Designed to make choosing colours pleasurable and intuitive for the user, Little Greene’s updated colour cards reflect the changing way we use colour.
With colour confidence central to the Little Greene ethos, the new cards incorporate colours that span over 300 years of historic interior design alongside a palette of contemporary shades which embrace modern interior design aesthetics and provide a multitude of opportunities to introduce depth, character and a considered use of colour.
“Our ‘Colours of England’ and ‘Colour Scales’ collections evolve in line with changing approaches to colour in our homes,” comments Ruth Mottershead, Creative and Marketing Director. “The popularity of colours changes over time; it’s an evolution rather than a revolution, with a movement towards different colours feeling like a natural transition. It’s fascinating to look back to see how colour use has changed throughout history, and to look forwards to predict and then create the favourite colours of the future.
“The shifting of colour trends is gradual. In 2016, we experienced the use of a lot of blue shades, with blue-based whites and strong blue hues rising to the fore. This move towards blue had evolved from the love of grey that we had seen in the early 2010s. Over the past decade, colour trends have moved through rich blues into teals, then softer, neutral greens, and five years ago we introduced three new bold yellows in response to yellow’s growing popularity and the use of greens encompassing lots of yellow pigment. Bold yellow tones then became deeper and softer, with ochre and caramel rising in popularity, before evolving into a move towards stone-based neutrals and richer indulgent browns, which was in turn followed by a shift into burgundy, deep reds, pinks and aubergineshades which bring intimacy and a quiet sense of grandeur,” adds Ruth.
Little Greene’s new ‘Colours of England’ card featuring 128 shades has been updated, adding 5 new colours to its timeless offering of authentic shades from the key periods in the past 300 years of decorative history.
Alongside the cherished Little Greene signature colour palette, new colours include soft suffused ‘everywhere’ white ‘Haye White’, delicate, stoney plaster hue ‘Parlour’, intriguing and expansive ‘Perpetual Blue’, confident and playful ‘Floss’, and usable yetcharacterful muted orange ‘Ashes of Marigold’.
The ‘Colours of England’ collection is presented alongside an expanded range of graduated shades in the new ‘Colour Scales’ offering which includes 22 new colours and expanded families of colour for much-loved shades.
Designed to be both inspirational and easy to use, ‘Colour Scales’ treats each colour as one of 18 graduated families of colour, grouped in columns according to undertone. Each ‘root’ colour is accompanied by lighter and darker variations, making coordination very simple. Shades within the same column can be used together for tonal coordination, or across columns to create a balanced contrast.
Ruth Mottershead continues: “These families of colour allow customers to easily create harmonious schemes. By communicating tonal colours in families, we can offer a subtle spectral range that consumers can combine with confidence. The varying shades can be combined to add discreet depth to a room, defining architectural features, or reduce the contrast of walls and ceilings. The deeper shades can be used to complete a coordinated finish that, whilst singular in colour, makes a design statement through an expansive use of tonal colour.”
Not only has Little Greene added new shades, but it has also reformatted the card with the customer in mind. Arranged with warmer, pinker undertones to the left of the card, through to yellow and green, to the cooler blueish neutrals on the right, the ‘Neutral Scales’,which effortlessly help with the selection of colours based on their undertone, are now presented alongside coordinated whites.
“The understanding of, and approach to neutrals has evolved,” comments Ruth. “We have seen a shift; colours are becoming very balanced – neither too cool nor too warm! If they were to sit on the PH scale, they would sit at 5 or 6. This desire for balance of tone has increased the popularity of balanced neutrals such as ‘Portland Stone’. In response, we have introduced a highly complex, easy-to-scheme new neutral ‘Barge Stone’, as well as extended the much-loved warm calico ‘Hammock’, to offer a family of ‘Hammock Colour Scales’ with shades of varying strengths. These new neutrals meet the increasing demand for complex, balanced shades that deliver colour personality.
“We have also experienced a clear transition from caramels, burnt oranges and chocolate brown tones. We have therefore taken the red oxide and intense heat out of our colours to provide gentler shades with less intensity, where the saturation is being turned down, such as ‘Ashes of Marigold’ which is tempered with a touch of black to deliver a warm, earthy terracotta orange.
“Similarly, there is a shift away from cold greens and blues. Once extremely popular ‘Aquamarine’, ‘Gauze’ and ‘Pearl Colour’ have been replaced with a desire for warmer greens and blues that are gentler and more yellow such as ‘Celestial Blue’, ‘Boxington’ and‘Hammock’.
“Fresh, clean pastel tones are also on the rise, with gelato colours such as ‘Floss’, ‘Parlour’, ‘Boxington’ and’ Celestial Blue’ increasing in popularity. These light-hearted shades illustrate our desire for gentle hues that feel characterful and joyful without being overpowering or intense.”
Using the same theory of related colour, the ‘Colourful Scales’ section on the right of the colour card introduces shades with higher chroma. Use these grouped families in exactly the same way by selecting shades from the same column to create seamless,harmonious schemes or navigate horizontally for a colour with similar weight but a change in hue.
Stronger individual new colours that both work tonally with existing Little Greene shades and respond to changing colour trends have been added to the ‘Colourful Scales’ section. These distinctive new shades include charming neutral ‘Flight Pink’, luxurious andcomforting mid-tone brown ‘Marle’, balanced neutral yellow ‘Elysian Yellow’, delectable caramelised yellow ‘Brûlée’, characterful green ‘Oilcloth’,understated subtle grey ‘Cobble’, deep sophisticated blue ‘Rome’, and warm sage green ‘Hillside’.
“We can’t wait to see how our customers will use these beautiful and deeply characterful new colours to create sophisticated, nuanced colour schemes in their homes,” comments Ruth.
The New Colours
Haye White™ 346.
With a suffused brightness, ‘Haye White’ was created in pursuit of a great ‘everywhere white’. A softer, warmer alternative to umber-toned ‘Slaked Lime,’ ‘Haye White’ features a small amount of ochre, creating a warm easy-on-the-eye white rather than a cream.
Parlour™ 347.
A delicate, warm and stoney plaster hue, ‘Parlour’ is a pinkish off white similar in tone to ‘Castell Pink’, but with a lighter and fresher feel. Once used in a north-facing reception room known as the ‘Slop’t Parlour’ at Dyrham Park near Bath, so called because of its view directly onto a dramatic, sloping landscaped bank from which a decorative fountain would hydrate the air (and guests) on hot days.
Perpetual Blue™ 348.
Similar in tone to ‘Celestial Blue’ but with more depth, ‘Perpetual Blue’ is a colour taken from a surviving paint palette of Sir Winston Churchill in his studio at Chartwell in Kent. A keen artist, even in times of great adversity, he championed the practice of painting for one’s mental health and once quipped, “When I get to heaven, I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting.” A deeper version of ‘Celestial Blue’, ‘Perpetual Blue’ is a mid to deep blue that has a touch of green which responds beautifully to changing light.
Elysian Yellow™ 356.
Adding another yellow to an increasingly popular colour category, ‘Elysian Yellow’ is a balanced neutral yellow that is warm but not so obvious in hue. It is one of several colours used in the intricate decoration of The Chinese House at Stowe in Buckinghamshire; a small timber pavilion that once stood on stilts in a pond near the estate’s ‘Elysian Fields’.
Marle™ 355.
A luxurious mid-tone brown shade with comforting warmth, ‘Marle’ is heavy on yellow ochre but has plenty of black to desaturate and soften. With its touch of red oxide to offset the greening of these two pigments, ‘Marle’ is a perfectly balanced, easy-to-use brown that feels intimate and cocooning.
Flight Pink™ 354.
Found on the upper walls of the great staircase at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, providing an exquisite backdrop to the intricate joinery and gilt detailing which accompanies the generously proportioned flight of stairs; ‘Flight Pink’ is a slightly more neutral version of ‘Split Pink’. Definitely pink, ‘Flight Pink’ is gentle enough to act as a warm and playful neutral.
Floss™ 349.
With the same undertone but with half the intensity of the stronger pink ‘Carmine’, ‘Floss’ will drive a confident pink scheme when used on walls or in a colour-drenched scheme, or sparingly as a versatile accent within almost any combination of more subdued colours.
Brûlée™ 357.
A delectable, caramelised yellow, Brûlée will act as a deep neutral when schemed alongside brighter, bolder yellows, or it will bring design impact as an enigmatic signature colour among darker shades. Pair with deep ‘Bronze Red’ for a sophisticated coordinated scheme, or contrast with bold ‘Marine Blue’ for an eye-catching approach.
Ashes of Marigold™ 350.
Whilst true, bold orange ‘Marigold’ with its 70s connotations and intense depth is often reserved for smaller colour highlights, ‘Ashes of Marigold’ is a softer, blackened version of the cherished late 20th-century shade, that is both extremely usable and bursting with personality.
Oilcloth™ 358.
A characterful green, ‘Oilcloth’ provides an excellent alternative to grey in an all over colour drenched scheme, or black when used within a neutral scheme. Affording easy coordination with natural finishes while quietly bringing a nuance of colour, ‘Oilcloth’ will bring depth and distinctiveness to a home.
Cobble™ 359.
Understated, subtle and very neutral, this clever grey coordinates effortlessly with cooler, modern schemes. Much like the easy-to-scheme ‘French Grey’ which combines a touch of both red and blue pigment, ‘Cobble’ offers a cooler, more green-based grey. Cobble provides a valuable addition for both the traditional home and the modern interior – creating calm living spaces, hallways, bathrooms and bedrooms.
Rome™ 367.
A deep sophisticated blue, ‘Rome’ embraces its green undertone without verging on turquoise. ‘Rome’ sits close to the iconic ‘Hicks’ Blue’ but offers a greener quality. Home to the enigmatic Londonderry family for over two hundred years, Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland has seen its fair share of redesign and refurbishment. One of its most venerable residents, Lady Edith Vane-Tempest Stewart passionately embraced the language of international design, and left a legacy of bold, expressive décor throughout the house, including this enigmatic deep blue on the walls and ceiling of a luxurious, themed guestbedroom called ‘Rome’.
Hammock™ – Colour Scales Family 351–353.
A much-loved warm neutral with umber undertones, unbleached calico ‘Hammock’ has been extended to offer a family of ‘Colour Scales’ of varying strengths. Neutrals with this weight were typically used in the place of white, on ceilings and fine plaster mouldings in historic country houses. ‘Hammock’ provides a timeless backdrop to decorate from. For a contemporary scheme, use ‘Hammock’ on the ceiling with a coordinating muted pink such as ‘Blush’ on the walls.
Hillside™ 371.
A warmer version of Sage Green, ‘Hillside’ is the perfect green for adding warmth to cool living rooms and functional kitchens. Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire, the 19th-century home of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, was inherited by his nephew Coningsby who converted Disraeli’s drawing room to a library, where this colour was used on small sections of plaster wall, among well-stocked bookshelves. In the 1940s, the library housed a secret wartime Intelligence base that supported a covert RAF initiative, codenamed ‘Hillside’.
Barge Stone™ – Colour Scales Family 358–361.
A highly complex, easy-to-scheme neutral, ‘Barge Stone’ is an evolution of the much loved ‘Portland Stone’ with a cooler green undertone. It is a green without any green or blue pigment. Barge Stone and its family of ‘Colour Scales’ provide timeless putty shades that sit perfectly alongside cooler natural finishes, limestone and slate, or polished concrete in a more contemporary space.
Celestial Blue™ – Colour Scales Family 364–366.
The charming and highly versatile ‘Celestial Blue’, which can appear blue, green or grey depending on the light, is now available as a graduated family of colours. A dusky variant of ‘Sky Blue’ found on a rare surviving paint colour card of 1807, the ‘Celestial Blue Colour Scales’ family now offers an easy-to-use palette of subtle colour variation for harmonising in a room.
Boxington Family® – Colour Scales Family 368–370.
Reassuring, soothing and elegant, ‘Boxington’ is a reduced lime, with added red oxide of iron. Extended to offer both lighter and darker variations within the ‘Colour Scales’ collection, this family of colour will provide a relaxing and elegant backdrop in dining rooms, hallways and living rooms.
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