Whether it’s your guest bedroom, downstairs lavatory or your garden room, there’s never been a better time to get those interior decoration projects completed and to make your home beautiful. Perhaps spending more time at home has inspired you to redecorate your home completely, which is exciting, but we understand this can be a daunting task.
Although it can be tempting to order your paint and wallpaper as soon as possible at the moment, it will pay off to plan your project in stages and to test colours in situ before committing.
We’ve put together a couple of tips to help you undertake your lockdown project and to guide you through the paint journey with ease.
Follow these key steps and we’re certain you won’t make any costly decorating mistakes down the line. The project will be carefully curated, and you’ll be delighted with the finished result. Besides, we’re certain that you’ll enjoy the creative process too.
Step 1 – Gather Inspiration
Gathering inspiration is a great way to really focus your mind on the colours you want to use, as well as trying to determine the look and feel of the space you want to create.
Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz are brilliant tools for online inspiration – not forgetting interior design magazines such as Living ETC, House and Garden and Ideal Homes which are all great sources too. Start ‘pinning’, ‘saving’ and ‘mood-boarding’ away, get creative!
You should have a good idea of what kind of colours you want to use in your scheme by the end of this process.
Step 2 – Request a Colour Card
Before you order any sample pots or paint, make sure you order our complimentary colour cards online. This will give you a full overview of the colour range and it will demonstrate how the colours look in real life. All of the paint colours on the colour cards are handpainted chips, so this is exactly the shade that the colour will be on your walls.
Remember, colours that appear on your screen will always look different in person and it will vary depending on the device and screen resolution. Ordering a colour card will eliminate any concerns from the very start and help you to order the correct Sample Pots too!
By bending the card you can use our handy ‘flying chips’ to compare the colours next to fabrics and existing furniture you may already have in your scheme.
You will receive our ‘Colours of England’, ‘Green’, and ‘Grey’ colourcards in the post after around five working days from placing your order.
Use this time wisely to refine your ideas.
Step 3 – Ordering and testing Sample Pots in situ
Now you are ready to order your 60ml Sample Pots. This is a really important step because:
- You need to see the colour on a bigger expanse and in situ. Although the colour chips are the exact colour, they are very small in comparison to your wall.
- Colour changes throughout the day. So we recommend painting out a piece of card and placing it around the room and viewing it at varying times throughout the day, you’ll be surprised how this can alter how the colour reads.
- Colour can appear warmer, cooler, darker or lighter depending on the natural and artificial light in your space. For example, what looks like a warm grey in a south facing room, may look a littler cooler in a north facing room.
When your sample pots arrive we would always recommend painting them out on a large expanse (ideally an A3 sized card) and paint at least two coats to achieve full depth of colour.
The finish is our Absolute Matt Emulsion which is perfect for testing colour on your own walls as it dries quickly and your brush can be easily washed out in water.
All of our current colours (anything in the Colours of England, Grey and Green colour cards) are available in 60ml Sample Pots and they can be ordered here. Each order comes with a handy sample brush so you can put them to the test straight away, alongside a Teapigs teabag - so you can unwind and mull over your beautiful colour choices over a cup of tea.
Unfortunately our Archive Colours aren't available in 60ml Sample Pots but you'll be pleased to hear that you can still order a 250ml sample tin of your desired Archive Colour by contacting our sales office directly.
Step 4 – Choosing and ordering your bespoke colours
When you are 100% on your colour choice and you have identified a suitable finish for your project, you’re ready to order!
Our order process is personal. Your order will be picked and tinted by hand, then colour checked by a member of the warehouse team before it leaves our distribution centre - ensuring total colour accuracy.
Little Greene colours are tinted to order, which means we cannot accept returns.
If you want to start decorating straight away, consider adding a ‘Decorator's Kit’ into your basket. The pack is perfect for most household projects – high quality tools have been selected by our technical team for their ease of use, quality in application and their long life.
The pack will be sent out with your paint order, so you will receive everything you need to start your project as soon as your parcel arrives.
This kit contains:
1 x 1” synthetic brush (suitable for all paint types)
1 x 2½” synthetic brush (suitable for all paint types)
1 x 9” medium pile roller (suitable for applying water-based paint to walls and ceilings)
1 x roller tray 1 x 1.5” roll of masking tape
1 x pack of fine abrasive paper for surface preparation/creating a key for the paint to adhere to
Step 5 – Get decorating
Get decorating - using this five stage process, your home will be planned with perfection.
Wall: Yellow-Pink 46, Door frame and skirting: Lamp Black 228