Farrow & Ball Tar No.CC1

Tar No.CC1 is a dark grey from the Farrow & Ball California 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 Tar 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

Tar 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 Tar 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.

Colour reference

• Colour number: No.CC1
• Hex: #535353
• RGB: 83, 83, 83
• Colour family: Greys
• Collection: California Collection
• Light reflectance value (LRV): see Farrow & Ball colour card

Mixed to order at Foy & Company

Every tin of Tar 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.