Little Greene – Tan Tan

everything you want to know about Little Greene paints

With 10 paint finishes (+2 primers), Little Greene covers all your different surface and sheen needs. All are durable and high-quality, but also water-based and eco-friendly, with no added VOCs.

Absolute Matt Emulsion: a chalky flat matt finish with a very low sheen level of just 3%. You can use it on many surfaces, including walls, ceilings, and plaster. It’s ideal in low-traffic spaces (bedrooms, living rooms, dining spaces, and study areas), but you can wipe it with a damp cloth or sponge in case you need it.

Intelligent Matt Emulsion: a very matt finish with a 5% sheen level. Wipeable and washable, it’s perfect on walls and ceilings in high-traffic areas. It also works for well-ventilated kitchens and bathrooms, woodwork, and radiators.

Intelligent Eggshell: a low-sheen finish (15%) ideal for interior woodwork and walls that might need scrubbing. It’s fully washable and made to resist moisture, staining, and scuff – so ideal for bathroom and kitchen walls, where condensation can be a problem.

Intelligent Satinwood: a sophisticated satin finish with a mid-sheen of 30-35%. Hard-wearing, durable, and washable, it’s perfect for all interior woodwork, including joinery, skirting, kitchen cabinets and all those areas that don’t always get to be treated gently.

Intelligent Floor Paint: a robust and sophisticated mid-sheen finish (30-40%) formulated for all floors and interior woodwork. It’s very durable, easily washable, and ideal for all the busiest areas of your house.

Distemper: a breathable, interior paint with a chalky matt finish and a less than 5% sheen level. It’s ideal for walls, ceilings, and fine plasterwork in low-traffic areas – you can wipe it, but don’t wash it. You would normally use it in older and historical buildings due to its breathability, and traditional soft and powdery finish.

Intelligent Gloss: high-gloss reflective finish with an 85% sheen level. Hard-wearing and fully washable, it’s ideal for both interior and exterior woodwork and metals. It works perfectly on rooms that need frequent washing like kitchens and bathrooms, but also on a statement front door.

Intelligent Exterior Eggshell: a low-sheen finish (15%) suitable for all exterior woodwork and joinery. This completely washable finish protects your surfaces from all weather conditions, mould, and algal growth. It’s self-priming on new and bare wood, but you can also use it on properly primed metalwork.

Intelligent Masonry Paint: a smooth, matt finish with a very low sheen of 5%. It’s completely washable, dirt and water-resistant, designed to last for up to 15 years on exterior walls. You can use it on brickwork, render, cement, and older exterior paint.

Limewash: a breathable very matt (3% sheen) finish for lime render and porous stone. This is a very traditional exterior finish, ideal for old walls that can have damp problems, because it penetrates the surface and lets it breathe. Limewash doesn’t come in all the Little Greene colours, but only in a selection of lucky ones.

Intelligent ASP (All Surface Primer): a low-sheen (5-8%) primer available in many Little Greene colours. Designed to support any of the Intelligent finishes, you can use it on interior and exterior surfaces such as wood, metals, tiles, glass, melamine and most plastics, including uPVC.

Wall Primer Sealer: a wall primer-sealer for interior and exterior use, tintable to a wide range of colours. It can prime new or unpainted walls, and even the difficult patchy and friable ones. We recommended using it on plaster and rendered walls, as it seals the surface and controls absorption for a smooth and non-patchy finish.

how much Little Greene paint do I need?

Now that you’ve chosen the finish, you need to open your calculator app to get the right quantity of paint. If you hate numbers, don’t panic. We’re going to help you with some foolproof calculations.

First, get that tape measure out! If you’re a DIY pro, just measure up your room – we don’t need to tell you what to do. If you’re already confused, here are some ballpark figures:

• small rooms are around 2 x 2 m per wall
• medium rooms are around 4 x 2 m per wall
• skirting boards will need less than 1 litre
• feature walls are usually 2.5 x 2 m
• count the ceiling as a wall, as it will be a similar size.

Now do your maths to get to the total square metres you want to paint, write it down and let’s talk coverage.

If you want your freshly painted walls to look flawless and last longer, coverage is key. Good coverage means no waste and no wasted money. That’s why we always suggest TWO even coats for that perfect durable finish.

All Little Greene paint is packed with pigment for a great, durable finish. Applied evenly, this paint covers at least 12m2 per litre – so you’ll get 30 m2 from a 2.5L tin, considering two coats.

To go back to the ballpark figures:

• small room (16 m2)? 2.5 L tin
• medium room (32 m2)? 5 L tin.
• skirting boards, feature wall (5m2) or ceiling? 1 L tin

Are you painting exteriors or something more complicated to measure like kitchen cupboards, windows or furniture? Just ask us! All our paint geeks have a paint calculator installed in their brains and will tell you how much paint you need in no time.