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Brands · answered by Fini

What's the closest Dulux match to Farrow & Ball Pointing?

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Quick answer

Dulux Fine Cream is the closest match to Farrow & Ball Pointing at ΔE 0.7 — near enough imperceptible. Dulux New Meringue runs it close at ΔE 0.8.

If you want Pointing without paying Farrow & Ball money, Dulux Fine Cream is your colour. It lands at ΔE 0.7 from the original, which is well under the threshold where the human eye can spot a difference (anything below 1 is effectively identical). Fine Cream has an LRV of 88.8, so it reads as a soft, warm off-white — exactly the gently creamy, putty-warm character that makes Pointing such a safe trim and ceiling colour.

Hot on its heels is Dulux New Meringue at ΔE 0.8, LRV 83.8. It's a touch deeper and very slightly warmer, so if you're worried Fine Cream might wash out a bit too pale on a bright south-facing wall, New Meringue gives you a hair more body. Both are bang on — you'd struggle to call which is closer in a side-by-side.

The one thing to flag: Pointing's reputation comes partly from Farrow & Ball's chalky, dead-flat Estate Emulsion finish and the way it holds colour in low light. A Dulux match nails the hue but the sheen and depth of pigment will read a fraction differently, especially in matt vs Dulux's slightly more plasticky Diamond or Vinyl Matt. For trim and woodwork, spec Dulux in a satinwood or eggshell and you'll lose almost none of the character.

My honest steer: if it's ceilings and skirting throughout a whole house, the Dulux match in Trade Vinyl Matt or Satinwood is the sensible, cost-effective call and nobody will ever know. If it's the hero wall in a snug where the chalky finish does the heavy lifting, pay for the real Pointing.

Always get a tester pot and paint a decent patch — A4 minimum — then look at it morning and evening before you commit. ΔE numbers are gospel for hue, but light does what it likes.

Colours from the answer

LRV 86
Farrow & Ball
Pointing
LRV 88.8
Dulux
Fine Cream
LRV 83.8
Dulux
New Meringue

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