Farrow And Ball Lichen
If you’re looking for a beautiful, classic muted green paint color, be sure to consider Farrow and Ball Lichen. Lichen No.19 is a lovely and subtle green paint that is considered a crowd-favorite, and one of Farrow and Ball’s most versatile greens!
Lichen by Farrow and Ball is a popular shade of green that will add a beautiful, subtle, and earthy color to your home. It would look so pretty painted on an exterior door, shutters, on bedroom walls or paneling.
This is a calming and versatile gray green whose color looks great in both daylight and lightly dimmed rooms. If you’re considering this green paint color, here is a complete guide and review of Lichen by Farrow and Ball.
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions and recommendations are my own.
Why You’ll Love Farrow And Ball Lichen
If you love neutral paint colors but still want to embrace a bit of subtle color, a mid tone, muted green is a fantastic option. The key is to first find the right color. A beautiful shade of green paint that looks great on both interior walls in different lighting, on furniture or DIY projects, on trim, and on exterior doors or shutters: welcome, Lichen!
Farrow and Ball states that Lichen is named after the “ever-changing, subtle color of creeping algae which ages stone so beautifully”. And I couldn’t agree more. Lichen is a muted, calming green paint that looks especially beautiful on interior walls of a bedroom, living room, or garden room. It has a nature-inspired hue that feels relaxing and grounding.
Here are some reasons why you’ll love Farrow And Ball’s Lichen:
- Beautiful muted green color
- Lovely and versatile shade of green, that can often act as a neutral
- Feels calming and grounding
- Great paint color for furniture and other DIY projects (and F&B paint is even considered “toy-safe”!)
- Goes well with many other paint colors, especially neutrals, creamy whites, and other shades of green
- Looks great on trim or moulding
- Pairs well with many wallpaper options
- Quality exterior and interior paint
- Comes in a variety of finishes
We’ll touch more on these details here…
Farrow and Ball Lichen LRV
F&B Lichen has an LRV of approximately 34.
What is LRV? LRV refers to Light Reflectance Value.
LRV is a useful factor to consider when choosing an interior paint color. It’s a numerical way of measuring how much visible light a surface reflects. Essentially, it’s used to figure out the lightness and brightness of a specific paint color.
Here’s a quick breakdown of LRV:
- Scale: LRV ranges from 0 to 100
- Higher LRV: Indicates a lighter color that reflects more light, making a space feel brighter
- Lower LRV: Indicates a darker color that absorbs more light, creating a dimmer atmosphere
- 0%: Pure Black: Absorbs all light, appearing completely dark
- 100%: Pure White: Reflects all light, appearing very bright
- LRV helps you understand how much a specific paint color will brighten or darken a room
- Choosing LRV:
- Large rooms with lots of natural light: Can handle darker colors (lower LRV) for a dramatic effect
- Smaller rooms or those with limited natural light: Often benefit from lighter colors (higher LRV) to maximize brightness
However, take this with a grain of salt, because sometimes you may really want a small room, like a powder room, or an intimate room, like a study, to feel a bit dark and moody!
**NOTE: LRV helps to understand how much a specific paint color will brighten or darken a room, but in order to truly get a feel for how a color will look in a room it’s always recommended use a paint sample in the room and look at it in different lighting throughout the day!
Is Farrow and Ball Lichen A Warm Or Cool Color?
While Farrow and Ball describes Lichen as a “mid aged green,” it leans slightly towards warm due to its hue, saturation and lightness. It has a subtle blue undertone, that gives it a gray green tone, but still has a lot of warmth. Lichen has a very earthy, mossy, warm, cozy feel to it- you’ll love it!
However, it’s important to note that undertones can be subtle and can also be influenced by various factors such as lighting and surrounding colors.
Lichen, like many other favorite green paint colors, can look quite different depending on the light and time of day. So again, be sure to always test out a sample or large swatch in your desired room!
Below, you can see how Lichen almost “changes” color depending on the surrounding colors that influence it. Lichen is pictured here on the left side of each image (all Farrow and Ball green paint colors), and can look quite different paired with other shades of green.
Image 1 shows Lichen vs Card Room Green– here it pulls more of a subtle neutral
Image 2 shows Lichen vs Breakfast Room Green, which is a much more “cheerful green”- here it pulls a light blue-gray undertone
Image 3 shows Lichen vs Mizzle– here you can really see the “mossy” look of the color
Image 4 shows Lichen vs French Gray (which still pulls green, despite the name)- Lichen appears very muted and soft
Although the color can change depending on lighting and surrounding colors, Lichen is SUCH a pretty and versatile green.
Farrow and Ball Lichen Ideas
Front Door– A Farrow and Ball Lichen front door would look gorgeous!
This Lichen front door looks so pretty in this lovely entryway with checkered marble floors!
And this Lichen exterior door is lovely, festive, and has the sweetest little pups to show it off!
Kitchen cabinets– I. Mean. This. Kitchen. Talk about a stunning green kitchen with Farrow and Ball Lichen kitchen cabinets and trim:
Trim, Moulding, and Wainscoting– Even if you don’t paint an entire wall, Lichen-painted trim, moulding, or wainscoting/paneling would look beautiful.
I love how this Lichen wainscoting elevates this hallway stairwell!
With Wallpaper– F & B Lichen looks fantastic paired with a neutral wallpaper like this one seen here:
*Keep reading for some gorgeous wallpaper pairing ideas down below!
Walls– A calm green color like Lichen would look fantastic in a room that feels cozy and intimate like a bedroom, study, or powder room!
Furniture– This color would look great painted on a variety of furniture pieces. Consider painting nightstands, a bookcase, hutch, dresser or even a bathroom vanity. Lichen is such a versatile color that looks beautiful painted on furniture and can often act as a neutral due to its muted shade of green.
DIY Projects– If you don’t want to commit to painting a large room, consider smaller DIY projects such as painted picture frames, a kids play kitchen makeover, a potting bench, or even a wooden bird feeder in Lichen.
What Colors Go With Lichen?
Whether you’re looking for accent colors or trim colors that pair with F & B Lichen, these are some paint colors that look beautiful together:
- Creamy Whites
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Farrow and Ball Pointing
- Farrow and Ball White Tie
- Sherwin Williams Alabaster
- Benjamin Moore Crisp Linen
- Crisp, Soft Whites
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
- Farrow and Ball Wimborne White
- Farrow and Ball All White
- Soft Taupe Colors
- Farrow and Ball Bone
- Farrow and Ball Off-White
- Farrow and Ball Stony Ground
- Benjamin Moore Cedar Key
- Benjamin Moore French Macaroon
- Farrow and Ball Dimity
- Farrow and Ball Slipper Satin
- Farrow and Ball Off-White
- Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- Light Blues
- Farrow and Ball Parma Gray
- Farrow and Ball Lulworth Blue
- Farrow and Ball Kittiwake
- Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke
- Benjamin Moore French Toile
- Soft Pinks
- Farrow and Ball Pink Ground
- Farrow and Ball Calamine
- Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink
- Farrow and Ball Tailor Tack
- Benjamin Moore Touch of Pink
- Farrow and Ball Setting Plaster
- Deep Blues & Blue-Gray Hues
- Farrow and Ball Stiffkey Blue
- Farrow and Ball Oval Room Blue
- Farrow and Ball De Nimes
- Farrow and Ball Selvedge
- Farrow and Ball Inchyra Blue
- Greens
- Farrow and Ball Vert De Terre
- Farrow and Ball Calke Green
- Farrow and Ball Card Room Green
- Farrow and Ball Green Smoke
- Farrow and Ball Cromarty
- Farrow and Ball Mizzle
- Farrow and Ball French Gray
- Farrow and Ball Treron
- Farrow and Ball Blue Gray (reads a soft green)
- Farrow and Ball Pigeon
What Wallpaper Goes With Farrow and Ball Lichen?
There are SO many gorgeous wallpaper options that go well with Lichen No.19.
Neutral wallpaper would look gorgeous paired with Lichen! Neutral colors like cream, taupe, and white are a safe bet for wallpaper that pairs well with muted green paint. (*BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS SUPER POPULAR LIST OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NEUTRAL WALLPAPER!)
Neutral prints or textured grasscloth pair beautifully:
Green wallpaper would also look stunning paired with this lovely green paint! Green and white wallpaper would look really nice paired with F&B’s Lichen painted wainscoting, paneling or trim. (*BE SURE TO READ THIS SUPER POPULAR LIST OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GREEN WALLPAPER!)
Soft pink wallpaper would look darling in a girls bedroom or baby girl nursery paired with Lichen trim or wainscoting.
Floral wallpaper would not only look stunning paired with Lichen, it would add a lovely garden feel to the room. Lichen is a very mossy, nature-inspired color, so floral wallpaper would pair beautifully.
I love this blue floral hydrangea wallpaper paired with Lichen and pops of soft pink and white for a girls bedroom or baby girl nursery:
(You can find this wallpaper and over 60 beautiful Hydrangea Wallpaper options HERE!)
Toile wallpaper would also look lovely coordinated with this muted green.
Here’s a fun seaside/coastal toile wallpaper pairing below that would look great in a boys bedroom or baby boy nursery:
Blue and White wallpaper would look stunning with Farrow and Ball Lichen. The combination of pretty blue, green, and white is gorgeous. (*BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS SUPER POPULAR LIST OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BLUE AND WHITE WALLPAPER!)
What Finishes Are Available For Farrow And Ball Lichen No.19?
Lichen comes in many different paint finishes for both interior walls, interior surfaces and exterior surfaces.
- Dead Flat: 2% sheen
- Modern Emulsion: 7% sheen
- Estate Emulsion: 2% sheen
- Modern Eggshell: 40% sheen
- Estate Eggshell: 20% sheen
- Full Gloss: 95% sheen
- Exterior Eggshell: 20% sheen
- Exterior Masonry: 2% sheen
*You can order a sample pot HERE from Farrow and Ball (*All sample pots & swatches come in F&B’s classic Estate Emulsion finish). Or you can order a large, removable, peel and stick paint swatch HERE (highly recommend this for testing in different rooms and different lighting!)
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