The Little Greene Blog

Here at The Little Greene Paint Company, we have a long standing commitment to supporting Breast Cancer charities and this year is no exception.

We will be making a special donation from every can of paint sold during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 2010.

Specially labelled cans will be sold via the internet and UK stockists for the month of October. We’re committing to give 15p from the sale of every can of paint sold during the month and customers will have the opportunity to select the charity of their choice to determine how the money generated will be spent.

Customers will be able to vote for their preferred charity on-line on our website using a special landing page which will be live from 1st October through to the end of November.

At the conclusion of the month, the money generated will be calculated and then shared out proportionately according to the on-line voting.

Major breast cancer charity partners have joined up with us in an effort to raise awareness and provide much needed resources for breast cancer research and support networks, and our customers will be able to see the work done by these important agencies, as we’ll be adding links to their profiles at the start of the month.

David Mottershead, our MD comments “We are delighted to support such an important issue, one that is close to our hearts at Little Greene; this is part of a long-term commitment to help breast cancer sufferers and the associated research to beat this disease. I am confident the programme will be a success.”

More details to follow, so keep an eye on the blog for updates!

Spring has sprung (almost!) so now’s the time to freshen up tired-looking exteriors!

Whether you want to liven up your masonry or give your front door a facelift, Little Greene has just the paint for you! With over 160 mouth-watering shades and a variety of environmentally-friendly finishes to choose from, you can give your home a makeover in an afternoon!

And you can do it with a clear conscience too! Little Greene’s practical and hard-wearing oil-based paints – perfect for exterior woodwork and metal work, including front doors and garden furniture – have been reformulated to give them a greener appeal. Without compromising on appearance, ease of application or durability, much of the solvent in all Little Greene oil-based paints has been replaced with naturally-occurring vegetable oils, which are both environmentally-friendly and truly sustainable.

The low-sheen oil-eggshell still has its timeless, sophisticated flat finish whilst the oil-gloss remains as brilliant as ever.

And for walls, Little Greene now makes an eco-friendly Exterior Masonry Paint specially formulated to keep your house and garden looking smart for up to 15 years.

Little Greene’s Exterior Masonry Paint is easy to apply and quick to dry. It has a smooth, matt finish that resists dirt retention, and with such a beautiful range of shades, there is a paint for walls everywhere, from townhouses to cottage gardens.

Strike while it’s hot! Consult your Little Greene colour cards today, and give your home the beauty treatment it deserves!

With the days getting longer and the nights getting lighter, not to mention a welcome dose of spring sunshine, now’s the time to turn your attention to outdoor living!

Creating the perfect summer retreat, where you can curl up with a book, enjoy al fresco dining or simply watch the world go by, couldn’t be easier with our environmentally-friendly water-based paints.

They cover exceptionally well, dry quickly and have no odour, so you can give your garden room a facelift in an afternoon. Then all you have to do is stand back, appreciate your handiwork…and enjoy!

Alternatively, give your garden furniture a new lease of life with one of our practical and hard-wearing oil-based paints, which have now been reformulated to give them a greener appeal.

Without compromising on appearance, ease of application or durability, the paints have had their solvent content reduced and replaced with naturally-occurring vegetable oils, which are both environmentally-friendly and truly sustainable.

Our water- and oil-based paints come in a mouth-watering palette of 164 shades – so the hardest thing you’ll have to do is choose the colour!

We’re introducing a beautiful new paint collection to complement our existing range of 128 paint shades.

The aptly-titled Colour Scales® collection is exactly that: the card combines 12 of the best-loved colours from the Little Greene ‘Colours of England’ card with lighter or darker tones of each. The result is a delightfully soft palette that offers subtle variations of shade and an incredibly easy-to-use system for harmonising and combining colours in a room: an essential card for professional designers and home-decorators alike.

Livingroom in French Grey

Hallway in Bone China Blue Paint

David, our Managing Director commented that ‘Our customers repeatedly ask for varied strengths of our colours and this comes as no surprise – the practice of using scales of tone actually has its origins firmly rooted in age-old decorating techniques.’

Contrary to popular assumption there were, historically, no such things as set colour standards, so the designers & craftsmen of yesteryear would create paint shades ‘off the cuff’ by blending raw pigments themselves. Each artisan would subsequently reduce a particular shade with white, in order to produce a personalised collection, using these ‘scaled down’ colours either as individual shades or in harmonious groups to celebrate the architectural integrity of an individual room or entire building.

Little Greene’s Colour Scales® card has been designed to make the colour selection process very straightforward. The layout of overlapping paint chips overcomes the problem of viewing a colour surrounded by bright white (often the reason a shade appears to be lighter or darker on a colour chart than when painted on a larger expanse of wall). The Colour Scales® card enables the client to choose variations in colour strength in the same way the original designers, did but without the associated hassle of ‘mixing your own’.

In keeping with our quality-assurance, all colours are available in the full range of traditional and modern paint finishes, and the chips on the Colour Scales® card are accurate samples of both colour and finish, being made from actual paint direct from a tin of environmentally-friendly Acrylic Matt Emulsion rather than in a factory-matched ink.

From the beginning of April, Colour Scales® will be available nationally and internationally through Little Greene’s network of distributors. It can also be bought via mail & phone order and online.

With the New Year well underway you may be thinking about breathing new life into your home. As the economic gloom of 2009 slowly begins to lift, trends for 2010 focus on a brighter more eclectic style of interior decor. Here are a few of the key trends to look out for in the coming year.

A socially-minded focus on the environment and sustainability will see the use of natural materials, such as woods and metals, become a popular choice for furniture. Alongside this try using an earthy colour palette mixing greens, browns and beiges to create a calming atmosphere.

In 2010 Grey will emerge as a staple colour to compliment any room of your house. When teamed with vibrant colours such as purple or yellow it creates an unexpected and stylish effect. Identified by colour forecasting specialists Pantone as a must have colour for this year, Turquoise can be used in many different ways. Try it as an accent colour to brighten up a room filled with muted beiges and natural tones, or use it alongside other shades of blue to achieve a cool and tranquil space.

Texture will be a trend that affects all aspects of interior decor.  Look out for furniture items such as rugs, carpets and cushions that have interesting textures or have been developed from unusual materials. This trend can be extended to your choice of paints and wallpaper as well. Try combining matte and gloss paint colours to achieve a textured effect, or use a textured wallpaper to create a cosy atmosphere.

Whether it’s a unique piece of furniture or just a souvenir from your last holiday, inject a bit of personality into your home this year. Items that display evidence of craftsmanship or individuality can make your home feel more personal and welcoming. Look out for sustainable ethical items that will last you a lifetime.

Finally, 2010 will see the wallpapered ceiling emerge as a forward-thinking take on the wallpapered accent wall.  A wallpaper that compliments the colour scheme of your room can create even more of a design statement when applied to the ceiling. It can work to draw attention to architectural features and unusually shaped rooms. It can work equally as well to add a touch of eccentricity to a more conventional four-walled room.

If using wallpaper throughout the room, try to choose different patterns for the walls and ceiling and make sure they are broken up by other elements such as wooden panelling. This will avoid making the room feel boxed in, and will make sure your home is on trend for 2010.

We are currently running a survey to find out more about peoples lifestyles and how they impact upon the environment. If you have a couple of minutes to spare we would greatly appreciate your feedback.