What is Color Drenching and 4 tips you need to know before you start!
Color drenching is a new trend to paint a room that you see popping up all over Pinterest and Instagram. It actually became popular in the early 20th century during the Victorian era and you would see color drenching in traditional homes. We saw color drenching in the last two decades when we had ALL gray interiors, followed by ALL white interiors until we got bored silly staring at all white & all gray interiors during the pandemic. But color drenching has recently surged this year as an up and coming design trend using darker & moodier colors.
What is Color Drenching?
Basically in a nutshell, color drenching is painting a room all one color. The walls, ceiling and the trim is ALL one color. That’s it! The room is monochromatic. It may seem simple at first, but in order to make your room stunning and not look like one big blob of color, there are a few techniques you need to know before diving in!
Photo: Etsy
Color drenching is emerging this year as a new trend but its actually been around for year. It originated in the Victorian era and you would typically see this look in more traditional homes. We saw color drenching in the last two decades but it consisted primarily of all white or all gray interiors. Only now, are we seeing this trend alot more in many different styles of homes with bolder and darker colors.
Pick the right room to color drench!
Color drenching will be most successful in a room that has walls. Color drenching looks best in small or medium rooms like a dining room, an office, bedroom, or a bathroom for example where the room is contained. It isn’t intended for rooms that have wide open spaces or are open concept areas.
Photo: Behr Color of the Year 2025 Rumors
Deep & moody colors, like Behr’s Color of the Year 2025 Rumors, are popular for color drenching, particularly in bedrooms, dining rooms and offices.
Choose your color with Intention!
The color you choose for your room should compliment the room’s interior design style. For example, if you want a moody and dramatic dining room, then the color you choose can be moody and dramatic like a deep blue-green, sage green or a moody burgundy for example.
For a bedroom, like a primary bedroom or a nursery, you may want a more calming and relaxing color.
Photo: Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2024 Blue Nova, photo credit Benjamin Moore
In our primary bedroom above, the homeowner used Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2024, Blue Nova, a deep blue-violet color that creates drama but is also relaxing as well.
Photo: Fall & Barrow
In color drenching, you see alot of dark & moody colors that look amazing. BUT the soft & gentle colors can also look amazing like we see in this nursery above. It all comes down to the look and feel that you want in your room.
Read: Most Popular Sherwin Williams + Benjamin Moore Sage Green Paint Colors
Read: Best Sherwin Williams + Benjamin Moore Blue Gray Paint Colors
Determine the sheen of the paint for each area
For color drenching, typically you will see the trim painted in a semi or high-gloss paint, the walls a matte or eggshell finish, with the ceiling in a flat finish, like in our room below. BUT your design style could be dramatic where you want to paint your whole room in a high-gloss finish.
In our room above, three different paint sheens were used. A high-gloss for the trim, a flat for the ceiling and an eggshell for the walls.
Photo: Image credit: Marie Flanigan Interiors, photography Julie Soefer
In our stunning library above, the designer used a high-gloss finish to create a dramatic look.
Read: How to Choose a Paint Sheen
Style the room using different colors & textures to create variety and interest
When your room is painted all one color, the styling of your room becomes key in making the room look inviting and interesting. You can choose to accessorize it with the same color to make it a truly monochromatic room. This look is more difficult to achieve but it is possible. Choosing different colors for furniture,
Photo: @mldesignskc
This office painted in Benjamin Moore Hale Navy is stunning! What makes this room stand out is the accent color of cognac used for the desk chair, accent chairs and blinds in cognac. Blue and orange (aka cognac) are complimentary colors because they are opposite each other on the color wheel. Complimentary colors are always make a stunning combination.
Photo: Benjamin Moore
In our photo above, we see a calming color drenching with a beautiful sage green shade by Benjamin Moore. The room is accessories in colors that compliment the walls & ceiling. The bedspread repeats the bedroom color for emphasis.
Do you find picking a paint color overwhelming? I can help you with that! Pick from one of my many paint color consults and I’ll take the overwhelm out of the picture for you!
Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant & Real Estate Investor.
I conducted my first color consult at the age of 7, for my father for one of his design | build | engineering projects. I’m an Interior Designer, a Double-Certified Paint Color Expert, with advanced training in kitchens + bathrooms!
Since 2006, I have helped hundreds of clients, just like you, to style their house to make it a stunning retreat, that is functional for the family AND that they love and enjoy their home. I was one of the first stagers in the industry when staging just started out, and I have helped hundreds of clients make money beyond their expectations when they sold their house. Throughout this time, I bought, renovated and flipped 9 “fixer uppers” for a healthy profit.
In 2020, I moved my design business online. Sign up to receive my e-mails on my awesome design + color tips to create a home that you will love and enjoy and increase the value of your home as well!
