The color drenching trend promotes a 'simple approach to color selection' – according to Valspar's color expert

An interior design trend renowned for creating a bold yet sophisticated statement, color drenching is a popular trend this season. With an ability to add character to a multitude of different spaces and interior styles – from sleek and modern to traditional homes – it's no surprise designers and homeowners alike are embracing the trend. 

What Is Color Drenching?

Color drenching consists of choosing one single color and painting all aspects of a room in it. In addition to the walls, this can include the ceiling, doors and trims, and radiators. Whilst it may sound like a dramatic interior choice, color drenching is popular amongst designers for its ability to make large and bright spaces feel even larger by opting for a light-toned color, and by contrast its unique ability to maximize the warmth and coziness of small and enclosed rooms. 

As well as its stylish qualities, it may also promote a positive impact on wellbeing, with it previously being reported that embracing this color trend could improve your sleep.

How should color drenching be styled?

Valspar’s Color of the Year for 2024, Renew Blue, is a hue that lends itself perfectly to embodying color drenching as a stylistic choice. I spoke to Sue Kim, director of color marketing at Valspar, who explains that color drenching is about ‘really trusting that one color and enveloping that in a space.’

‘You’re actually allowing yourself to make a simple approach to color selection, but bringing in different textures, different sheens, some might be glossy, some might be matte… it gives you a strong anchoring point for you to bring in different elements,’ Kim explains.

Sue Kim

Sue Kim is Director of Color Marketing for Valspar, forecasting the brand's annual color for over 10 years. With a passion for translating color through key lifestyle trends to create versatile color schemes for the home, she is an expert in enhancing spaces through color. 

As Kim references, making sure to experiment with different paint sheens – whilst the color remains the same – creates interest and prevents the space from feeling flat. 

Whilst it’s a trend that can certainly be used across a wide range of spaces in the home, perhaps the most successful and impactful way of incorporating color-drenched paint ideas is in small spaces. I spoke to the interior designers to get their take on how to successfully incorporate the trend into the home. 

Maryana Grinshpun, principal at New York-based design-build company Mammoth explains: ‘We use color drenching as a strategy to create warmth and intimacy. While color drenching can be used in almost any space, it often proves to be a great strategy for spaces with lower ceiling heights, and also generally works well in smaller spaces.’

‘When working with challenging spaces, we try to always lean into their predispositions, and work on enhancing their moods instead of trying to fight them.’

‘Color drenching creates moody vibes, and acts as a beautiful canvas for drawing the eye to specific objects in the foreground – like the texture in a rug or sofa, or a pattern in a marble sink. It's been making the rounds because of its practicality, versatility, and budget-friendly qualities: there's little in interior design and architecture that can compete with paint on price,’ Grinshpun explains.

Pictured above, Renew Blue has been used in cozy living room ideas, opting to continue the color not only across the walls, but the furniture is also a similar shade of blue which further maximizes the room’s cocoon-like feel and adds extra impact.

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