What is colour drenching?

We’ve seen a huge uptick in the use of bolder paint colours in recent years. And now, the latest interior trend takes that one step further. Colour drenching is about fully committing to a paint colour and applying it all over your room - from top to bottom, ceilings and skirting boards too.

It can take a long time to decide on the best colour to paint your room. Once you’ve made that decision, embrace it and drench your room in your chosen hue. It shows confidence in your colour scheme and interior styling. This home decor trend has been embraced by interior designers and homeowners alike. Here’s how you can start colour drenching too.

Walls, Ceiling & Woodwork Burlington Arcade™ No.216 - @thecountryhousediaries

Colour drenching a room involves applying one paint colour everywhere. Yes, everywhere. That means ceilings, skirting boards, woodwork, window frames, doors, radiators, picture rails, panelling and coving.

Conventionally in home decor, the woodwork, ceilings and skirting boards would be painted white or left as natural wood. This new interior trend shuns convention for a bolder, all-encompassing approach to colour. It’s a bold, brave design trend that looks sensational.

What are the benefits of colour drenching?

When you use one colour on the walls and a contrasting one on the ceiling or woodwork, the eye is drawn to the focal point of the join. By using the same colour throughout, you blur the boundaries and blend one into the other seamlessly.

How does it make a room feel? Using a dark colour all over a room feels cocooning and enveloping. In a living room that’s cosy and invites you to snuggle up and get comfortable. In a bedroom, that enveloping feeling encourages you to relax and unwind. It feels more intimate.

Colour drenching can make a small space feel more spacious. Using two colours draws the eye to the join, but using a single colour creates the illusion of height and expands the space visually. This is a real bonus with a small room as it opens up the whole space.

There may be some unattractive features in your room. Radiators, for example, don’t always look great. By painting them in the same colour as the walls, they fade into the background more.

Walls, Ceiling & Woodwork Long Acre™ No.102

How best to colour drench

Think about how you want to make the room feel. That will inform your colour choices and the overall interior design.

Be bold and bright

Colour drenching works well with a bold colour scheme. Dress your dining room in a deep red or strong teal from top to toe for an opulent, yet inviting, entertaining space. Or opt for a fresh, rich yellow which adds a sunny, welcoming atmosphere.

Walls in Corhill™ No.128

If you don’t feel brave enough to go bold in a primary space like your living room, start with a downstairs bathroom or utility room. That can be a place to try out a fun, bright colour. Enveloping that space in a hot hue adds personality, interest and warmth.

Go dark and deep

Use a darker colour on the walls, ceilings and woodwork to create a cosy, inviting space. This works well in rooms that you use most in the evenings, say your living room or bedroom. The deep blue-green colour of Mylands Burlington Arcade™ No.216 adds opulence to this grand Georgian style bedroom, whilst keeping it intimate and comforting.

Dark blue, deep forest green and even black are popular choices for colour drenching your living space. You’ll transform your living room into an inviting, sophisticated snug.

Soften up a space

In stark contrast to dramatic dark home decor, is colour drenching in softer pastel shades. Warm pastel tones promote natural light and can make a room feel bigger. This is enhanced further still by blending walls into ceilings and skirting boards by painting them all in the same colour.

Pink has been a hot colour trend, adding a friendly atmosphere to any room. But there are many different shades of pastel, from blue to yellow, mauve to green. They add a soft freshness and lighten up the room.

Liven up a dark room

A narrow hallway or a windowless bathroom or utility space can be made more interesting by colour drenching it. Your use of colour can create real impact and distract from the limited space or natural light.

Door & Walls Golden Square™ No.131, Walls in Burlington Arcade™ No.216

This narrow hallway is made dramatic and impactful by the use of dark grey paint (Mylands Burlington Arcade™ No.216) on the walls, ceilings and woodwork. Adding the bright yellow (Mylands Golden Square™ No.131) to the entrance, draws the eye to the door and also complements the graphic floor tiles.

Create a backdrop

Think about which elements of your room you want to stand out. It could be your artwork, some striking furniture or maybe a dramatic headboard in a bedroom.

If that’s the thing that you want to pop, make sure the walls and ceilings are the backdrop not the talking point. A more neutral colour scheme will allow your focal point to shine.

Blend in storage

We all need shelving and cabinetry to house belongings, but it doesn’t need to be a focal point. Colour drenching helps it to fade into the background and appear integrated with the wall.

It looks sleek and sophisticated. It can also help your ornaments and accessories to stand out rather than the shelves that they stand on.

walls and Shelves in Brompton™ No.205 - @fawninteriors

Be inspired by the Country House Diaries

Ben and Paul of @thecountryhousediaries chose Mylands paint to transform their Georgian property in the Cumbrian countryside. Their choice of rich colours have accentuated the incredible 19th century architecture whilst giving the house a new lease of life.

The bedroom has been colour drenched in the rich blue-green Burlington Arcade™ No 216, giving it a dark and intimate feel.

The games room has been enveloped by Bond Street™ No. 219, adding some drama and sophisticated impact.

In contrast, the living area is drenched in a light, neutral shade, Egyptian Grey™ No.154 which creates a calming, balanced atmosphere.

Walls, Ceiling & Woodwork Burlington Arcade™ No.216 - @thecountryhousediaries

Walls & Woodwork in Bond Street™ No.219 - @thecountryhousediaries

Read more about the incredible country house renovation and how colour drenching has transformed the property.

Colour drenching is a confident and stylish interior design trend. It involves choosing a colour you love and committing to it fully. No diluting it with contrasting shades or only using it on an accent wall. You need to drench with that paint colour 100%, then you’ll create a stunning yet welcoming effect. Shop our range of paint colours and get drenching!