Continuing its collaboration with Europe’s largest conservation charity, the National Trust, Little Greene presents ‘Stone’ – a versatile new palette of natural colours offering warmth, tranquillity, timelessness and harmony. The capsule collection of warm neutrals provides a welcome transition from the ever-popular, decade of grey! The move to warmer, more natural colours often termed the ‘new neutrals’ sees earthy, stonier tones becoming increasingly popular, providing a restful alternative to cooler choices. These gentle neutrals can be used in all areas of the home adding warmth, relaxation and simplicity as well as a sophisticated, complementary canvas for fabrics wallcoverings and furnishings from all genres.
-
Bone China Blue Pale sits at the heart of the Bone China Blue colour scales family. Based on the popular 1930s paint colour, Bone China Blue, this tonal shade pairs beautifully with coordinating colours such as Air Force Blue and Grey Stone. -
A deep charcoal-grey with warm undertones. Strong and charismatic, like the Roman god it’s named after
-
A subtle reduction of the delicate Beauvais Lilac 29, this shade offers a notable warmth when used against Loft White 222. For a very soft contrast, pair it with Ferdinand 313 and bring depth to the scheme using deeper, related tones: Nether Red 315 and Arras 316.
-
At the turn of the 19th century, the Book Room at Wimpole Hall was remodelled by neoclassical architect John Soane. Driven by Wimpole?s owner?s keen architectural interest, the room doubled in size and this neutral green was specified as a foil to the room?s fine white plasterwork and shelving, and the thousands of deep red embossed leather book spines which covered the walls.
-
An authentic grey limestone, this shade is read directly from the carved balustrade which accompanies the Castell Pink stonework in the great stairwell at Penrhyn Castle. It was commissioned by the castle?s owner, a wealthy slate baron, and took 10 years to complete. The intermediate depth of this colour makes it a versatile shade, useful in both traditional and contemporary schemes. Highly impactful used in isolation, it?s also very easy to coordinate with a range of natural stone and wood surfaces.
-
In 1738 the architect William Kent ? renowned for his follies - designed a small, stilted, timber garden room to stand in the middle of a pond within the Elysian Fields at Stowe in Buckinghamshire. It was first decorated by the Italian painter Francesco Sleter, who combined figurines, foliage and calligraphy in an intricate Chinoiserie style, with this sumptuous deep stone colour as a background
-
In its varied history, Basildon Park has served 150 years as a grand family home, a period as a convalescent hospital in World War 1, an army barracks in World War 2, and even survived an attempt to be dismantled and rebuilt brick-by-brick in America. Fortunately, in the 1950s it came into the philanthropic hands of Lord and Lady Iliffe who endowed upon it a passion for renaissance interiors. This warm neutral was used on the walls of the Staircase Hall, designed to feel more like a sitting room than a cold corridor.
-
Taken from the pantry door at Wimpole Hall, this shade is typical of the drab colours used to paint ?back-of-house? areas, where waiting staff would prepare meals and refreshments for the owners of such grand country mansions. These colours were popular because they didn?t show dirt or damage easily, and were thriftily produced by blending leftover paints and pigments from the decoration of the main house. .
-
The writer, music critic and BBC broadcaster Edward ?Eddy? Sackville-West, a peripheral character in the celebrated Bloomsbury Group of the 1920s, lived in several rooms in the Gatehouse Tower at his family home of Knole in Kent. Eddy?s private domain, accessed via a compact stone spiral staircase, included a bedroom, study and music room, where he would entertain fellow academics, philosophers, friends and lovers. This colour is taken from the fireplace in his bedroom, where it?s offset with a blue surround and charismatic lime-plastered walls.
-
A spectacular Elizabethan house, Hardwick Hall was built by the formidable ?Bess of Hardwick? in the late 1500s. After Queen Elizabeth I, Bess was the wealthiest woman in England and her house was filled with rich furnishings and tapestries. Within the house, a chapel contains rare wall hangings, painted with scenes from the life of St Paul, where this deep, earthy red repeatedly features.
-
Since ancient times, Alderley Edge in Cheshire has been famous for its local copper mine, and for Nether Alderley Mill, a traditional flour mill which has been central to local agriculture for over 600 years. This beautiful and profound mud red is found in the bare sandstone walls of the original mill, and can be seen in its full glory on the south-west face.
-
This soft plaster-like shade is taken from a reading of the sculptural stonework which surrounds the great stairwell at Penrhyn Castle in North Wales.
-
Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1883 as a country retreat; a place to host weekend house parties and an escape from London during the summer months. This elegant, warm, off-white is found on the wall panelling in the Grey Drawing Room - a place where guests came to relax, play cards and listen to music.
-
One of the most unusual British homes, 200-year-old Ickworth House in Suffolk was commissioned as the private residence of enigmatic world-traveller Frederick Hervey, on an estate the family had owned since the mid-15th century. The design of the 19th-century Pompeian room was based on ancient frescoes excavated at Villa Negroni, Rome. At Ickworth this dark grey-green performed the role of black in its striking Palladian colour scheme.
-
Bringing a sense of natural opulence, stone with a green hue has long been used in architectural decoration the world over. Less common than rock tinted with iron salts, naturally occurring green stones often contain traces of copper, or cobalt. Green Stone is redolent of the ancient colour ?Green Earth? used in ancient Roman frescoes and Russian iconography; it is a mineral pigment form of Celadon.
