Farrow & Ball Beetle Black No.G16

Beetle Black No.G16 is a dark black from the Farrow & Ball Archive Collection, with a true neutral with no discernible bias. It sits in the dark band of the Farrow & Ball palette. It absorbs most of the light that falls on it, so it rewards rooms you want to feel enclosed and intimate — snugs, dining rooms, studies and panelled woodwork.

Using Beetle Black in a scheme

Blackened No.2011 is the white to run with it — it shares the same undertone, so ceilings, cornices and skirtings stay in the same key. Lift it with Plummett No.272 on adjoining walls.

Sampling this colour

Beetle Black sits outside Farrow & Ball's 132-colour signature palette, so it is not produced as a 100ml sample pot. Call in and we can show you the colour on a hand-painted card before you order.

Available finishes

• Dead Flat — ultra-matt walls, woodwork and metal (2% sheen)
• Estate Emulsion — interior walls and ceilings in low-traffic rooms (2% sheen)
• Modern Emulsion — washable, scuff-proof walls and ceilings in kitchens and bathrooms (7% sheen)
• Flat Eggshell — interior wood, metal, concrete and floors (20% sheen)
• Modern Eggshell — hard-wearing wood and metal, including floors and staircases (40% sheen)

Priming and light

Prime bare or previously painted surfaces with Farrow & Ball Dark Tones Primer & Undercoat. Matching the primer to the depth of Beetle Black gives truer colour and usually saves you a topcoat. Deep colours drink light, so with one small window this reads close to black on a dull day — often the point, but worth seeing on the wall first.

Made to order

Beetle Black is a Farrow & Ball Archive colour. Archive colours are mixed to order specifically for you rather than held in stock, so please allow extra time and note that they cannot be returned or exchanged once mixed.

Colour reference

• Colour number: No.G16
• Hex: #585C5D
• RGB: 88, 92, 93
• Colour family: Blacks
• Collection: Archive Collection
• Light reflectance value (LRV): see Farrow & Ball colour card

Mixed to order at Foy & Company

Every tin of Beetle Black is mixed to order on our Farrow & Ball tinting system from the correct Farrow & Ball base, so you get genuine Farrow & Ball paint in the finish and size you need. Nationwide delivery across Ireland.