for porridge in the region) not only emulates the lovely oaty tones of Joa’s breakfast, but also the feeling of comfort and warmth that she derived from her morning routine during lockdown.
Occasionally, specific and very special people are referenced in paint names, to honour their involvement in the company and in an attempt to capture their spirit. “'Mister David’ is the brightest, boldest, happiest yellow in our collection,” says Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director of Little Greene. “It’s named after my father, who founded the Little Greene Paint Company. It fits him perfectly, and it makes me smile every time I see it on our colour card.” Joa is similarly fond of ‘Beverley’, a colour she describes as “dependable and solid,” and which was named after a similarly characterised “kind and generous” former member of the Farrow & Ball team. So, just as names have a public outlook, they also have a personal meaning to the curators too.
Some of Joa’s colours quite literally do what they say on the tin, like ‘Light Blue’ for example, or even ‘Pigeon’. Others require a little more digging. And the paint aficionado is always sure to draw connections between colours when they belong in a family, or series. Like an all time classic ‘Sulking Room Pink’ which immediately conjures up images of pink-cheeked toddler, hot heads and pouting lips. Though none of these associations are wrong (and all capture the vibrant and ruddy pinkish red colour), Joa’s specific design for the name came from a desire to find a sister to the existing colour ‘Peignoir’, which was named after traditionally pinkish-grey chiffon nightgowns. She thought about calling this colour (a deeper, darker iteration of ‘Peignoir’) ‘Boudoir’, to root it in the same scene, “but that didn’t seem very Farrow & Ball.” Instead, she went to the translation of ‘boudoir’ which comes from the French word bouder: ‘to pout or sulk.’
Sometimes names have such subtle allusions that you might wonder whether the names are really just inside jokes for the curator. Whilst some of Edward Bulmer’s popular natural, carbon-neutral and non-toxic paints are mixed and named after “time honoured classics” as he calls them, like ‘Eau de Nile’ and ‘French Grey’. Sometimes, though, Edward and the team create names from vaguer association and with a sprinkle of humour. "The name ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue’ came from Petworth House,” explains Edward, “There were a suite of panelled rooms painted pink that lady Egremont called ‘Cuisse’, she was believed to use that name because they reminded her of a rose in the garden of the same name. This translates literally as ‘the thigh of an aroused nymph’…I mean who doesn’t want it in their bedroom!”
On the other end of the spectrum, the paint company Lick has stripped back the decorative naming process and uses only the colour and a number to relay information about a paint. “We don’t have a huge array of colours,” explains Tash. “So often when you’re faced with a million choices and a million names you can end up with what we call ‘colour paralysis’.” Though the company misses out on opportunities to appeal to the senses, memories and humour of the customer, they can certainly appeal to today’s fast-paced buyer who wants to get in, decide what shade of light pink to paint their downstairs loo, and get out. “Once you know what colour you want and then whether you want a light or a dark version, you're only left with a couple of great options.” The Lick brand itself is now so established as approachable that their ‘Pink 04’ naming approach seems fittingly cool. They also avoid any unwanted negative associations with names, places and people.
Despite seeming like a cosy, comforting name for a cosy, comforting colour, Edward Bulmer's ‘Mummy’ was actually inspired by something much more gruesome than you might expect: "From frankly unpalatable beginnings, ‘Mummy’ became a recognised term (even mentioned by Shakespeare) for an old brown. As you might guess, it described the appearance of mummified remains and indeed was made from them until the late 19th century when it became deeply unfashionable. Now that it would be unthinkable to create a colour in this way I feel at liberty to use it for a colour that is rightly fashionable again!” So, sometimes the most unattractive stimuli can lead to some of the most popular colours. Indeed, negative associations in paint names have been shown to affect sales; take ‘Hague Blue’ which suffered tremendously during William Hague’s time as the unpopular leader of the Conservative Party, and some uproar from the eco-conscious over ‘Dead Salmon’ (both of which are now two of Farrow & Ball’s best selling colours). “People always query that one!” laughs Joa. “Actually, Dead Salmon derives from a paint bill that was found in 1805 at Kedleston Hall, a big stately home in Derbyshire, which read ‘seven yards of Dead Salmon.’ ‘Salmon’ was the colour, and ‘Dead’ actually referred to the matte finish of the paint.”
In August of this year, Yvonne Taylor, the Vice President of corporate projects at Peta, recommended that Farrow & Ball consider changing to more ‘vegan-friendly’ names. Many paint companies, Farrow & Ball included, have paint colours that allude to the beauty of the natural world, which is particularly appealing to those wanting to bring nature inside, and who might have a more sustainable outlook than consumers of previous generations. Edward Bulmer’s focus on natural, sustainable paints aligns with the paint titles. “Names often derive from nature and plants,” he explains. “'Jonquil' is a daffodil, ‘Rose’ is a plant, ‘Stone White’ and ‘Portland’ after natural materials used in the building of beautiful houses.” His ever-popular ‘Invisible Green’ also emerged from the natural world. “Of course, such a strong colour is hardly invisible," he comments, rather the vivid grassy colour was “inspired by the 19th-century idea of painting ironwork in the landscape to ‘vanish’ it.”
Other companies prefer to reference their metropolitan roots, like Mylands, for example, who, founded in London 140 years ago, consider themselves a more urban than rural brand. “Circle Line is named after the classic yellow tube line found on the London Underground Map,” says Dominic Myland, CEO of the company. “‘Bedford Square’ was carefully colour matched to a documented wallpaper fragment discovered in London’s Bedford Square Gardens, and ‘Dulwich Red’ takes inspiration from the famous Pompeian Red Library of Sir John Soane.”
Whether a name is instantly and obviously linked to a colour, or requires a little more digging, it’s safe to say that we’re endlessly taken in by the nifty and adroit work of colour curators. As Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Dulux expresses, “Choosing a good paint name is just as important as choosing a good colour. It’s like best friends - one doesn’t tend to do so well without the other."
