Little Greene | Homes & Gardens

but are always timeless. Homes & Gardens recently caught up with Ruth Mottershead, the Creative Director of Little Greene, to learn more about the heritage behind the brand and get her advice on choosing a paint colour and tips on how to work out a scheme for your whole home.

ittle Greene is an iconic paint brand, setting trends in the world of colour, and recently expanding over the pond to the U.S. But at its heart, it’s a family business, and despite how much the brand has grown since it began in 1996, many things still remain the same, taking a small-batch approach to produce paint of the highest quality and develop colours that set trends

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The Creative Director of the iconic paint brand Little Greene

Meet Ruth Mottershead

Homes & Gardens sits down with Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director of the paint brand Little Greene, to chat about the heritage of her family's brand, and the easiest way to choose a colour for your home.

Little Greene is a leading paint brand, but it’s also a family business. How did the brand begin, and when did your involvement start?

‘Little Greene is an independent family business which was founded by my father, David Mottershead, who spent his early career working for a number of international paint and pigment companies. Having gained a wide knowledge of the industry and kindled a passion for the science of colour, he founded the ‘Little Greene Paint Company’ in 1996, when my brother Ben and I were children. ‘Little Greene’ was the name of a tiny 18th-century hamlet just to the east of Manchester, which can be seen on ancient maps of the area – including the one on all our paint tins.’ ‘Ben and I grew up with the business, literally painting out colour cards round the kitchen table at home and visiting the factory nestled in the foothills of Snowdonia, where we still produce to this day. Before joining the company, I worked as a landscape architect in London, designing outdoor spaces such as parks, urban spaces and heritage sites. It was a job inspired by my love of the outdoors and design.’ ‘When the opportunity arose to join my brother and father at Little Greene, it gave me the chance to return to colour, and of course, interior design is closely related to exterior design/spatial design. It is a constantly evolving role as the business continues to grow.’

Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director, Little Greene

What are your key tips for homeowners right at the start of the paint journey, choosing colours for their rooms?

‘When decorating, it’s important to always consider how you use the space and the atmosphere you want to create; this is particularly true when it comes to choosing paint. The colours you choose to surround yourself with are key to determining how the space will make you feel.’ ‘Very often we feel the effects of colour even when it is used as a backdrop to support other textiles, accessories and design pieces. Warmer and cooler tones will evoke very different feelings, but there are subtle differences too, it’s not just about considering the colour, but also the brightness, the undertones, and depth of colour.’ ‘Focus on choosing specific colours for the atmosphere you wish to create in a room rather than current trends, then relate these tones subtly from room to room. For example, the kitchen is often a hive of activity, the hub of the home and a vibrant space, it's the perfect place to opt for bold tones that exude energy. You could then tie in a softer, yet related tone in the living room – an area where you perhaps feel a more restful tone is appropriate.’ ‘If you’re aiming for continuity and connectivity, using two shades from the same colour family is a good way to create a harmonious scheme. Our ‘Colour Scales’ card offers some of our most popular colours within families of graduated tones, made using the same pigments, but in different strengths. This collection is a timeless choice if you are looking for soft, neutral tones to create a sense of flow throughout the home. They are easy to use in combination on walls, ceiling and trim as well as providing a seamless colour journey from room to room.’

How can having a Little Greene colour card help with this process?

‘We present colours in an inspiring but usable way, designing tools that make creating design schemes a simple, enjoyable and creative process. Our colour cards are produced using chips of real paint in our flat, chalky Absolute Matt Emulsion finish, so you can see exactly how the colours will appear on your wall. By folding the card away from the unique ‘flying colour chips’, you can compare these shades directly against existing wallpapers, fabrics, tiles and painted walls. This makes scheming with fabrics easy, and helps you to design beautiful, harmonious interiors with confidence.’ ‘Our Colour Scales card offers tonal families of colour, using varying strengths of the same pigment. This presents a really simple way to scheme, providing a curated palette of coordinating shades for different parts of your space, such as the walls, ceiling and woodwork.’

What’s unique about Little Greene paint, and what can homeowners expect when choosing a shade?

‘At Little Greene we have always believed it’s possible to create beautiful high-quality paints and wallpapers with minimal impact on the environment. We make all our paints in our own small paint factory in North Wales, with much of the process still undertaken by the hands of time-served craftspeople rather than automated machines, right down to our sample pots, which are filled by hand from a glass jug.’ ‘We use only the finest natural, organic and safe synthetic pigments, and our paints contain over 40% more pigment than many ordinary paints. This gives them an unequalled depth of colour and means that they often require less coats for full coverage.’

What's your advice for picking colours that feel on trend but are also very timeless?

‘It is often the case that some of the oldest shades are the most popular. Colours inspired by the natural world will always feel very timeless, so this is a great place to start to create schemes with longevity and enduring beauty. Many of our colours are rooted in nature, including ‘Stone’, a palette of completely natural hues that offer warmth, tranquillity, timelessness and harmony, pleasing to the eye and soothing for the senses.’ ‘We’ve seen a clear shift away from the cool, blue-toned greys towards earthier hues that have an inherent warmth to them. There is a greater need to surround ourselves with comforting, soothing colours that are not only easy to live with but provide warmth and serenity within our living environments.’

Homes & Gardens

Ceiling: Travertine - Mid™ 273. Walls: Light Bronze Green™ 123. Skirting: Light Bronze Green™ 123.

Ceiling: Celestial Blue™ 101. Bedside Table: Silt® 40.

Walls: Mochi™ 344. Shelf: Mochi™ 344. Tiles: Mochi™ 344. Lower units: Attic II™ 144. Cupboard unit: Attic II™ 144. Ceiling: Slaked Lime™ 105.

Wallpaper: Spring Flowers – Garden and Spring Flowers – Portland Stone Door frame: Portland Stone - Pale Window frame: Garden Cabinet doors: Hopper

Ceiling & Above Dado: Dock Blue™ 252. Walls: Royal Navy™ 257. Window: Smalt™ 255. Headboard: Dock Blue™ 252.

Find out more littlegreene.com

How can having a Little Greene colour card help with this process?