Farrow and Ball’s Elephants Breath – I get SO many questions and DMs about this fabulous wall paint color, it’s high time I dedicated a full blog to it.
Elephant’s Breath is a such a beautiful, multi dimensional wall paint color.
After discovering it several years ago, I’ve been using Elephant’s Breath ever since.
Our kitchen walls painted in Farrow and Balls Elephants Breath.
Farrow And Ball Elephant’s Breath
I’m so glad so many of you are finding these blog posts about interior wall paint colors helpful.
I know a lot of you really appreciated my paint color post on White Dove, which encourages me to write even more in depth paint color reviews here.
If you’re looking for a beautiful neutral wall color in the gray/taupe color family- Farrow and Ball Elephant’s Breath could be the one.
Unlike all my other previous wall paint color reviews which were strictly Benjamin Moore Paints, today’s post features a popular Farrow and Ball paint.
If you’re not familiar with this company, Farrow and Ball is an English manufacturer established in 1946.
This is the reason why you might see the paints often described as “paint colours” – but I’ll be using the Amercian spelling here today…
Our former homework room with Elephants Breath on the walls, trim and built ins.
Our introduction to this beautiful wall color.
Like so many of my favorite wall paint colors, I first fell in love with look of Elephant’s Breath in our former home in New York.
We were looking for a easy neutral color for the walls of our homework room.
A large space (seen above) with great natural light, I was excited about finding the perfect paint color for this room.
At the time, our local paint shop was running a special on Farrow and Ball paints, having just gotten the line in their shop.
They had all these little sample cans available at great prices and I remember buying up several of them.
Once I got all the paint swatches up on the walls, I knew right away we’d be choosing this color for our homework room.
There’s just a hint of magenta in this pretty color, making it very interesting and a little different than all the other gray and greige paints we looked at.
Our kitchen in our current home with Elephant’s Breath on the walls.
Second Time With This Paint Color.
Once I find a paint color I love, I tend to use it more than once.
Why reinvent the (color) wheel, right?
So, choosing to use Elephant’s Breath again in our current kitchen here in Connecticut was a quick and easy decision.
We already knew this color went so well with white trim work – and since the majority of the walls in our kitchen would have white cabinets, I knew this would look great together.
As for the ceiling, we went with Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White– you can read more about ceiling paint colors here.
I think it’s worth noting here, over the past six years in our current home, we changed our kitchen table and chairs, but kept the wall paint color the same!
Our white painted kitchen cabinets with a smidge of Elephant’s breath on the wall over the doorway.
What Color Goes Well With Elephant’s Breath?
There are so many colors which will work beautifully with Elephant’s Breath.
Here’s a few top complimentary paint color recommendations:
You simply can’t go wrong with Benjamin Moore Dove White, which is what we used on our own kitchen’s white trim.
I also love how Benjamin Moore’s Calm looks next to Elephant’s Breath as well.
Cornforth White by Farrow and Ball also looks very pretty paired with Elephant’s Breath.
You can always see more of our current home here.
If you have any other questions, please shoot me an email or leave it in the comments below.
I’ve already answered a popular inquiry on which paint finish to choose in this post, just in case your wondering:)
A few more things…
Samplize self adhesive sample of Elephant’s Breath
Painting Pro Tips
So there it is, everything I love about Elephant’s Breath.
Another great color which has stood the test of time (and homes) for us.
I think this color is perfect for almost any room in your home, dining room, living room, your master bedroom…you name it.
It’s a perfect option if you’re looking to paint a room a warm gray paint (or in this case grey paint.)
Don’t forget, you can always add some white paint to a color, any color really – to get the exact look you want.
I recommend playing around with adding different percentages of white, any hardware or paint store will be very familiar with this practice.
Depending on the light and time of day, this color appears to look light beige and light gray.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Elephant’s Breath or a Benjamin Moore equivalent, here’s a great tip which no one really talks about, you can have this color mixed by almost any paint company – and often save a lot of money!
It will look almost exactly the same and no one will know it’s an Elephant’s Breath dupe!
For more gray paint ideas, be sure to check out this post here.
However, if you’re leaning more towards using a white paint color, you’ll want to check out this post here.
Conclusion
Ultimately you need to love the paint colors you choose for your home.
Which is why I can’t recommend trying it out as a sample in your home first.
Perhaps this is so obvious, but even the surrounding light from one room to another can differ and therefore change the look of any color.
Live with a few samples for a few days before making your final decision.
Be sure to test the color in natural and artificial light too!
Also, another great way to test out a paint color is to get these large self sticking paint samples.
This sounds so great!
No messy paint cans to deal with before you commit! Win/win!
If you’re at all curious, you can find these here.
Hopefully, you found this post helpful.
If you do end up using this pretty paint color in your home, let me know! I’d love to see it.
By the way, you can always see more of our current home here.
Any other questions, please shoot me an email or leave it in the comments below.
I’ll be happy to answer them.
Which reminds me… I’ve already answered a popular inquiry on which paint finish to choose in this post, just in case your wondering:)
A few more things…
Additional Thoughts on Design
For even more home decor and interior design related ideas, be sure to check out these other posts by clicking on each title below-
THE BEST TIPS TO MAKE SMALLER BATHROOMS APPEAR LARGER
THE BEST KITCHEN PENDANT LIGHTS
THE BEST PAINT COLORS FOR LIVING ROOMS
STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR ALMOST EVERY ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE
ENTRANCE HALL DESIGN IDEAS AND TIPS
WHAT TO HANG ON THE BLANK WALL BEHIND YOUR SOFA
STUDIO MCGEE COLLECTION FOR TARGET
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does Selvedge woodwork go with elephants breath walls?
Selvedge Farrow and Ball paint color? Yes- That would be beautiful.
I painted my kitchen cabinets elephant breath. do you have a recommendation for wall paint?
Yes! Either Elephant’s Breath in a flat finish, or add some white or use white dove!
That photo of our kids!!! Brings back so many memories.
You give the best design advice!
Thanks! But where does the time go! XX