Colour drenching: is it right for your home?

Dark green bedroom colour drench with painted ceiling

So, you’ve been scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest, and suddenly it seems like everyone is on about colour drenching.

Walls, ceilings, skirting boards—everything the same colour. Welcome to the world of colour drenching!. You can go all out with bold, deep colours if that’s your thing (it certainly is mine), but if dark colours scare you, I’ll show you how you can colour drench in a more subtle way - read on!

But before you grab a roller and go full monochrome on your living room, let’s talk about what colour drenching actually is, when it works, and how to pull it off without making your home look like a blueberry exploded in it.

What is colour drenching (and why is everyone obsessed)?

Colour drenching is going all in on one colour. It’s when you paint an entire room—walls, ceilings, trim, doors, sometimes even radiators and furniture—in the same colour. The result? A rich, immersive space that feels cohesive, dramatic, and surprisingly calming.

Think of it like wearing a monochrome outfit. It’s chic, it’s intentional, and it makes a statement. Except instead of your clothes, it’s your entire bedroom.

When does colour drenching actually work?

Spoiler: i believe it always works!

✅ Small rooms that need a big personality:

Cloakrooms, boxy home offices and small bedrooms are perfect for colour drenching. Instead of trying to make them look bigger (which, let’s be honest, rarely works), embrace the coziness and go bold.

My son’s bedroom is pretty small so we went all in with this deep teal colour, which as well as making it super cosy, blurs the line between wall and ceiling, making it appear larger.

green boys bedroom colour drenched

✅ Rooms with awkward architecture

Got weird alcoves, low ceilings, or too many angles? Colour drenching smooths out visual clutter and makes everything feel easier on the eye. We have recently painted our attic in green and it has created a calming space and no distracting white sloped ceiling!

attic space with storage colour drench

✅ Spaces that need a mood

Want your bedroom to feel like a hug? That’s literally how I feel about our bedroom, which we’ve drenched in a moody deep green (Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue).

We painted the walls, ceiling and woodwork all in the same colour (apart from the door but that’s another story!). We are lucky with this room in that it has high ceilings, which creates drama, without the room feeling too dark and dismal.

✅ When you’re using a neutral paint colour

I feel it’s a total no-brainer when you’re using a neutral paint colour - why would you want a separate slightly different shade of white on the ceiling?

Our hallway and landing is not fully colour drenched as we have contrasting black on the woodwork, but the walls and ceiling are all painted the same off white (Strong White by Farrow & Ball), which makes the space feel more expansive and cohesive. So if darker colours scare you slightly, then start with a lighter colour first.

How to nail the colour drenched look in your home

🧭 Step 1: consider the room’s aspect

North-facing rooms: These get cool, flat light. Warm tones or colours with a red, pink or yellow undertone will be perfect (even some greens and blues have these undertones!)

South-facing rooms: Lucky you! These rooms can handle deep, dark colours without feeling like a cave. However brighter colours might be too much, so you can afford to use a more muted shade.

East and west-facing rooms: These are more tricky to get right, as the sun moves in and out throughout the day, but make sure you do big tester swatches and watch how they change from morning to evening.

Remember, if you need help with exact paint colours for your room, please get in touch as I can help!

🖌️ Step 2: choose the right paint finish

Different surfaces need different finishes, but you still want everything to feel cohesive.

  • Matt or flat: Perfect for walls and ceilings as absorbs light and hides imperfections 

  • Eggshell: Great for woodwork and trim. Slightly reflective, durable and easy to clean.

It gets more confusing as some paint brands sell all surface paints. I think these can be great options for painting walls and woodwork, including wall panelling; however I would personally stick to buying a separate eggshell for things like wardrobes, cabinets, stairs and high traffic areas.

I’ll be delving deeper into which paint to use for colour drenching in a future blog post so stay tuned!

👆 Step 3: don’t skip the ceiling

Hopefully you’ve gathered this already, but now is not the time to chicken out of the ceiling! Painting it the same colour as the walls makes the room feel taller and more unified. Plus, it’s way more fun than staring at a white ceiling!

🧶 Step 4: add texture

When everything’s the same colour, texture becomes your best friend. Think velvet cushions, chunky knits, woven rugs, matte ceramics, and natural wood. It keeps the space from feeling flat or one-dimensional.

Our (almost!) drenched bedroom has a velvet headboard, linen cushions, a natural wooden door and a rug.

best paints for colour drenching

(because not all paints are created equal!)

I will be delving into this in more detail in a future blog post but here are a couple of my favourites that I have used myself.

🖌️Little Greene – Gorgeous heritage shades with eco-friendly formulas. Their paint is a dream to use and their Intelligent Matt Emulsion is suitable for woodwork and radiators too. I’ve used it on my living room skirting and it’s held up really well 5 years on.

🖌️Benjamin Moore Aura – Super durable and perfect for high-traffic areas. Their colour depth is amazing and is lovely to paint with.

final thoughts: should you colour drench or not?

If you’re tired of playing it safe with grey walls and white woodwork, colour drenching is your permission slip to go bold. It’s not just a trend—it’s a design philosophy that says, “Yes, I meant to paint the ceiling dark green, thank you very much.”

So grab a paint brush and go all in. Your walls (and ceiling) will thank you!

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