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!

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!

Hi, I’m Jane Cumberbatch. Welcome to my new series ‘Make and Do’. In this film, I’m going to show you how to re-vamp a junk table.

Now I’m somebody who’s always on the lookout for old pieces of furniture from skips and in junk shops, and whenever I go looking for a piece, I try and find something that has some interesting depth of detail. Even if it’s in a colour I don’t like, or a wood I don’t like – I’ll still buy it because you can do amazing things with a lick of paint and I’m going to show you how.

Firstly, materials that you need are paint brushes, and I always use a selection, so that you can use the thinner ones for attending to the more intricate bits of the piece, and a wider one for bigger surfaces.

And then you need sandpaper, and then the paint itself.

I’m using white undercoat, and then the top coat is in the colour of my choice, which is a lovely pale bluey green, and I’m using emulsion.

Now, a lot of people say you can’t paint wood with emulsion, but I say no, because if you want a nice matt texture, emulsion is really one of the best textures to use.

Now before you start, the most important thing is to wash and clean the object that you want painted, because if you don’t you’ll find that the paint won’t stick, and you’ll find yourself in a lot of trouble.

I think that the best thing is just to use some detergent and water and a sponge, and to really give everything a good clean, because old pieces of furniture will have years of accumulated grease and cake crumbs perhaps. And it’s really important that you do the cleaning.

After you’ve washed the table or your piece of furniture, the next thing is to sand it down so that it has a good key for the paint, because the paint actually needs to bond to the surface.

You work over the area, up and down, sanding. So you continue until every little bit of the object is finished.

Right, I’ve finished the sanding, and you now have to give this a wash.

Now the first thing is to put on a coat of undercoat, and I’m using waterbased, because it is quick to dry and I like the matt texture, and it’s quite easy to find a universal undercoat at the hardware merchants or your local DIY superstore.

You need to keep a good gentle backwards and forwards motion so that you get a nice smooth effect.

Once you finish with the undercoat, you’ve got to go and wash your brushes. Waterbased paints mean that you can wash them in water, which is a lot better than having to put them in turps or one of the cleaners for oil based paints.

Let the piece of furniture dry for between 1 or 2 hours depending on your local conditions.

Now this is the nice bit, we’re putting on the top coat. This is where you begin to see how paint can transform even the, well I wouldn’t say this table was ugly, but I don’t think it would look very pretty in it’s beaten up state when it was on the skip.

Anyway, you apply the paint in a nice sweeping backwards and forwards motion. Good quality paint doesn’t need so many coats, and you might find that if the piece that you’re painting is very dark, you might need more than one coat, because you need more paint to cover up the dark colour beneath.

What I have learnt by bitter experience, is do not overload the brush. It’s really tempting to slop on the paint to get quick coverage, but you do this at your peril, because it simply means your paint falls off onto the ground or on your shoes or in the place that it shouldn’t be.

You shouldn’t worry about making your piece of painted furniture absolutely perfect. The idea is to actually have a few imperfections, because part of the charm of painting things yourself is that you can make it look more personal by painting it in this way.

Well, here I am, and here’s the finished junk table, and it doesn’t look junky any more. I think it looks really pretty, and it’s the sort of thing that you can use by the sofa or put it by the bath to put soaps on, or even put it by the bed.

I hope that you will have been inspired to do something similar with a junk shop or skip find.

When it comes to deciding on the colour of the door, much of this should be about personal preference but it is worth considering colours that compliment the existing exterior house colours and brickwork.

Painting your front door allows for a certain amount of creativity so whether you opt for a bold, solid colour, a subtle shade or an original design, the final effect should be something you are happy to be met with everyday.  For front doors our Oil Based Gloss Paint is ideal, it is formulated to be weather resistant and hard-wearing for up to 5 years before re-painting.

To begin, remove all fittings from the door such as door knobs and locks.  Sand down the door to remove any sheen or loose paint and use a soft cloth to remove any remaining dust.  Apply a suitable oil-based primer to the door, as recommended by our guide, and allow to dry.

Having a good quality paint brush is extremely important to ensure a professional and high quality finish.  Apply the desired paint colour in the direction of the grain to avoid streaking and, if painting a panelled door, begin with the panel mouldings followed by the inner panels.  Next, paint the centre stile and then the horizontal panels (or cross rails). Finish by painting the outer panels and lastly, the edges of the door.

If you are painting a flush door, it is advisable to paint in sections in order to maintain an even look.  When each section is complete, use horizontal strokes to blend the painted sections together.

If the area is allowed to dry before blending the sections together, the job will look uneven and messy so keep the edges wet.  Working with small sectioned off areas will ensure the best finish.

Images taken from a selection from Flickr under Creative Commons Licence.
Photographers include:

• Klearchos Kapoutsis
• Athena’s Pix
• Hortulus
• Visualpanic
• Jesibo0

The best place to start when ordering your colours is to select a colour in the Oil Based Gloss Paint finish. You can then order your corresponding primer if you need to.

One of the chief concerns is to reduce the amount of CO2 gas that is released into the atmosphere as well as the amount of  solvents, aerosols and toxic gases that are used in products and in manufacturing processes.  As these gases build up in the atmosphere they trap heat.  The greater the human activity, therefore, the greater the concentration of gases and the only way to combat the increase in temperature is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we emit.

Everyone should take responsibility for climate change, and that includes businesses.  By leading the way with eco-friendly products, services and manufacturing processes, companies can set a great example for individuals and set the standard for conscientious business practice.

We at the Little Greene Paint Co. take our environmental responsibility seriously.  In 2004, we were one of the first UK paint manufacturers to achieve the European environmental standard BS EN ISO 14001. We believe that acting with environmental responsibility need not compromise the high quality standard of our products.

All our water-based paints carry the industry’s lowest eco-rating, with VOC content  now virtually zero.  In addition,  our oil based paints have been reformulated with sustainable vegetable oils to dramatically reduce VOC content and odour.  The paper used in our wallpapers comes from FSC or PEFC certificated sustainable forests; so for every tree used another four are planted. The pigments used to print them are completely non-toxic and our excellent wallpaper paste contains no solvent.

So it really is time to take action and make a change, even if it is only something very small in the first instance.  The future is almost certainly in our hands; instead of lamenting about what damage has already occurred, we should now look towards the future with environmental awareness and positivity and create a better world for future generations to come.

For a Moroccan inspired rooms try hot, vibrant oranges and reds combined with shades of blue and aquamarine.  Moroccans take inspiration from the colours their geography provides; the desert’s golden sands, the hot baked mountain rocks and the sparkling colours of the sea.  Shades including ‘Terre di Sienna‘ and ‘Heat‘ are great for creating the essence of Moroccan landscapes and can be accentuated with shades of blue-green such as ‘Canton‘ and ‘Marine Blue‘.  The dark blue shades can be used as a dramatic backdrop for the entire room or used to add depth to specific areas.  Complete the look with brightly coloured fabrics, jewelled accessories and textured rugs and throws.

For a French country style look, the result is rustic and welcoming.  Decorating colours are inspired by sunshine, fertile fields and the countryside.  Try yellows and reds as well as all shades of green including ‘Garden‘, ‘Sage Green‘ and ‘Woodland‘ to recreate the essence of grass and rolling hills.  The finished look should invoke a warm, casual, old-world feel.

If the delights of the French countryside or the colours of the Moroccan bazaars don’t tempt you, why not opt for a Hispanic Hacienda theme.  Spanish decor focuses on earthy tones coupled with rich reds and terracotta hues.  To create the look try ‘Bronze Red‘ and ‘Tuscany‘ on the walls and compliment this with furnishings in warm, earthy tones.  Fabric tapestries and dark wood are an effective way of completing the look.

When you’re choosing a colour to paint your radiator, bear in mind the surroundings. Although whites or off-whites will be the obvious choices, with oil-based paints these colours will go yellow because of the temperature of the radiator. You can reduce the prominence of a radiator by using the same colour as the walls or make a statement but using a contrasting or complimentary colour.

It is ideal if you can paint your radiator before it is plumbed in – or if you can take it down. This allows you to get better coverage on the hard to reach areas – but be careful if it’s already plumbed in – you’ll need to drain the radiator first – so it might not be the best option if you’ve got a new carpet!

If you’re painting your radiator in situ, then make sure you keep it turned off until the paint has dried and ensure the room is well ventilated. Cover the surrounding area, and tape any areas which meets a surface you don’t intend to paint over.

Use a piece of medium grade sandpaper to smooth the surface. If you have thick, unsightly paint or drip marks from a previous paint job, you may need to use a paint stripper to get a smooth finish.

Clean the radiator to get rid of any dirt, dust and fluff – anything like this trapped under a new coat of paint will be very noticeable, so it’s worth the effort.

If your radiator has not been painted before, or has chips or wear which reveal the metal work underneath, you will need to use an oil based undercoat or metal primer. A standard Undercoat or Primer won’t prevent cracking or discolouration but an anti-corrosive primer like The Little Greene Universal Primer/Undercoat applied to bare metal areas will help to prevent rust re-occurring – this is particularly important with a radiator because it will get very hot in use.

If you can see any rust, treat it before you apply the primer. If there is only slight surface rust, you should be able to get rid of it with sandpaper, but if there is a lot of rust visible, you would be better replacing the radiator.

Stir your paint well before you start.

To paint the radiator, a standard paint brush will do the job, but you might find it easier with a raditor paint brush – this is angled so you can get into awkward places.

You have a choice of paint finishes for radiators, choose based on the style of your room, whether it’s in a high moisture area like a bathroom, or if you want a particularly environmentally friendly or low VOC paint:

• Oil Based Eggshell Paint – which is a very tough and durable, low odour, paint with a low sheen finish.
• Acrylic Eggshell Paint – which is moisture and stain resistant, hard wearing, with a subtle low sheen finish.
• Oil-Based Gloss Paint – which resists weathering, cracking and flaking, and has a high gloss finish.
• Acrylic Gloss Paint – which is tough and washable with a high sheen. An environmentally friendly and hard wearing paint.
• ULTIMATT Emulsion Paint – which is environmentally friendly, and has a superb depth of colour and a flat matt finish.

Avoid painting nuts and bolts or any moving parts, or you will have problems in future.

You will usually need 2 coats over a primer for a nice finish.
Leave at least 4 hours between coats for a water based paint, or leave overnight drying for Oil based paint.

These room setups are available on the UKTV website in the Homes section.
For this Kitchen, you will need White Lead floor paint and Chemise (or Joanna for a more subtle dusky effect).

Chemise

Joanna

White Lead

This room uses some strong accent greens, white and lots of natural wood. To recreate this look, use Aquamarine, Clockface and Slaked Lime.

Aquamarine

Clockface

Slaked Lime

We’d be interested to hear from you if you’ve decorated your kitchen with Little Greene paints, because we’d love to feature your work.

It can be tricky picking your paint colours for this room, so we’ve used some example bedroom settings and listed the paint colours you would need to re-create the look.

Ikea have some great bedroom furniture, and this example will appeal to both men and women with a mix of masculine strong colours, pale accessories and soft dusky lilac.

Ikea Bedroom Furniture : black glossy wardrobe

The paint colours you would need to recreate this look are Juniper Ash, Chemise and Hollyhock. They have accessorised this room with white bed linen and a strong yellow/green accent colour.

Juniper Ash

Chemise

Hollyhock

Feather & Black have a couple of nice room setups for 2009. This room uses a neutral green/grey for the main colour, accessorised with a soft brown, and the floor has been varnished in a striking dark wood brown.

Recreate this look by using either Dark Lead Colour or Lead Colour, French Grey and Portland Stone.

You can get the bed from Feather & Blacks.

Lead Colour

Dark Lead

Portland Stone

French Grey

This bedroom, also from Feather & Blacks. You can recreate this look by using Bone Chine Blue or for a slightly stronger effect, James, and Slaked Lime for the woodwork.

This has been accessorised with strong black items, and the bed can be bought here.

Bone Chine

James

Slaked Lime