Bert & May x Little Greene
By Victoria Smith
Oct 3, 2021
Introducing: Bert & May x Little Greene
A colour-led collaboration that showcases the best of both our brands
We’ve always loved working with brands that have a similar design ethos to ours. Not only is it inspiring to team up with like-minded businesses, but it’s great to get together to produce genuinely exciting and innovative new collections.
Our latest partnership feels like a real landmark moment. We’ve joined forces with paint and wallpaper experts Little Greene - a family-run, British company we’ve always admired, to create a range that celebrates the best of both our brands and opens up a whole new world of colour to our clients.
The Bert & May x Little Greene collection features eight of Little Greene’s classic colours on two of our signature tiles - our soft, chalky cement squares, and our rich, glossy glazed clay herringbones.
These special tiles have been devised to create layered, texture-packed interior schemes, with both materials providing their own nuanced take on each colour. They are designed to sit alongside Little Greene's paints, as well as our existing tile collections, and provide scope to create breathtaking spaces that are awash with colour.
Collaborating with a company like Little Greene is a dream come true for us. There’s a natural synergy between our brands, and while the Bert & May palette is relatively small in comparison to Little Greene’s portfolio (we have 40 options, they have 196!) our passion for colour is equal.
We’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating Bert & May’s core palette of colours - each one is derived from natural pigments and mixed by hand to provide the soft, warm, timeless tones for which we are known - so it’s rare that we add to it. The opportunity to introduce eight carefully curated colours from an extensive selection like Little Greene’s was a fantastic opportunity.
When we started working together, both brands quickly identified a similarity between Bert & May’s colourways and Little Greene’s Stone and Colours of England collections, and so it’s from these families that we’ve handpicked the colours that we’re using. Each one is beautiful alone but equally successful alongside an existing Bert & May shade, and we’re thrilled to introduce them to you…
Bert & May X Little Greene Colours
A seductive blend of Royal Blue and Navy Blue, this paint colour is often used as a charismatic alternative to dark grey or black in a neutral colour scheme. The new Royal Navy tiles further complement the shade, bringing a nuanced depth and signature broken colouration whilst effortlessly coordinating in colour.
With its deep-ochre undertone, Bassoon is an unsung hero of historical decoration. These drab paint colours were favourites in the functional ‘back-of-house’ areas of yesterday’s grand homes due to their hard-wearing nature. The Bert & May glazed and cement tiles bring Bassoon’s warm, earthy subtleties to all surfaces, adding textures and layering that can’t be replicated in paint.
The ever-popular French Grey is Little Greene’s ‘King of Greys’, and another paint shade which is available in a family of lighter and darker tones. Mixed with a little blue and red to create the perfect ‘middle-tint’, the French Greys were instantly an inspiration for this project. The versatility and timeless quality of these tiles make them an assured choice in a diverse range of design schemes.
Elegant and delicate, Little Greene’s Chemise brings warmth and intimacy to a room, appearing muted and chalky on Bert & Mays signature cement squares, or glamourous and sumptuous with a glazed finish. Chemise combines with a host of colours, including the ever-popular French Grey Colour Scales family. For a mid-century feel with a candy twist, pair it with pastel shades or a cleaner white.
Little Greene’s Rolling Fog family is a harmonious group of warm neutrals, used historically as a white or pale complement to much darker shades. At the light end of this scale, the Rolling Fog tiles are designed to coordinate wonderfully with all colours within the Rolling Fog family, and indeed any of the more colourful, warm, richer shades in the Little Greene paint palette.
Derived from Little Greene’s enigmatic Livid, which sits somewhere between blue, green, and grey, this deep, moody, yet restful, colour coordinates beautifully with deep charcoal tones and the cool and calming Aquamarine Colour Scales.
To-date, Bert & May’s ‘browns’ offer has comprised a soft leather, a deep crimson red, a rich garnet, and a muted chocolate, but missed that dark, velvety sumptuous brown. Enter: Purple Brown. This original Victorian shade brings an enveloping, sanctuary feel, and is full of warm, dreamy elegance.
Little Greene’s Aquamarine Colour Scales family is the inspiration for the Bert & May Aquamarine tiles. Offering a beautiful coordinate for Aquamarine’s ‘Pale’, ‘Light’ and ‘Mid’ variations, this classic blend of blue-green uses umber to create subtlety and brings a gentle coolness and tranquillity to a room. This easy-to-scheme pairing also works beautifully alongside the moody blue-green Livid and contrasting Purple Brown tiles.
All eight colours are available in either glazed 7.5 x 15 cm clay herringbones, or 20 x 20 cement squares. The cement tiles provide our signature soft and chalky finish, while the glazed are smooth to the touch. The layered, broken tones within each provide depth, contrast, and harmonious coordination with their partnered paint colours, and can be used in an array of spaces.This is Little Greene’s first venture into applying their colours onto tiles, and it’s only the second time we’ve added new colours to our core palette, so it’s an exciting step for both brands.
Ruth Webber, Bert & May’s Creative Director, comments:
“We couldn’t be more excited to have collaborated with Little Greene on this new collection. The eight new colours add an extra dimension to the Bert & May palette, and allow customers even greater choice to develop colourful, layered interiors with personality.”
Ruth Mottershead, Little Greene’s Creative Director, says:
‘It's been a real joy to collaborate with Bert & May on this project. It’s wonderful to see some of our much-loved paint colours transformed into a new medium. The crafted nature of their production makes each one something to cherish, and we’re really excited to see some of the resulting transformations – with beautiful colour truly being embraced on every surface.”
To shop the collection, click here.