Many homeowners opt for a neutral palette throughout their home, and for good reason. It’s timeless and easier to add colorful accent pieces as they see fit.
However, making an impact with color in a particular space can be a fun and imaginative way to add pizzazz to the home without changing its entire look. Think: the same hue gracing a room’s walls, doors, trim and ceilings. Called color drenching, this painting and furnishing trend is being embraced by homeowners looking to envelop their homes in hues. Color drenching simply involves taking one bold and intense shade to create an immersive and harmonious feeling in a space, making that color the central element to the room’s overall design.
“Color drenching is the maximalist approach to painting — and it can go beyond painting — taking one color and covering the walls, doors, ceiling and even furnishings, all in one color,” says Jessica Norskog, design engineer at Dream House Dream Kitchens.“It makes a very saturated, bold statement in any room.”
So, what colors are trending for color drenching? Norskog says it’s driven by an individual’s preference, but people are starting to embrace color, moving away from the white and off-white tones that have dominated home décor for years.
“We’re not afraid of color as much as we used to be,” Norskog says.
However, a homeowner can still color drench with neutrals if they’re hesitant to cover a space in a bold color — they could simply use shades of white, tan or gray.
“It helps to erase those heavy lines of trims and moldings,” Norskog adds.
Contrary to popular belief, painting a small space such as a powder room in one color (including the door, trim, walls and ceiling) doesn’t make the room feel smaller — it has the opposite effect.
You can also select which components of a room that you want to paint. If you prefer the doors to match the rest of the doors in your home, you can paint the trim, ceiling and interior walls of the room, and leave the doors untouched.
For homes that are open concept, Norskog recommends carefully examining if color drenching works for the space.“Drenching … a two-story great room, for example, could be overwhelming — but a study is a great place to apply saturated color.”
When color drenching with paint, consider carrying the color theme
even further and selecting matching furnishings. Using a monochromatic palette makes a bold, unifying statement.
“You could select a beautiful green color, for example, and coordinate a couch to match, which creates a very unique, timeless effect,” Norskog says.“Or if you are not fully committed to completely saturating the room in the same color, you can furnish the room in softer hues and neutrals, and add complementary accent pieces. For example, you could create an incredible green room that is accented by brass fixtures, which makes quite the statement.”
Dream House Dream Kitchens
608.204.7575 | 5117 Verona Rd., Fitchburg | dream-kitchens.com
