Interior trend: what is colour drenching?
Mon 11 Jul 2022
Paul Bennett, Director
If you suffer from chromophobia – that’s an abnormal fear of colour – look away now. One of the hottest interior trends for 2022 is colour drenching.
What is colour drenching?
Colour drenching is when you identify a colour you really love and you apply it extensively in one room of your home. The base for colour drenching is usually walls, where you take your chosen colour and apply it liberally. It doesn’t end there, however, as the essence of colour drenching is covering every surface with colour.
Apply here
No nook or cranny is out of bounds when you colour drench. Once your walls are painted or wallpapered, you need to take the colour everywhere else to achieve the most dramatic look. This includes the ceiling, architrave, cornicing , coving, any plaster mouldings, internal doors and all woodwork.
Taking it to the nth degree
Truly devoted fans of colour drenching won’t stop at the obvious interior surfaces. They achieve a totally seamless look by colour matching at their nearest decorating centre so they can buy specialist metal paint to give radiators a fresh lick (which can make an ugly radiator recede into the background), while wood paint allows their window frames to take on the same hue. In the extreme, colour drenching means shelving and even floors get the same-colour treatment.
Be bold and bright
Colour drenching isn’t for the faint hearted and you really need to be committed from the moment the first splash of colour is applied. The most confident of decorators are choosing vibrant shades, such as cobalt blue, magenta pink and lemon yellow but what if you can’t face such an overload of colour?
Subtle shades also work
If you’re worried that a strong colour will be too overpowering - or that you may get bored quickly – colour drenching can work well when you use more pared down shades. You could play it totally safe and colour drench in white. The end result can feel ethereal and art-gallery but if you’re worried about it feeling too clinical, opt for a soft or off white. Other safe options for colour drenching include taupe, dove grey and buttermilk.
Choose one or multiple shades
Colour drenching purists will choose one shade of one colour and they’ll stick to it but if you find this approach too rigid and ‘matchy matchy’, it’s OK to bend the rules. You can use different tones from the same colour to achieve a cohesive colour drenching outcome. For example, if your chosen colour is green, you may opt for a dark forest green below a dado rail, a sage green above it and a matcha green on the ceiling and across the woodwork.
Incorporating accessories
If you really want to be consumed by the colour drenching trend, you could change all your accessories to reflect your chosen shade. It can be brilliantly bold to match your cushions, lamp shades, curtains and rugs but if the end result starts to look a bit sickly, you can always temper the look with accessories in a single contrasting colour. For instance, teal works as an excellent accent colour against navy blue, acid yellow accessories will make an all-grey room pop, while burnt orange is a great foil for olive green schemes.
If you are keen to embrace the latest interior design trends but would like a new home to express yourself, contact estate agent Behr & Butchoff for a list of available properties in and around St. John’s Wood.