Falu red
In its own language: falu rödfärg
A deep red paint pigment from the Falun copper mine, used on wooden houses in Sweden
Falu red is a deep red pigment made from iron oxide, produced as a byproduct of the Falun copper mine in Sweden. It is best known for its use in flour-based paint on wooden buildings in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, giving rural houses their iconic red colour.
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- Made from iron oxide byproducts of the Falun copper mine
- Traditionally used on wooden houses in Sweden, Finland, and Norway
- The name Falu Rödfärg is a protected trademark
- Easy to restore: just brush and repaint
- Colour ranges from nearly black to bright red
What colour is Falu red?
Falu red is a dark, earthy red pigment that stands out for its use on wooden buildings, especially in rural Sweden. The colour can range from nearly black to a bright, light red, depending on how much the iron oxide is burnt during preparation. Its matte finish and distinctive hue have made it a symbol of the Scandinavian countryside.
Where does Falu red come from?
The pigment comes from the Falun copper mine in Sweden, where centuries of mining left behind mineral-rich waste. By the 16th century, people discovered that heating this waste produced a red sludge, which, when mixed with linseed oil and rye flour, made a durable paint. The colour was first used to imitate the red-brick buildings of the wealthy, but later became common on rural homes.
How is Falu red made?
Falu red pigment is made by heating the mineral-rich tailings from the Falun mine, which contain iron oxide, copper, limonite, silicates, and zinc. The pigment is then mixed with water, rye flour, linseed oil, and silicates to create a flour-based paint. The paint is easy to restore: when it weathers, the loose pigment can be brushed off before repainting.
Where Falu red is used
This red paint is mainly used on the exteriors of wooden houses and farm buildings in Sweden, Finland, and Norway. It became especially popular in the countryside, where it is still widely seen. The Finnish phrase 'a red cottage and a potato patch' refers to the ideal of a rural home painted in this colour.
Red around the world
What the red family means from country to country.
The flag is red with a blue cross edged in white. The colours were chosen in 1821 to echo the flags of free countries such as France and the United States.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of NorwayIn their last spring at school, students called russ wear overalls for weeks of parties that end on 17 May, Constitution Day. Most wear red, and business students wear blue.
Festival and celebrationJoySource: RussefeiringCountry cottages and barns are painted Falu red, a deep red with white trim. The paint is made from the waste of the old copper mine at Falun.
Nature and renewalNostalgiaSource: Falun redRed is the colour of the Social Democrats, the party that governed for most of the twentieth century. Its symbol is a red rose.
Politics and protestSource: Swedish Social Democratic PartyThe flag uses the four Pan-Arab colours: a red bar at the hoist with green, white and black bands. It was designed by a young Emirati, Abdullah Al Maainah, in 1971.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of the United Arab EmiratesThe flag is a black double-headed eagle on red, the banner of the fifteenth-century hero Skanderbeg. Fans chant Kuq e Zi, red and black.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of AlbaniaShades and relatives of Falu red
The exact shade of Falu red can vary from almost black to a bright, light red, depending on how the pigment is processed. Different tones have been favoured at different times, but all are based on the same iron oxide pigment from the Falun mine.
Colours that go with Falu red
Harmonies are worked out from the value #801818. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Falu red
What colour is Falu red?
Falu red is a deep, earthy red that can range from almost black to a bright, light red, depending on how the pigment is processed.
Where does the name Falu red come from?
The name comes from the Falun copper mine in Sweden, where the pigment is produced as a byproduct of copper mining.
What is Falu red paint made from?
It is made from iron oxide pigment, mixed with water, rye flour, linseed oil, silicates, copper compounds, and zinc.
Where is Falu red most commonly used?
It is mainly used on the exteriors of wooden houses and farm buildings in Sweden, Finland, and Norway.
Is Falu Rödfärg a protected name?
Yes, only products containing red pigment from the Falun mine can use the name Falu Rödfärg.
Good reading and sources
- Falun red on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Falun red", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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